MOVING PRODUCT INFORMATION ALONG THE VALUE CHAIN: OVERCOMING CHALLENGES OF DISTRIBUTED ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AND A HETEROGENEOUS INFORMATION ENVIRONMENT

摘要

Considerable attention has been paid, both in research and practice, to the creation and management of digital product information comprising parametric product data, documents and CAD files. There has been less focus on cost-effective delivery of this information to different user groups and for myriad uses. This poses a major challenge in companies with globally distributed production units as well as customers. Attention also needs to be paid on how the use of this digital information can be made easy through uniform structuring and a common look and feel. We highlight, in this paper, the complex issues and challenges in electronically delivering and managing digital product information for industrial customers. We then present a cost-effective and flexible IT solution that aims for a high level of automation in the delivery process.