AutoInergy & Al Software
Products:
Kendo UIChallenge
AutoInergy’s manual process for approving 2-D CAD drawings was time-consuming and tedious. A custom application was needed to automate the process.Solution
Working with AI Software, AutoInergy leveraged Kendo UI and UI for MVC to develop a cross-platform custom application within 11 weeks that automates approvals.Result
The time required to approve drawings was slashed by more than 50%, enabling AutoInergy to approve as many as 105 drawings in just two weeks, up from 100 in a month.Full Story
Challenge
AutoInergy, a division of Plastic-Omnium, is a tier-one supplier of complete plastic fuel systems and emission reduction related fluids systems to car manufacturers. The company’s engineering and design team designs 2-D CAD Drawings for various parts and sends them to suppliers throughout the world, who use the drawings to quote and manufacture the parts.
AutoInergy was processing the approvals of drawings manually by printing, stamping, signing and scanning them in PDF format, and uploading them to locations where suppliers had secure access to view them. This manual process required reprinting and re-signing, and was wasting time and resources. In fact, a staff member was dedicated to coordinating approvals and transferring the paperwork to suppliers. To replace this function and automate the process, the team needed a custom application.
“Our coordinator was retiring, so we had to build the custom app quickly,” said Jeremy Lempicki, Manager at AutoIntergy. “Otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to send our approved drawings to suppliers in a timely manner.”
Solution
Progress partner AI Software built a custom web application using Kendo UI® by Progress and Telerik® UI for MVC by Progress.
“Kendo UI provides AI developers with a feature-rich set of browser-based HTML 5 and jQuery controls that are easy to use and work seamlessly in cross-platform browsers,” said Piyush Bhatt, CEO of AI Software. “UI for MVC provides the platform to create fast-performing web applications.”
AI Software delivered a new application within 11 weeks that renders seamlessly in different types of desktop browsers. The application enables engineers and designers to open the PDF drawing and stamp it using the digital signature to mark it approved. When an authorized person transfers the drawing to one or more suppliers, the file is compressed and uploaded to a shared location from which the suppliers can download the drawing using secure file transfer protocols. The application automatically notifies the suppliers of the transferred drawing.
The application uses SQL Server on the backend and supports multiple cross-browser platforms. The AI team built a T4 template-based custom data access layer to speed up development.
The team included two developers and one senior developer. “AI’s team was proficient with the Kendo UI controls and .NET in general, and this helped them deliver the solution quickly,” said Bhatt.
Result
The new application enables AutoInergy users to quickly approve and transfer drawings to suppliers. “With the old, manual process, our users could only approve about 100 drawings per month,” said Lempicki. “With the new application based on Progress solutions, they approved 105 drawings in just two weeks. In other words, their efficiency doubled.”
User feedback has been extremely positive with regard to the application’s ease of use and the speed at which they can complete their 2D Drawing approvals and transfers.