An internal system for production processes
An internal industrial system for Chemolak replacing paper and spreadsheets — an operator PWA for tablets and an admin console, wired to SAP ERP.
Chemolak a.s., based in Smolenice, is one of the largest paint and coating manufacturers in Central Europe. The company continues production dating back to 1929 and today covers roughly 75% of domestic demand for paints and lacquers, with a portfolio of hundreds of products — from decorative coatings through universal wood and metal paints to industrial coatings.
As an established, operationally demanding manufacturing company, Chemolak needed to digitize processes directly on the production floor without disrupting the existing SAP environment the company runs on — replacing paper and spreadsheet production tracking with a digital tool right on the floor.
Building this industrial system, we tackled several key challenges.
- Tablet work in an operational environment
Floor operators don't sit at a computer with a keyboard — the interface needed large touch elements and passwordless login (worker ID + PIN).
- Bidirectional SAP integration
Orders arrive from SAP in multiple formats (CSV, JSON, XML) and confirmed data must reliably make it back, including status tracking for every record.
- Multi-stage production across workstations
A single order moves through multiple workstations (weighing → grinding → tinting → quality control → discharge), with the ability to pause and resume later.
- Refactoring the architecture mid-project
The originally separate Express API was merged directly into Next.js to form a single deployable unit — without interrupting delivery of new features.
We built a single monolithic Next.js 16 system with two entry points: an operator PWA optimized for floor tablets and an admin console for shift supervisors and production planners, both built on a single data model with 30+ Prisma models.
- An operator PWA with passwordless login via worker ID and PIN
- An order queue with delay alerts and a live raw-material weighing checklist
- An admin dashboard with production metrics and drag-and-drop order prioritization
- Management of machines, halls, workstations and user access
- Bidirectional SAP integration — CSV/JSON/XML import and a writeback queue with a custom state machine
- Reports on operator and workstation performance
Production process analysis
We mapped the production stages (weighing → grinding → tinting → quality control → discharge) and the existing SAP data flow.
UX for the floor tablet
We designed an interface with large touch elements, dark and light modes, and passwordless login.
Development and SAP integration
We implemented both the operator PWA and the admin console in Next.js 16 with bidirectional SAP integration via a writeback queue.
Refactoring and deployment
We merged the originally separate Express API directly into Next.js and deployed the system as a single Docker container behind Traefik.
Chemolak Mix replaced paper and spreadsheet records on the production floor with a digital system that gives shift supervisors and planners real-time visibility and writes confirmed data back into SAP without manual re-entry.