Web-based integration for virtual factory implementation

The current increasing competition in a global scale enabled by advancements in information and computing technologies (ICT) poses an opportunity as well as a challenge to manufacturing companies worldwide. Important part of this are advancements in CAD/CAM and CAE technologies now grouped in the, still in development phase, concept of Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), that in combination with the convergence of ERP systems and Internet technologies offer the possibility of a fully enabled Supply Chain Management alternative that seems essential to survive in the new century. This paper explores the incorporation of Internet technologies into the manufacturing sector by adopting a web based Virtual Factory (VF) concept model in which PLM is implemented over the Internet to enable an agile aggregation of SMEs.