NYK Logistics
NYK Logistics had two British logistics subsidiaries, in Brackmills, Northampton, and Sutton-In-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire, that merged in April 2006 to form NYK Logistics (UK). Their logistics business provides supply-chain solutions to the consumer electronics, automotive, healthcare, and retail sectors. The merger created one of the market's largest providers of contract logistics services. However, it also highlighted that the two subsidiaries had developed their own distinct EDI environments.
Following the merger, NYK Logistics (UK) needed to consolidate their two EDI environments into one highly resilient and reliable architecture. The solution they were looking for had to be scalable, flexible and offer high availability, to meet their current and future business requirements. ODEX Enterprise fitted their bill perfectly.
Before the installation of ODEX Enterprise, the NYK architectures consisted of different applications, each with different roles and tasks. Files were passed between the applications, were processed and forwarded on to the next system. This disjointed approach made it difficult to trace files in the system, required support staff to have expertise in multiple applications and required greater resources to host the different applications.
Standardising the EDI architecture and consolidating the systems provided a streamlined interface between the outside world and NYK Logistics (UK) internal business system, reduced staff training overheads and provided a single system to manage and maintain.
One of the stipulations was that the application should not be limited to a single protocol or connection method. The application had to be able to support the following communication protocols:
and the following application protocols:
The application had also to support direct connections to trading partners and indirect connections via Value Added Networks. It also had to be able to convert seamlessly between the message formats of the external trading partners and that of NYK Logistics (UK) internal message format.
Another requirement of the new system was to exchange files with the SAP system run by NYK’s trading partner, Samsung. As Samsung had made a strategic decision to use tRFC for their SAP connection, DI reviewed the behaviour of the existing SAP connection and developed a prototype tRFC client and server. After extensive throughput testing with Samsung, this solution was integrated into the ODEX Enterprise architecture.
NYK's incumbent system had presented a catalogue of ongoing issues. These related specifically to the stability and manageability of the solution. The system also carried a significant financial cost year on year and it was difficult to see where the actual benefits were being gained. Not only did ODEX Enterprise provide a better, more robust solution, it also represents a far better ROI versus the cost of ownership.
“We were looking for an e-business package that could provide total reliability for our business, with the flexibility to grow with us and to integrate with our business systems. ODEX performs these tasks very well and has become an integral part of our business process."
Mark Moore, Systems Architect, NYK Logistics (UK)