Industrial clusters are typically product-oriented communities. Within clusters, there are companies focusing on different stages of the manufacturing cycle (e.g., treating raw materials, assembling). All companies maintain a high degree of specialisation on the final product. Product know-how has been transferred from one generation of workers to the other and work force mobility is low. In periods of growth, the number of companies has multiplied through spin-offs and outsourcing, spreading the knowledge of products and processes. Typical customers of these clustered small- and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are medium-large companies selling to final customers world-wide. Sub-subcontracting is observed frequently, as excess demand is passed on from one small company to the other when an order cannot be fulfilled internally. In most cases it is done in quite an informal and hectic way through a network of relationships. The need for better collaboration requires a faster, more reliable and integrated support system in order to facilitate industrial collaboration among SMEs. The adaptation of a supporting system, an Enterprise Resource Planning system (ERP) is one precondition for better collaboration. In the Tool East project we are focusing on development of an ERP solution with the business concept and related services, which will meet the specific needs of manufacturing companies in the tool and die-making industrial sector. An international consortium of research organizations, SW developers and manufacturing companies has been set up to implement this project.
