From printed pages to interactive product catalog app: Molex’s journey to digitize its product portfolio with softweb
Molex had an extensive collection of products. Their sales team relied on a printed catalog. That gap was costing business opportunities for them. We built a cross-platform mobile catalog app that gave Molex’s global sales force a smarter and faster way to sell on the go. The app delivers detailed visuals, instant search, and an optimized mobile experience.
Industry: Manufacturing
Business type: Enterprise
Services:Custom mobile app development and Product Information Management (PIM) implementation
Technology:Liferay, Java (Spring Boot), MySQL, React Native
Client profile
Molex, founded in 1938, is the second largest electronic connector company. It employs over 40,000 people across 74 manufacturing plants in 19 countries. Its product catalog covers more than 100,000 items, from fiber-optic cables to precision connectors.
Molex serves engineers and designers in some of the most demanding industries: aerospace and defense, automotive, alternative energy, medical devices, data infrastructure, consumer electronics, and telecommunications.
Technical challenges
Molex’s marketing and sales team needed a faster, more practical way to showcase the company’s full product range to customers. Here are the core challenges they faced:
Data Complexity
Each product had unique specs, attributes, and category tags that needed precise standardization.
Real-time Data Accuracy
Frequent product updates made delivering the latest specifications to field reps challenging across regions.
Tedious catalog prep
Building presentation-ready catalogs manually was time-consuming, limiting the team’s mobility and agility.
Slow product search
Locating the right product quickly during client meetings was difficult without a dedicated search tool.
Our solution
Softweb built a purpose-built mobile application for Molex to transform how their products were managed, accessed, and presented in the field. We designed a platform as a structured, scalable sales enablement tool to replace manual processes and eliminate version inconsistencies across a globally distributed sales force.
The app centralized the Molex product portfolio, complete with technical specifications, images, PDFs, and videos, into an organized digital environment. Product updates could be published centrally and reflected instantly across regions, ensuring field reps always have access to the latest specifications.
Structured product architecture
We established a defined product architecture to organize the portfolio through structured data models and attribute mapping. Each SKU followed a standardized specification framework to ensure consistency across product categories. Technical details were structured within clearly defined display layouts to support accurate in-field reference.
The content engine linked related documents and media assets directly to individual product records. Centralized control over product data was maintained through controlled publishing workflows within the backend console. Indexed metadata enabled accurate retrieval across the full product dataset.
Search and discovery engine
Our team designed a metadata-driven search framework to support large product volumes with speed and precision. The system indexed product names, attributes, specifications, and category tags. Users filtered results through dynamic parameter selection within the interface. Autocomplete suggestions guided search queries toward relevant results.
The search architecture handled high data loads without compromising performance. Structured tagging improved result precision across technical fields. The filtering engine narrowed results based on selected attributes. The interface presented organized product lists aligned with defined taxonomy rules.
Governance and access control
The solution introduced a structured governance model to enforce role-based access and publishing controls. Permission structures were defined for viewing, editing, and publishing content. A standardized approval process was built into the governance model to ensure content accuracy before release.
Authentication policies and device-level security standards were enforced across the platform. SSL encryption was implemented to protect data transmission between servers and mobile devices. The backend dashboard centralized configuration and lifecycle management, with controlled publishing settings governing content distribution across regions.
Usage intelligence
The platform incorporated an integrated analytics framework to capture product engagement and search behavior insights. The module aggregated engagement metrics across regions and user groups, making usage patterns visible at both a product and category level.
Exportable reporting dashboards were developed to give business teams access to summarized usage data. Behavioral interaction logs were maintained in alignment with governance policies. The reporting model was designed to feed usage visibility directly into ongoing product strategy and portfolio planning discussions.
Business goals and measurable outcomes
| Business objective | Business benefit delivered |
|---|---|
| Deliver a better selling experience | 30% improvement in user experience. The visual-first design helped the sales team engage customers faster with products. |
| Keep customers coming back | 20% increase in customer retention. On-demand access to the full catalog kept buyers engaged and reduced drop-off between sales touchpoints. |
| Grow revenue through better-equipped reps | 15% uplift in sales. Field reps could now present any product, answer specs on the spot, and close deals faster. |
| Build a stronger lead pipeline | Measurable increase in qualified leads. The app became a conversion tool at trade shows, client visits, and remote sales calls. |
Tech stack
- Mobile application
- React Native
- Backend and API layer
- Java (Spring boot), REST APIs, SSL encryption
- Content and data management
- Liferay (Digital experience platform), Product information management (PIM), MySQL (Relational database)
,Indexed metadata engine, Structured SKU/attribute data models
- Search, media, and discovery
- Metadata-driven search engine, Dynamic filtering and parameter selection, Autocomplete and taxonomy-based indexing, PDF Viewer integration, YouTube video embedding
- Analytics and reporting
- In-app usage analytics module, Engagement tracking (views, downloads, searches), Exportable reporting dashboards
- Security and governance
- SSL/TLS encrypted data transmission, Device-level security standards, Authentication & permission management
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