SoftExpert drives Endutex factory’s digital transformation, ensuring traceability of 670,000 production records

On the production line, precision isn’t optional—it’s the foundation of everything. When manufacturing technical materials for industrial applications, even the smallest failure can compromise not only a component but also the trust of the entire market. With this awareness and responsibility, Endutex—a multinational with over half a century of history and innovation—took a strategic step: digitalizing its key processes. This transformation spans from product development to final quality control, while also supporting the company’s entire quality management system, including performance monitoring on the SoftExpert platform.

The challenge: growing without losing control

Despite the recognized quality of its products, Endutex faced a dilemma common to many growing companies: quality and production processes were still based on manual tools such as Word files, Excel spreadsheets, and paper records—a model that no longer kept pace with operations.

The main goal was to improve internal processes, especially handling incidents and managing nonconformities, which required greater agility, control, and standardization. The company also needed access to the same advanced quality tools used in the automotive industry (APQP, FMEA, Control Plans, Statistical Process Control).

In a context where efficiency and traceability are critical—particularly in demanding industries like automotive, one of Endutex’s main markets—it became clear it was time for change.

The turning point: a smarter, more connected, and efficient factory

More than just a short-term fix, SoftExpert stood out by offering a complete solution. Initially sought to address quality challenges, especially with the tools required by automotive customers, the platform was quickly expanded to other areas. This ability to go beyond the initial problem and deliver strategic business value was the differentiator Endutex was looking for.

“SoftExpert came in to solve a specific issue, but we ended up transforming our entire quality management system: product development, project management, nonconformity handling, continuous improvement, audits, product quality control—everything became integrated. The major differentiator was SoftExpert’s ability to unify it all on a single platform,” said Endutex Production Director, Emmanuel Plocque.

The entry point was Quality, where the platform is now used for process mapping, document management and distribution, nonconformity management, audits, and performance measurement through KPIs and scorecards.

In the Development Lab, it supports product development project management, failure mode analysis, and lessons learned tracking.

In the Quality Control Lab, the technology became essential for instrument calibration control and structured quality data collection, fully integrated with Statistical Process Control (SPC).

“SPC was a major improvement over our previous solution, providing robust data and allowing us to explore it in a much more practical and comprehensive way. This enabled deeper analysis of product characteristics and their correlation with variables in the production process,” added Emmanuel.

Today, Endutex has:

• A robust Statistical Process Control (SPC) system, with more than 670,000 historical records, enabling real-time monitoring.
• Digital forms integrated with data collection, used directly at workstations by operators.
• Centralized, standardized process mapping, technical documentation management, and problem-solving.
• Corporate scorecards connecting production, quality, environmental, safety, and financial performance indicators.

With SoftExpert, data is no longer passive—it’s become a strategic asset.

Results that make a difference in the industry

The digital transformation brought measurable results to Endutex, such as:

• Complete traceability of production series and batches (over 670,000 records), including operator identification and control parameter history.
• Faster, safer access to critical shop floor information through controlled, digitized document management.
• Improved handling of nonconformities, with better use of information and lessons learned.
• Elimination of manual processes, boosting productivity and accuracy.
• Reduced paper consumption, with some processes—such as product development—now entirely paperless.
• Greater engagement of the operations team, who now feel like active participants in continuous improvement.

End-to-end quality: integration and traceability across the entire chain

At Endutex, quality is a commitment across the entire operation—and now that commitment is supported by a fully digital, integrated system. With the SoftExpert Suite, all quality management activities are centralized in one environment, enabling total traceability and collaboration across production, logistics, and development. From planning and assurance to process control and continuous improvement, the solution ensures consistency, compliance with established standards, and agility to meet market demands. The result: a more efficient, connected operation focused on delivering real value to customers.

Inside the transformation: automotive-grade technology with intelligence

While Endutex operates across multiple industrial sectors, its biggest challenges are in the highly regulated automotive industry. To meet these demands, the company adopted the SoftExpert Suite.

Choosing SoftExpert was critical to ensuring scalability, information security, and immediate access to strategic data—key factors for a fast, integrated, high-performance operation.

Today, Endutex’s management is completely different: instead of searching across multiple sources for information, decisions are now based on reliable, integrated, real-time data accessible from anywhere.

Mobility has also become part of daily life: 5S audits are now performed directly at workstations. The next step will be extending mobile data collection through tablets and smartphones.

Endutex also leverages advanced Business Intelligence tools to monitor results. Corporate scorecards track KPIs such as revenue, production, rejection rates, workplace accidents, and response times to nonconformities. The analytics module provides deeper insights across operations, strengthening decision-making and the culture of continuous improvement.

Next steps: strategic maintenance and continuous evolution

Endutex is in the final stages of implementing production equipment maintenance management, covering both preventive and corrective actions—an essential step to ensuring greater availability and reliability.

The next milestone will be updating platform forms to make them even more mobile-friendly. With most strategic modules already in place, the company is now focusing on continuous improvement of the solution, enhancing the user experience, and expanding the gains achieved with the SoftExpert Suite.