Strengthening the collaboration among Eastern European SME clusters by implementing an open-source based tool and support platform

The Tool-and-Die making industry in Eastern Europe faces stringent competition due to globalization. Most European companies are highly specialised SMEs producing complex one-of-a-kind products used in mass production. Inter-organisational collaboration not only requires changes in organisational structures but also the ability to exchange business information, retrieve it, access it, process it and electronically communicate it to all the actors involved in any given business transaction. To do this, SMEs require collaborative ICT tools and internet platform that enable seamless information exchange. There are a number of ICT solutions and middleware which support such collaboration, but these are often not affordable or suitable for SMEs. This article presents an initiative aiming at improving the collaboration ability of SMEs by introducing a concept comprising a specific business process reference model and a modular open source-based collaboration tool with ERP/CRM functionalities, which can be integrated into already existing software systems allowing seamless information processing. Thereby, it will strengthen the competitiveness of Eastern European SMEs as well as improve their ability to collaborate.