We’re struggling to find the right balance between protecting our CAD intellectual property and enabling effective supplier collaboration. Our current approach uses strict access controls that prevent suppliers from viewing complete assembly structures, but this creates communication gaps and increases error rates in supplier deliverables.
Suppliers need enough context to manufacture components correctly, but we can’t expose proprietary designs or competitive information. Some suppliers are requesting access to full assembly models to understand fit and function, which our security team flatly rejects. Meanwhile, engineering complains that limited supplier visibility leads to manufacturing issues that could have been prevented.
How are other organizations handling this tension? What access control models or digital rights management approaches allow appropriate supplier collaboration without compromising IP security?
We use simplified representations for supplier collaboration. Engineering creates lightweight views of assemblies that show interface geometry and mounting points without revealing internal design details. Suppliers get enough information to manufacture their components correctly while our IP remains protected. The key is having a clear process for what level of detail suppliers actually need versus what they request.
Digital rights management helps but isn’t a complete solution. We implemented view-only access with watermarking for supplier workspaces. Suppliers can view assembly context through the web interface but cannot download or export CAD files. The watermarking tracks who accessed what and when, which provides audit logging for compliance. However, suppliers still complain about limited functionality compared to native CAD access. It’s a compromise that neither side loves but both can work with.
From a legal perspective, supplier workspaces with proper NDAs and access logging provide adequate protection for most collaboration scenarios. The real risk isn’t suppliers viewing assembly context - it’s unauthorized distribution or competitive disclosure. Implement time-limited access that expires when projects complete, maintain detailed audit trails showing exactly what each supplier accessed, and ensure suppliers acknowledge confidentiality terms before gaining access. These controls demonstrate reasonable IP protection efforts if disputes arise.
The manufacturing perspective is often overlooked in these security discussions. When suppliers don’t have adequate design context, we see increased fit issues, assembly problems, and costly rework. Last quarter we had three major production delays because suppliers manufactured components to specification but didn’t understand how they integrated with surrounding parts. The security cost of restricted access is real and measurable in manufacturing quality and schedule impacts. We need better balance between protection and collaboration effectiveness.