Press release – January 27, 2025

Global PLM platform: Big Dutchman and CONTACT Software launch innovation partnership

The market leader in barn equipment is implementing a seamless configure-to-order process with CIM Database Cloud. As part of an innovation partnership, Big Dutchman and CONTACT will advance the PLM solution together.

A modern agricultural barn is a high-tech facility. Connected equipment controls aspects such as climate and feeding, while sensors collect real-time data on everything from temperature to water consumption per animal. The barn equipment specialist Big Dutchman ensures that all these components work together in perfect harmony. The market leader offers solutions for pig and poultry farming, greenhouses, and insect farming. Big Dutchman is now replacing its existing PLM system with CIM Database Cloud Enterprise. After the go-live, more than 200 users will be working with CONTACT Software’s PLM solution.

Big Dutchman has launched the PLM initiative “Cimplify” based on CIM Database Cloud to prepare for further growth. The goal: consistent data and automated, efficient processes that shorten time-to-market and improve customer experience. The cloud-hosted “Platform as a service” (PaaS) solution optimally facilitates the use as a global PLM system while reducing efforts for infrastructure and administration. At the same time, DevOps services enable extensive customizations, comparable to an on-premises system.

Representatives of Big Dutchman and CONTACT Software stand smiling in front of an orange background. — Representatives from Big Dutchman and CONTACT seal the innovation partnership, including Big Dutchman’s CFO Erkul Basaran (2nd from left) and COO Dr. Thomas Dalstein (2nd from right) as well as CONTACT’s Managing Director Maximilian Zachries (4th from left).

At Big Dutchman, every barn installation is custom-made – precisely tailored to the building’s architecture, local environmental conditions, and climate control requirements. To support this, the new PLM system enables an end-to-end configure-to-order (CTO) process. CONTACT’s variant management allows the company to consolidate engineering expertise early in the process, configure products with ease, and supply downstream processes and systems with data.

“With CIM Database Cloud, we connect product data across the entire value chain and create seamless processes from development and procurement all the way to logistics, sales, and customer service,” says Erkul Basaran, CFO of Big Dutchman. The two companies formed an innovation partnership to further develop the solution, particularly regarding the bill of materials data model and the implementation of CONTACT’s Catalyst 2.0 integration architecture. Big Dutchman discusses requirements directly with CONTACT’s product development, which incorporates them into the product standard where suitable.

For more than 85 years, Big Dutchman has been developing high-tech farming solutions for protein and plants, promoting animal-friendly and sustainable practices. The family-owned company from Vechta, Germany, employs around 3,200 people across all five continents. Big Dutchman holds more than 500 patents and generated a revenue of over one billion euros in 2024.

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