Case Study

 

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 food-related non-food items requires an accurate account of every shipment that's coming and going. The problem they faced was equally complex. The challenge was to find a software solution that could manage all remote communications from convenience stores and retail locations to handle replenishment while at the same time, directing the distribution centers responsible for the wholesale and foodservice business units. On top of that, they needed to communicate inside the organization too − around the clock.

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 got even more complicated than that. Certain trading partners required Drummond Certification, 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, all while being easy-to-use and quick to on-board.

 

 

Cleo Solution

VLTrader and VLProxy were installed to communicate with the EDI-XML converter and in turn, the IBM iSeries programs. This VLTrader configuration provided the high availability that was critical to the food supplier's business and reached both inside and outside the organization. VLTrader is 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, 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 VLTrader, real-time inventory updates were transferred via handheld scanners at retail locations direct to the headquarter inventory management systems. And, with 650 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 Food Retail & Foodservice Companies in the Netherlands
Software and Services: VLTrader & VLProxy
Vertical Industries: Retail, Wholesale, Grocery & Foodservice
Country/Region: Western Europe
Business Need: Secure Information Management
IT Issue: Leverage Proprietary Systems & Meet Protocol Requirements

 

 

Grocery Distributor Case Study - PDF