A collaborative application portal for the mould industry

Abstract

Large companies are conducting business with greater numbers of partners than ever before, and are looking for information and communication technology to better manage these relationships. Likewise, they expect partners, including their suppliers, to also quickly adopt appropriate technologies and business strategies. The mould industry is an important support industry during the product development process, serving as an important link between the product designer and manufacturer. This paper presents a collaborative application portal which provides an application platform for collaborative product design, product data management, manufacturing information management and e-business services for the mould industry. A J2EE-based architecture and some pivotal elements are used to construct this portal. Collaborative activities between mould companies and its customers, suppliers and partners are illustrated. A http://www.diemoldonline.net portal for the mould industry in Singapore as an application case is introduced. © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.