To compete and to thrive in the dynamic global markets it is imperative for the regional based tool and die making workshops to form sustainable collaborative networks. Further, virtual inter-organisational collaboration not only requires changes in the organisational structure but also to increase the dependence on readily available information. The efficiency and effectiveness of this information depends on suitable collaboration tools; especially on the ICT infrastructure as well as trust and cultural understanding between collaborating partners. The ability for efficient networked collaboration is of key importance for SMEs. At the moment, there are no affordable and customizable ERP tools for such a networked collaboration among SMEs in the tool and die making sector. Tool East will provide a cost-efficient ERP application on the basis of existing open source ERP applications. Those will be adapted and modified for the specific requirements of this branch in order to support the efficient coordination of intra-enterprise order processing and strengthen competition and competitiveness of Eastern European SMEs. Primarily, orders management, work planning, resource allocation and CRM need to be optimised and linked together in a dynamic work environment.

One main challenge of this project is to use open source technology for the development of an integrated business application for tool and die making enterprises with high performance regarding availability, safety and maintainability at the very onset. This will also be enriched by enabling coordination between the different players in this sector. Strengthening the open source initiative in general and particularly in this field of business opens an enormous potential for SMEs. A successful case study and dissemination platform in the specific branch addressed in this project paves the way for future initiatives. Since demands for business software from other branches with specific SME structures are predominantly comparable, results from this project can be transferred easily, so that a large impact can be assumed.

These video documents report on the ToolEast Training Environment (TETE), its concept, strategy and future plans. It focuses on the Tool-East training program and courses developed in ToolEast and the ...