CONTACT Software

CONTACT Software offers a single low-code platform, CONTACT Elements, that covers product data management, engineering change, project management and IoT. The company was founded in 1990 in Bremen, Germany, by Karl Heinz Zachries and has grown without outside investors. It runs several offices across Germany and one in Vienna. Its PLM application, CIM Database PLM, runs on a component architecture written largely in Python, which customers and partners can extend through configuration and code.

The platform targets engineering-intensive industries such as automotive, machinery and plant engineering, medical technology and high-tech electronics. Elements for IoT adds digital twins, asset management and shopfloor data, so product and operational data share one model. The Collaboration Hub supports data exchange with suppliers and engineering partners, and Project Office combines classical and agile project methods. Release 2026.2 (May 2026) added Fourier AI as a platform-wide intelligence layer, a redesigned engineering change process with problem reports and staged work packages, Microsoft 365 document links and batch-level manufacturing traceability.

Sustainability features are documented in more detail than at many mid-sized PLM vendors. A Product Carbon Footprint application, introduced in 2024, estimates CO2 equivalents for materials and processes during design, follows ISO 14067 and the GHG Protocol, and shares results through the Asset Administration Shell. Since July 2023 CONTACT has also sold CIM Database Cloud, a SaaS edition with pay-per-use billing. Buyers should still validate partner coverage outside the German-speaking market.

CONTACT documents a Product Carbon Footprint application aligned with ISO 14067 and the GHG Protocol, including recyclability data and supply chain sharing via the Asset Administration Shell, positioned as preparation for Digital Product Passport requirements.