Visibility and collaboration

Use BizTalk Server to enable an efficient and productive global supply chain. Integrate and collaborate with your external partners, and monitor the business activities of your distributed environment.

  BizTalk offers these solutions:

• Shared specs via EDI/Standards-based data exchanges across a variety of networks/VANS
• Collaborative forecasts via real-time updating of supply networks and in-transit deliveries
• Real-time visibility via RFID for shipment/component/finished goods control
• Lower costs using B2B commerce hubs for RFI/RQ
• Automate manual efforts through rule-based information management

“Not only have we taken IT out of supporting daily business processes, but we’ve also streamlined those processes and given customers visibility into the value we provide within the procurement cycle.”

“The Orchestration Designer in BizTalk Server helps us eliminate custom development, which means we can spend less time on building a solution that will work.”

Plant floor to enterprise visibility

Lower your manufacturing costs and increase productivity by gaining visibility on your suppliers, factory performance, price fluctuations, and product availability.

  BizTalk provides:

• Rapid notification of changes/delays/quality issues that can impact “factory networks” via RFID
• Connecting through standards-based accelerators
• Real-time visibility for SAP and Axapta via adapters

Streamline production

Lean manufacturing requires precision delivery of materials to manufacturing and assembly points that are often in a geographically disbursed environment.

  Biz Talk’s enhanced capabilities allow:

• Total synchronization and automated escalation via real-time messaging to support inventory flow from supply points to the shop floor
• Real-time visibility via RFID and plant floor integration
• Inventory fluctuation notification to any device
• Intelligent fulfillment from any supply point to any assembly point by triggering alternate workflows based on exception conditions

Reduce defects

Manufacturing defects have major business impact, and product recalls are very expensive.

  BizTalk facilitates:

• Rapid notification of issues for prompt mitigation and impact planning
• Accurate tracking of issue and source origination
• Broadcast alerts to a variety of devices and escalation points
• Communicate to downstream partners and point to the exact product that needs recall

“We now have greater visibility into our inventory and flow of materials. That gives us the potential to reduce on-hand inventory and the costs associated with that inventory.”

“We see this solution as the foundation of a long-term approach to optimization that will help Lyondell maintain its competitive edge.”

Create a unified view of your customer

Use BizTalk to integrate and analyze data distributed across marketing systems, warranty systems, ordering systems, partner or distributor systems, and social media.

BizTalk Server orchestrates customer needs and:

• Acquires and transforms data across a variety of different systems using Messaging, to build a single view of the customer
• Monitors activities with exception-based alerts (using the Business Rules Engine (BRE)
• Integrates with industry-wide B2B networks and standards like RosettaNet, HIPAA, HL7, and SWIFT

Promote and fulfill customer needs

Effectively manage rebate offers and automate the processes for trade fund offers, reimbursements, and inventory management. Implement intelligent, rules-based connections to “stand beside” your existing solutions and enhance your capabilities.

Rapid response to product recalls ensuring a great customer experience and safety compliance

Recalls are expensive and time consuming. For most manufacturers, there is no single system in place to trigger or handle a safety recall.

  BizTalk allows you to:

• Dynamically trace the inclusion of a defective part across a variety of finished goods
• Locate customers to whom you have shipped the concerned products
• Perform cross-system, cross-catalog, or cross-shipment lookup
• Create automated alerts and escalation to notify the appropriate personnel

"We were creating 2,000 to 3,000 product packets per year. With the service-oriented architecture solution built on BizTalk Server, we’re on pace to do about 11,000 per year."

“We are now increasing the proportion of business that Visy transacts via e-commerce. We process a lot more transactions in a lot less time with fewer resources.”