Power tool giant automates information transfers between manufacturing locations and suppliers worldwide
Baltimore — March 1, 2005 — Power tool manufacturer Black & Decker has adopted a customized Web-based enterprise data management solution from Avatech Solutions Inc. that will work with the company's CATIA computer-aided design (CAD) software at its global sites. The system enables Black & Decker to share critical design data across multiple system platforms and various user skill levels with suppliers worldwide.
As a result of this automation, Black & Decker said it has made improvements in new product development lead times by providing instant desktop access to information, in the proper formats required, rather than having to wait for mailed or couriered delivered packages.
Black & Decker's global design and engineering team is hard at work developing the next must-have power tool or home improvement innovation to be used by millions of people every day. Manufacturing plants and contracted suppliers are spread across the globe in the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia, and South and Latin America, presenting major logistical and system compatibility issues.
When homegrown scripts and an application service provider (ASP) were no longer able to meet growing needs, Black & Decker turned to long-time partner Avatech for a Web-based solution that would allow bi-directional transfer of data between internal staff and outside suppliers that bid on manufacturing projects, regardless of the CAD software or platform they are using.
Avatech's customized software solution has been integrated with the company's UNIX and Windows-based CATIA V4 and V5 CAD design software. Other departments in Black & Decker have adopted the Web application, including Field Service, Industrial Design and Graphics/Packaging — any department that needs to securely exchange large files.
The custom solution Avatech designed for Black & Decker is based on the SCS Envoy technology, a Web-based enterprise application for managing the delivery of project data rapidly throughout the supply chain. The system automates the translation, processing and the rapid, tracked delivery of data involved in engineering collaboration and supply chain transactions.
