Watlow Electric Manufacturing Company (Watlow), a MAC-PAC user since 1996, has selected the MAC-PAC XE Customer-Centric Configuration (C3) solution to integrate with its in-house developed Internet sales and service system. The decision to implement C3 was made after a successful ‘proof of concept’ pilot showing that C3 could be seamlessly integrated with Watlow’s Unix-based, Java eCommerce application running on an Oracle database while utilizing their existing MAC-PAC XE Expert Configurator (EC) rules maintained on the IBM iSeries platform.

“C3 provides us with by far the best option for integrating our web-based eCommerce application on the front end with our iSeries-based MAC-PAC XE sales and manufacturing system on the back end,” states Linda Wilhite, IS Manager at Watlow. “The ability to maintain and use a single set of rules makes it possible for us to move our configured products to our web-based sales order entry and inquiry environment much faster and much more confidently than we could with our previous solution. The extended rules and multiple view capability C3 provides, give us all the control we need to make end-customer configuration clear and easy to use.”

Watlow evaluated and selected C3 after performing a pilot project to create and synchronize an existing rule set developed in EC to replace a redundant set of logic developed using another configurator product. That redundant approach proved to be expensive and hard to maintain, with too much potential for discrepancies. In the C3 proof of concept, TDCI was able to show Watlow that their existing EC rules could be transferred directly to C3, extended for more intuitive display of features and options, and used immediately. This allows base rules to be maintained in one place, within EC, and used for both configuration environments.

Watlow is now in the process of moving products to their web-based application and expects to go live with C3 in the next several months. The implementation approach they have chosen is to move groups of rule sets into production as product views are complete, eventually replacing their previous solution.

Watlow uses MAC-PAC XE at all of its domestic plants – a total of 6 sites – and is using TDCI Integration Server to integrate C3 and the on-line sales system with the systems that support those sites.

About Watlow

Watlow is a leader in engineering and manufacturing commercial electric heaters, industrial heaters, electric heating elements, temperature sensors and temperature controllers - all the elements in a complete thermal system.

Since the company's founding in 1922, Watlow has brought its thermal expertise to numerous applications, including semiconductor, plastics processing, foodservice equipment, life sciences, power generation and others. Headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, Watlow is the largest custom designer and manufacturer of industrial heaters, sensors, controllers and software with offices and manufacturing facilities around the world.