From growth to a repeatable exchange process
M-TEC needed a data-transfer route that could support a growing multidisciplinary engineering team without adding unnecessary software overhead.
The group develops interior and exterior products for high-profile OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers, while also working across rail and medical projects. Its exchange process therefore needs to accommodate different customers, formats, locations and project teams.
The starting point
Email and FTP were no longer a sufficient default for heavy engineering files and a widening customer network.
Direct VPN links remained useful for selected larger clients, but M-TEC needed a scalable route for the many exchanges that sat outside those dedicated connections.
01Building a specialist engineering business
M-TEC has more than twenty years of experience providing resourcing solutions to the automotive and engineering sectors from Birmingham. In 2010, the company expanded with the formation of M-TEC Group, a stand-alone engineering and design centre based in Coventry.
The group grew to a team of 50 programme managers, lead engineers, design engineers and engineering-support staff focused on taking product ideas from concept through to realisation. Alongside automotive work for OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers, it diversified into the rail and medical sectors.
02Recognising the limits of email and FTP
M-TEC had direct VPN connections into some larger customers, but other exchanges initially depended on email or FTP sites. During an intensive global project, one customer introduced the team to a branded version of MX for transferring large files through a web-based process.
M-TEC recognised that the same approach could support its own engineers, customers and suppliers. Working with Majenta Solutions, it introduced customised MX access for secure exchanges with remote offices and external companies.
03Choosing an exchange layer that could scale
The attraction was not simply file speed. M-TEC valued a proven route that did not require third-party software to be installed and managed on every participant's device, and that could be used from different locations through an internet connection.
For organisations facing a similar mix of dedicated customer networks and ad hoc transfer requirements, a controlled corporate file-exchange layer can sit alongside existing systems rather than forcing every workflow through one tool.