PCNA Connects Concept-to-Commercialization with Centric Software

Branded merchandise leader selects five connected, best-of-breed Centric solutions to scale growth and create a seamless flow of product data and decisions

CAMPBELL, Calif., October 7, 2026 — Centric Software® is pleased to announce that Polyconcept North America (PCNA) has selected Centric PLM™, Centric Visual Boards™, Centric AI Studio™, Centric DPP and Centric PXM™ to connect product development through commercialization. The multi-solution investment will enable PCNA to scale into new product categories, accelerate launches and strengthen the flow of product information to distributors and partners as the business grows. Centric Software delivers integrated, AI-powered enterprise solutions for brands, retailers and manufacturers.

Headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA, PCNA is a leading supplier of branded merchandise in North America. Part of the global Polyconcept organization, PCNA offers one of the industry's broadest assortments of customizable products through its established family of brands and extensive portfolio of retail brand partners. Its offering spans apparel, bags, drinkware, technology, office, home, outdoor and other categories, supported by manufacturing and distribution operations across North America and a global sourcing network.

“Product transformation is no longer about optimizing isolated systems. It is about connecting decisions, data and workflows across the product lifecycle,” says Fabrice Canonge, CEO of Centric Software. “PCNA is a strong example of that approach, investing in connected technology to accelerate launches, respond faster to new opportunities and deliver richer product information as the business grows. We are proud to partner with PCNA on this next stage of transformation.”

As PCNA expanded into new product categories, its existing technology environment became increasingly difficult to adapt. Its legacy PLM was challenging to modify or upgrade, while the lack of a centralized way to manage customer-facing product information created downstream workarounds. Teams spent significant time on data entry, product attribution and reviewing information ahead of launches, limiting their ability to focus on higher-value product and go-to-market activities.

“We’re using this transformation as an opportunity to rethink how we develop, launch and commercialize products,” says Brennen Volbeda, Senior Director of Digital Experience and Data Strategy at PCNA. “By connecting product data and workflows across the lifecycle, we expect to get more complete information to our distributors and partners faster, reduce manual work and ultimately create a better customer experience. As we add new categories and grow the business, we want our technology to enable that growth, not become a barrier to it.”

With that vision in mind, PCNA looked beyond replacing its legacy PLM with another standalone system. As part of a broader business transformation, the company prioritized connected technology capable of linking product data, product decisions and downstream commercialization. Flexibility, scalability and the ability to continuously benefit from new capabilities were important selection criteria.

Centric Software stood out for the depth of its individual, best-of-breed solutions and the ability to connect them through shared product data and workflows. The decision was further reinforced by PCNA partners already using Centric Software solutions, who shared positive experiences of the technology, ease of upgrades and collaboration.

Together, the five solutions will create a continuous flow of product data and decisions across the product lifecycle through commercialization. Centric PLM will establish and govern trusted product data at the core of the product lifecycle. Centric Visual Boards will enable teams to explore ideas, assortments and product decisions visually, while Centric AI Studio, a purpose-built application within the broader Centric AI platform, will use trusted product context to accelerate visualization and decision-making within product workflows. As products move toward market, Centric PXM will enrich and distribute commercial product information across channels. Centric DPP will extend governed product, material, sustainability and traceability information from Centric PLM and connected systems into Digital Product Passports, enabling PCNA to prepare proactively for evolving requirements and respond more efficiently to growing customer requests for detailed product information. The result is continuity of data and decisions across the product journey without introducing new handoffs between systems.