How ICC Industries Mastered Global Data Exchange

BUSINESS NEED

ICC Industries is a commodities trading company that distributes chemicals, plastics, and pharmaceuticals around the world. Its subsidiary ICC Chemical Corporation supplies manufacturers with chemicals needed to make plastic, which in turn becomes shower curtains, plastic cups, and the polycarbonates used in baby bottles, safety goggles, and other common household goods. As a commodities company that also handles logistics and insurance for shipping these materials, security is essential not only for external file sharing but also for the smooth exchange of files internally.  

The HR department, specifically, must transmit confidential personnel and company information among divisions, including insurance files and other documents requiring HIPAA compliance. Additionally, ICC’s legal department and its executive team need a way to encrypt and deliver email containing massive file attachments to a variety of recipients. 

IT CHALLENGE

ICC’s main office is in New York City, but the company has divisions across the country and sales reps around the world. Sending large files outside the peripheral — including expense reports — and a secure exchange of data between organizations spurred the search for a simpler solution, and ICC targeted simplified file sharing from Point A to Point B via a web portal.  

ICC’s previous secure file server relied on Java and ActiveX controls that aren’t actively updated, and every Java update spun the company into a support cycle. With an electronic resource planning (ERP) tool on the horizon as well, a small footprint solution ICC could scale for future data integration was optimal.  

THE SOLUTION

Cleo Integration Cloud delivered an easy-to navigate folder sharing to equip various departments with their required functionality. Cleo Integration Cloud provided easy management of huge files, the required Transport Layer Security (TLS) inbound/outbound email encryption, and the audit trail to show actions on a given item.  

The ability to distribute new software updates to remote offices also added early benefits, as the Cleo technology enables multiple updates at once and limits the number of versions scattered across the company’s network. And with the licensing option for basically any number of external collaborators to act on a folder/document, Cleo delivers great mileage and a strong return on investment for ICC.