Replatforming a logistic client’s trading partner integrations to IBM ACE
Following strategic restructuring within the organisation, our client wanted to upgrade their platform integrations with some of their prime customers in a way that had minimal impact on the distribution and warehousing services provided to these customers.
The customers were themselves large-scale European manufacturers supplying a global network of retailers, all of which needed robust, reliable and responsive systems to manage their warehousing and distribution needs.
The main issue to be addressed was that the customers used different systems with various data requirements and outputs, and each had their own method of data transfer.
The client
We worked with a global leader in the supply chain, logistics and transportation sector to replatform their existing systems integrations to IBM ACE. With a network of centres across Europe, with tens of thousands of vehicles and more than 1,000,000m2 of warehouse space, the need for reliable and consistent integration was clear.
The Solution
The solution required from DeeperThanBlue was to build an IBM ACE (App Connect Enterprise) layer as the interface between the customers’ platforms and those used by our client. IBM ACE is a flexible integration solution which allows developers to connect applications and data across various systems and environments, enabling seamless integration and data exchange as well as supporting a modern API integration framework.
The ACE installation developed by DeeperThanBlue enabled integration with systems based on IBM MQ, SAP and SOAP, could handle file types including MQ, CSV and IDoc and transferred data via FTP and HTTP. DeeperThanBlue recommended hosting the new solution in the public cloud, and the client agreed to host this on the Google Cloud Platform since DeeperThanBlue is a specialist Google Cloud partner agency. We then architected a solution that would securely connect with our client’s back-office systems and with their clients’ systems. The Google Cloud Platform service is run by DeeperThanBlue as an AMS services on behalf of our client.
Since there were some elements of integration in existence, our client was able to provide some elements of existing code and their customer data for us to run through a compiler before augmenting it with bespoke code and thoroughly testing it to ensure that input data was imported correctly, and the output was as expected. The development work also included the addition of monitoring and error handling modules to help with ongoing maintenance of the system.
The fully compiled and tested system was then placed into ACE and connections established between both our client’s systems and their customers’ systems.
Ongoing Support
With the solution now in place, DeeperThanBlue provide extended business hours support to our client, whereby issues and incidents will be reviewed between 8am and 6pm, assessed and prioritised subject to severity levels, and resolved according to the service level agreement. This support includes monitoring data quality and connectivity and error handling and resolution.