2 page Case Study - Posted 6/18/2008
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Spanish Manufacturer Integrates New Customers in Just Two Days with Process
Grupo Antolin produces interior components for car manufacturers worldwide. When the company expands, it integrates new customers, logistics operators, and suppliers with its central business system. But a single integration took two weeks and only the IT department could manage information. With a system based on Microsoft® BizTalk® Server 2006 R2, interchanges are integrated in just two days, and managers can access reliable information in real time.
Business Needs
Spain-based Grupo Antolin is a market leader in the design and manufacture of car-interior products for the automobile industry. It operates in 23 countries with more than 10,000 employees, and in 2006 achieved an annual turnover of €1,937 million (U.S.$3,049 million).
The group produces components for manufacturers including Nissan, Renault, PSA Peugeot Citroën, Ford, and DaimlerChrysler. As its customer base expands, it opens new information interchanges. But managing the exchange across a growing number of suppliers and customers presents a significant challenge.
To handle huge volumes of information, Grupo Antolin has pioneered the use of electronic data exchange (EDI) throughout the entire supply chain—from factory and customer orders, to delivery schedules and invoices.
The group has to support all EDI formats used by its trading partners, including ANSI, Odette, EDIFACT, and VDA. The different formats have to be integrated and normalised before they are processed in the company’s SAP enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. But integration could take up to two weeks.
Since 2004, the group has relied on a system based on BizTalk Server 2000, which acts as an interface between the outside world and the company’s ERP system. With the release of the latest technology, it was keen to take advantage of new features.
Susana Cuevas, EDI Area Manager for Grupo Antolin, says: “BizTalk Server 2006 R2 is much more than an upgrade. It’s a totally new .NET-based solution offering greater power and processing capacity, as well as improved integration and security for all our processes.”
In addition, the company wanted to develop a tool to give division managers and employees access to the wealth of supply-chain information available through BizTalk Server. Carlos Arozamena, IT Senior Executive at Antolin Group, says: “Only the IT team could access system data. If someone in logistics had a problem with a delivery message, they had to call IT to identify the source of the issue. It was a time-consuming process and led to errors.”
Solution
In October 2006, Microsoft consultants analysed the company’s business and technology requirements, and advised on the design of the new system. Impressed with its plans, Grupo Antolin invited Microsoft to help implement and pilot a solution based on BizTalk Server 2006 R2 and Microsoft .NET technology.
The new system includes an EDI Accelerator for BizTalk Server from Covast, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and specialist in EDI messaging. A complete, modular architecture means that each new component can be re-used, and new features and services are developed quickly and easily. All data is stored and managed within a Microsoft SQL Server® 2005 database.
The team extended the out-of-the-box monitoring tools in BizTalk Server 2006 with a powerful mechanism that registers application events. In addition, it developed an EDI web portal using Microsoft ASP.NET so that information workers as well as IT professionals can monitor processed information.
Now, programme managers view comprehensive order progress for their region on a daily basis instead of waiting days to receive reports from the IT team, and information workers can access relevant data without relying on the IT department. For example, if someone in logistics has a problem with a message, they can identify the source of the issue and solve it independently.
For the development environment, the team used Microsoft Visual Studio® 2005 Team System, which integrates with BizTalk Server 2006. The software provided valuable source control and a document repository shared between project team members.
Servers are now clustered so that if one fails, another ensures the system continues to run. This means information is highly available and more secure. Roberto Santamaria, Project Manager for Grupo Antolin, says: “Overall, BizTalk Server 2006 R2 has proven to be impressive, open, and flexible. We now have a single, advanced solution for the entire company that integrates with all applications.”
Benefits
With the new technology Grupo Antolin can process orders faster, increasing customer satisfaction, and at the same time cutting costs. Arozamena says: “We have a much more powerful solution, can process more orders, and can view useful information across the business.” What’s more, the system is easier to manage, and the group can integrate new customers and suppliers in just two days instead of two weeks.
- Managers and employees in departments across the business can see all order data in real time using the new monitoring tool. With access to detailed information, they can identify specific suppliers or problematic orders and resolve issues faster.
- Information is monitored and checked by the relevant business divisions so that any errors are picked up faster and data is more reliable.
- The IT department has saved time equivalent to one full-time employee. This means they have more time for value-added tasks across the group.
- The IT team can integrate new suppliers and customers, regardless of the EDI format they use, in two days instead of two weeks.
- Order reports are automatically generated and sent to the relevant business departments, giving employees easy access to data so they can respond to customer and supplier needs faster.
- Information is highly available and more secure, ensuring business continuity and offering customers a more reliable service.
- The IT team saves money with a system that is easier to manage, resulting in reduced costs.
For More Information
For more information about other Microsoft customer successes, please visit: www.microsoft.com/resources/casestudies
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