Case study

PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) System

Highlights

PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) tool for documenting the product management process data over its complete life cycle.
From a technical viewpoint, it combines modern technologies with legacy systems.
Fortech provides full stack application development and maintenance, with a team of over 50 software engineers.

Technologies:

Cobol, Java EE & SE, Eclipse RCP, Objective-C, HTML, XML/XSLT/XSD

Services:

Project Management, Software Development, Software Testing

50+

Team Size

11+ Years

Duration

Automotive

Industry

Solution

The PLM software system is used in the commercial car industry as a tool for documenting data on the product management process, over its complete lifecycle, from development and production to sales and after sales.

It comprises a central system, which contains all the product documentation information used throughout the supply chain, and the plant systems used to manage the data necessary for the production process.

For each model series (i.e. vehicle series, aggregates series), the documentation consists of a product overview, product structure and the reliable data on the parts to be built.

From a technical standpoint, it represents a complex infrastructure with three major components – host, server and client sides – leveraging a combination of technologies aimed at maintaining legacy systems and at the same time addressing requirements for modernization.

Collaboration

When deciding to contract a nearshore partner, the client was already implementing the project with internal teams. The need was to complement the existing teams with nearshore teams and to extend the project on a long term.

Fortech’s proven technical expertise on other projects with the same client was essential in the choice of an external software development supplier.

Increasing gradually, the team at Fortech now comprises of over 50 members organized into 4 sub-teams, each being responsible for an application developed within the project. Each sub-team is created as a distributed team, with several members at the client’s site as well as nearshore, at Fortech.

Regular meeting and on-site visits are established to facilitate collaboration between team members on both sides.

Client Benefits

Improved Decision-Making

The system provides plant operations with an overview of the entire product documentation, enabling smart decisions.

Modernization

A phased approach to application modernization and legacy system maintenance. Migration processes are in place.

Long-term Collaboration

Reliable long-term partnership in a mission-critical project. Capabilities built and added as needed.