The Development of Manufacturing Information Portal for Smes in Traditional Industries

Markets today offer a variety of enterprise information systems for manufacturing industries. These systems are, in many cases, independent solutions without any communication links between. In global business, where SMEs in the manufacturing industry today are deeply involved, the requirements for information-sharing increase. Information should be seamlessly available 24/7 for enterprises as a whole, as well as for individual employees' needs. SMEs are facing the challenge that they need a common ICT solution for supporting their business functions; however, the applications available on the market are too complex for the purposes of an SME, and any tailor-made solution tends to be too expensive for SMEs to afford. The challenge has been the motivation for this research and development project, which aims to develop a supply-chain oriented information platform for SMEs in the manufacturing industry. This paper describes the business and technological requirements from the point of view of everyday business of an SME in the manufacturing industry