Soosan Cebotics

In the late 1980s, Soosan Cebotics made history by developing Korea’s first hydraulic breaker. Until that point, the market had been dominated by foreign manufacturers, making it tough for local companies to break through. Soosan’s success proved that homegrown innovation could compete on a global stage. Now, decades later, the industrial equipment manufacturer is stepping up its capabilities to develop smart construction machinery, keeping pace with digital transformation in the construction industry.

Developing this new generation of smart industrial equipment demands a fully integrated approach, where mechanics, electronics, and machine control software work in sync. This requires a platform which provides a seamless environment for designing connected components, enabling smooth communication between systems and allowing them to function as a cohesive whole.

“The goal is to establish a development environment that is fast, accurate, and simple,” said Kwang Yeol Lee, PLM project team leader at Soosan Cebotics. “This is why we’ve relied on Dassault Systèmes’ solutions for many years. As we continue to expand and broaden our capabilities in smart construction solutions, it has become even more important to have one common environment to streamline operations and enhance efficiency.”

As part of its strategy to strengthen its global presence, Soosan Cebotics has been expanding rapidly. The acquisition of DOOSUNG Specialty Vehicles reinforced its capabilities in specialized vehicles, while the recent merger with Soosan CSM consolidated its expertise in construction equipment and heavy machinery, and boosted its export business.

However, integrating these businesses presented challenges. Each company had different R&D and product lifecycle management (PLM) environments: Soosan Cebotics had already adopted Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE platform, while the others relied on legacy systems. Unifying operations under a single digital ecosystem was key to improving collaboration and efficiency. Streamlined operations, fewer errors in product development, and faster time to market have reinforced its commitment to digital transformation.

“These mergers are about more than just growth; they’re about building a more cohesive, technology-driven organization,” Lee said. “Bringing all businesses onto the 3DEXPERIENCE platform allows us to integrate our operations seamlessly, improve efficiency, and create a streamlined workflow across all departments. By working within a single digital environment, we’re able to work more efficiently and significantly reduce errors as we communicate and collaborate between each other.”

One of the biggest advantages of Dassault Systèmes’ solutions has been the transformation of bill of materials (BOM) preparation. By implementing a 150% BOM structure with ENOVIA, which encompasses the core product plus all potential configurations, Soosan can now generate customer-specific BOMs automatically. This eliminates manual adjustments and reduces errors.

When producing different models of hydraulic breakers, for instance, the system automatically picks the correct components for each variant, eliminating the need for manual selection. This speeds up procurement and cuts down on lead times.

“We previously struggled with inconsistencies due to a lack of the right tools,” Lee said. “Now, with BOM automation, we anticipate over a 50% improvement in accuracy. Since everything is already structured correctly, no additional processing is needed.”

Standardization has also improved significantly. The ability to generate a service BOM directly from the engineering BOM has streamlined the creation of part catalogs and 3D exploded views of products, making service operations more efficient. Now, when a customer requests maintenance for a specific machine, service teams can quickly retrieve an accurate parts list and plan the work they need to carry out, making repairs faster and keeping downtime to a minimum. In the past, engineering data inconsistencies made it difficult to align departments, but now all teams, from design to service, work with the same validated information.

“Our teams have easy access to accurate product specifications at every stage of development,” Lee said. “This has helped us manage products more efficiently and improve service operations.”

The 3DEXPERIENCE platform has brought major improvements to design and modeling accuracy. Integrated industrial equipment design and engineering data management with ENOVIA allows Soosan to handle complex products more systematically. This reduces inconsistencies between design models and final production units, and halves the time spent on design changes.

“Previously, discrepancies between our designs and the actual manufactured products led to issues such as misaligned components and unexpected assembly constraints,” Lee said. “Now, with Dassault Systèmes’ simulation and validation tools, we can refine designs before production and check for manufacturing feasibility, leading to higher quality and less rework. Sharing reliable simulation data across departments has also strengthened collaboration and accelerated product development.”

By connecting engineering data with manufacturing through DELMIA, Soosan is further reducing development costs and shortening product launch timelines. “Maintaining consistent BOM data across all teams helps to prevent miscommunication and lowers the risk of working with outdated information. Manufacturing teams always have the latest specifications, reducing the chances of assembling products with incorrect or obsolete parts, saving significant time and resources,” Lee added.

Soosan’s adoption of Dassault Systèmes’ Value Engagement methodology played a key role in making its digital transformation as smooth as possible. The company chose a structured, solution-based process innovation methodology to implement the 3DEXPERIENCE platform effectively, making sure that all teams from the mergers could align on a shared digital framework.

“Typically, companies prefer to maintain their unique processes and may be reluctant to adopt a solution-based methodology,” Lee said. “However, applying this approach offers clear advantages. It reduces costs, minimizes the effort required for business analysis and design, and simplifies future upgrades.”

By taking this route, Soosan successfully introduced new digital tools while bringing teams from Soosan Cebotics and its acquired businesses onto the same platform. This has improved coordination and established consistent workflows across all companies, allowing them to operate as a unified organization. “Even the project experts who initially opposed the solution are now all in favor and support its business model,” Lee said.

Soosan Cebotics is setting its sights on becoming one of the top three global players in its field by 2030, and digital transformation is central to this ambition. The next phase of its strategy involves integrating the PLM and enterprise resource planning systems in its two plants while improving production process design and work instructions. From there, Soosan will shift its focus to virtual process validation and broader digital advancements to strengthen its development capabilities, boost construction equipment innovation and achieve even greater operational efficiencies.

“Digital innovation is no longer just an ambition, it’s becoming the deciding factor in a company’s ability to compete and survive,” Lee said. “Based on our experience, Dassault Systèmes offers one of the most powerful and effective solutions for streamlining operations and boosting efficiency. The 3DEXPERIENCE platform enhances accuracy and simplifies workflows, which is why we confidently recommend it to other companies in the smart industrial equipment industry.”

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