Retail Case Study: Grocery Distributor

Retail Case Study: Grocery Distributor

Customer Challenge

 

Business Need

A complex supplier network serving a variety of food and beverage channels with an inventory of over 60,000 food and non-food items requires an accurate account of every shipment that's coming and going. The challenge was to find a software solution that could manage all stock replenishment from convenience stores and retail locations, while at the same time, directing the distribution centers. On top of that, they needed to handle all internal data communication needs on a 24/7 basis.

IT Issue

This food supplier had a number of self-developed, IBM iSeries programs that they were currently running. It wasn't the conversion to and movement of EDI or XML data from the proprietary formats that was the only concern. That data then needed to be sent via a number of trading partner protocol requirements, including: FTPs, FTP, X.400/GXS and AS2. And, it became even more complicated than that. Certain trading partners required Drummond Certification and other partners required AS2 specifications like data encryption using 3DES 168 encryption and digital signatures in the SHA-1 signature algorithm. They needed a highly-certified, secure solution that facilitated communication in numerous protocols AND integrated with their IBM iSeries programs, while at the same time, being easy-to-use, and quick and efficient to implement.

 

CLEO Solution

CLEO VLTrader and CLEO VLProxy were installed to communicate with the EDI-XML converter and in-turn, the IBM iSeries programs. This CLEO VLTrader configuration architecture provided the high-availability that was critical to the food supplier's business and reached both inside and outside the organization. CLEO VLTrader was one of the most rigorously Drummond-tested managed file transfer solutions on the market and met all of their trading partner protocol requirements − and then some. With a full-featured AS2 protocol, CLEO VLTrader was able to meet the tightest requirements for specific protocol demands including digital signature requirements and certificate management. Through the use of the WebGUI in CLEO VLTrader, real-time inventory updates were transferred via handheld scanners at retail locations direct to the headquarter's inventory management systems. And, with 800 pre-configured connections, they were well equipped to on-board trading partners quickly and securely − well into the future.

 

Success Snapshot

Size: €2,258 Million, Over 5,500 Full-time Employees
Profile: One of the top 5 Retail Food Retail & Foodservice Companies in the Netherlands
Software and Services: CLEO VLTrader & CLEO VLProxy
Vertical Industries: Retail: Grocery Distributor
Country/Region: Western Europe
Business Need: Secure Data Management
IT Issue: Leverage Proprietary Systems & Meet Protocol Requirements