B2B4C - Business to business for commerce

Commercial communication – electronically and under control

This is a flexible solution, which will ensure you a complete electronic communication channel with your commercial partners, where everyone can use a different format and method of communication and these can be combined even for different parts of the business case/cooperation. The ongoing (or not ongoing) communication and workflow can be monitored and interventions can be made in it using a simple and safely accessible information portal.

Characteristics of solution

The solution is based on the current needs of business communication in the area of purchase/sales/distribution of consumer goods, trends and modern, tried and tested technological architecture.The aim of the system is to provide a tool for improving the effectiveness of the actual business organisation, intercompany communication and everything associated therewith. This is ensured by improving the quality of and expanding the complete internal/external communication with the possibility of utilisation of free channels. All communication is automatically managed by configurable processes, which ensure monitoring and alerting.

This higher form of integration allows transparent transfer to another type of communication channel, and as a result it is possible to adapt without problem to the constant pressure of the environment and business partners for changes in technologies.

The system is intended for integration with the current internal ERP systems, the functionality of which it replaces and expands in an easy manner. This is also ensured due to the multilanguage user interface implemented in the form of a portal, where everyone involved can view their business messages/documents and also generate associated documents, for example, delivery notes, invoices, including electronic signature, offer of goods etc.

One part of the system is the module SRM (Supplier Relationship Management) for managing relations with the suppliers which, in addition to a large volume of information, contains several process workflows and a set of information services for mass communication which is at the same time addressed information.

Benefits of solution

B2B4C is an open solution based on the global EDI standard of business communication, which is used on a mass scale. The system fully supports this standard, but also advances it and expands it to a new era of business correspondence. It involves the use of communication channels WS and ebXML for EDI XML. All business messages are presented in the business context on the portal using an internet browser. So in addition to being a communication crossroads, the portal also becomes a highly transparent information tool for both parties to a transaction.

• savings for paid EDI communication (EDI provider, transformation and number of messages) or fax both for the owner/operator and for the subjects with whom the communication is conducted. The saving does not apply only to current communication, but also to other potential types of messages the sending of which is virtually impossible under current conditions because of their large size. Using new standardised and “free” channels (portal, WS, ebXML) it is possible to send, for example, sales and warehouse reports (thousands every day), logistics information, catalogues of goods etc.,
• preventing economic losses due to automatic monitoring and control of business cases/transactions – possibility of expanding to include a comprehensive BAM (parts of the product are Basic BAM – monitoring and controlling of node points – alerting),
• automation allows the use of administrative workers for solving truly individual cases,
• the flexibility of communication channels allows the growth of business partners, including technologically unequipped partners thanks to the use of the web portal. On the one hand it is possible to introduce individual automated communication between both ERP systems using secured Webservices, and on the other hand it is possible to connect up to business communication using only a regular internet connection,
• full support for standard EDI 2001b,
• use of multilanguage portal by partners for own presentation reports of business communication and controls,
• digital signature of data/documents, for example invoices, in compliance with the Digital Signature Act,
• checking the processing of tasks via User Workflow. Better addressing and thus also personal responsibility,
• improved quality of data thanks to the automatic validation of information at the entry to the system. Processing of subsequent validation by internal ERP system and any distribution to business partners,
• Basic Business Content Management – management of catalogue goods depending on sales, including process for receipt of offer from supplier.Simple overview of offered goods, competition selection, overview of ongoing purchase down to the level of individual workers,
• the benefits of SRM expansion are in the process for the inception and expiry of business partnership, with possibility of entry to workflow by the partners themselves. At tool of the type internet shop for the sale of business reports (so-called Datashop) is available, unlimited possibilities for expansion of structure of monitored information thanks to the use of metamodel and distribution of information via customised notice board, discussion, surveys and FAQ according to various types of users and categorisation of suppliers.

To sum it up, the system offers the possibility of expansion of the functions of ERP systems, which are difficult to modify and which are the primary source of business processes (for example SAP R/3 etc.).

An increase in competitiveness is commonly a significant benefit.

Concept of solution

The solution is based on the philosophy Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) with maximum utilisation of the principle of Service Oriented Architecture (SOA). The actual architecture of the system is based on an integration broker ensuring orchestration (automatic performance of acts) by Business Process Management (BPM), communication with partners via various B2B adapters (XML2EDI, ebXML, RosettaNet, or standard Web Services interfaces).The integration broker is expanded to include User Workflow allowing the assignment of tasks to a user or group and their monitoring.

Documents/messages are saved internally as XML in a structure based on the tried and tested standard EDI. This ensures simple conversion between various formats. Selected information of documents is saved in separated objects/entities as so-called business data. In the user interface there are details of messages implemented as the transformation of XML documents, and in this way a change in the appearance of the forms is possible at the level of configuration of transformations.

The actual course of instances of business processes can be monitored and administered using the integration broker's console.The actual EDI adapter (xml2EDI, EDI2xml) can be configured easily using a graphic tool for any subsequent adjustments and adaptation.The output is optimised source code ensuring rapid transformation.

(Diagram of communication channel variability)

Alternative products and support

• LITE – multi-channel (inter)enterprise service bus (Enterprise Service Bus, ESB)
  The use of the communication core alone without portal add-on offers no possibility of portal entries to the process, but it preserves all the non-human interfaces with preservation of high variability and simple connection to internal ERP system.Naturally there will be the possibility of the subsequent expansion to include a portal.
• MINI – WS adapter
  Expansion of the existing EDI interface of your ERP system to include an adapter for  XML data communication via WebServices (WS versus EDI in any direction).
• Provision of consultation to organisations during the actual implementation of technical channels  (WS, ebXML) and processing of EDI messages.

Reference

B2B4C - Business To Business For Globus (GROW) – solution for retail chain Globus ČR, k.s.