An e-catalog allows SMC Corp.of America to efficiently present its complex product line to manufacturing customers.

By Alicia Orr Suman

“In 1999 we started to look for a solution, but we weren’t sure if we should go with a CD-ROM or a Web-based solution,” Hoffer says of the initial phase of the project.

Two key variables determined which direction SMC should take with the catalog. First, it needed the capability to configure an almost-custom product. And second, the ability to provide CAD files to display which options customers wanted to see.