Company
Date Published
Author
Galit Gontar & Robert Edwards
Word count
3167
Language
English
Hacker News points
None

Summary

Glidewell Laboratories, a vertically integrated company with over 4,500 employees, was struggling with an obscured manufacturing process that caused efficiency challenges in developing personalized dental-related products. To address this issue, they adopted a polyglot persistence approach using Neo4j for the live workflow and MongoDB for versioning and metadata. The benefits of the Neo4j workflow engine include its generic, modular, and reusable nature, which allows it to accommodate complex workflows with conditional processes and failure steps. The company was able to improve efficiency, consistency, and visibility in their manufacturing process, making it more transparent and data-driven. They also implemented a unique user view system, allowing managers to track product progress and technicians to submit missing tasks, leading to improved productivity and accuracy.