With a global user base and more than 3,300 employees in about 50 companies, the Komax Group, a global market leader in automated wire processing, sought to modernize its business. But it was imperative to the company that any solution it implemented was both flexible and able to keep pace with the scale and distribution of Komax’s business.
According to the Komax website, customer proximity together with short reaction and supply times are crucial to success. This is why Komax has been applying the motto “global local” for many years—global production with a unique local sales, engineering and service network across all continents.
Using the IBM® StepZen Graph Server solution, Komax built a GraphQL layer that connects to its internal data in PostgreSQL databases and numerous microservices. The company’s first application built on StepZen1 (link resides outside of ibm.com) was a new website that enables integration and consolidation of all Komax Group companies on a single platform.
With the new website built out in a matter of weeks, Komax is now expanding to other back ends and use cases. For example, by connecting Salesforce through StepZen’s GraphQL layer, the company is able to deliver richer content into the self-service capabilities they are building for customers.
1StepZen is now part of IBM API Connect. This organization's purchase of the solution occurred before StepZen was acquired by IBM in February 2023, therefore StepZen is referred to as a standalone solution in this case study.
According to Salvatore Ruggiero, the Lead of Digital Programs at Komax, “StepZen delivers the technical foundation to build the future digital business cases of Komax fast and efficiently by allowing us to combine various data sources and services easily.”
To support its global user base, it was imperative that the data delivery layer could keep up with the scale and distribution needed.
It was also important to Komax that StepZen could handle heterogeneous data models and APIs (as compared to another vendor the company evaluated, which focused mainly on databases). StepZen’s architectural superiority and GraphQL-as-a-Service made Komax’s decision and efforts much easier.
Additionally, the Komax team valued the excellent support by StepZen during the onboarding and adoption of the service.
Komax (link resides outside of ibm.com) is the world market leader in automated wire processing—manufacturing series machines and customized systems for all levels of automation and individualization. Quality assurance modules, test equipment, intelligent software and networking solutions complete the portfolio, and ensure safe, flexible and efficient production.
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