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Staples Uses webMethods to Support Multi-Million Dollar Savings Initiative
Technology Category
- Application Infrastructure & Middleware - API Integration & Management
- Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Data Exchange & Integration
Applicable Industries
- Retail
Applicable Functions
- Logistics & Transportation
Use Cases
- Supply Chain Visibility
- Fleet Management
Services
- System Integration
The Challenge
Staples Inc., the world's largest supplier of office products, promises to make buying products easy, including making customer deliveries the very next day whenever required. When Staples experienced an increase in delivery volume, the company needed an integration solution that could be implemented rapidly and scaled easily. The company had recently acquired Corporate Express and was seeking ways to maximize synergy and reduce costs across the business. They identified an opportunity to integrate transportation networks for a potential multi-million-dollar cost savings. However, the supply chain platform they had selected couldn't scale to handle the massive transaction volume. Staples was committed to finding a solution that did not slow down integration efforts with Corporate Express.
About The Customer
Staples Inc. is a company committed to making it easy for customers to buy a wide range of office products, including supplies, technology, furniture, and business services. The company is headquartered in the United States and serves businesses of all sizes and consumers in 27 countries throughout North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. In 2008, Staples had sales of $23 billion and 91,000 associates worldwide. The company is the world's largest supplier of office products and pledges to make buying products easy. This promise includes making customer deliveries the very next day whenever required. Staples had recently acquired Corporate Express and was continually seeking ways to maximize synergy and reduce costs across the business.
The Solution
Staples turned to Software AG technology for an integration solution. Using webMethods, Staples was able to roll out an integrated transportation network without delay. The stability effort of implementing a three-tiered webMethods architecture was implemented in only two weeks. From the Staples warehouse management system, orders are fed in hourly from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m. through middleware to a webMethods Integration Server, which is the heart of the solution. From there, the orders are routed to the Staples delivery locations. Delivery status notifications from these sites move through the webMethods Reverse-Invoke Server to the webMethods Integration Server and then back to the Staples order management system. The solution is underpinned by webMethods Trading Networks atop an Oracle® database. Initially, multiple transportation networks were integrated, meaning the system would need to handle 25,000 documents per day. However, the team architected the system to support a sustained volume of 300,000 documents a day to be generated when all transportation networks are integrated.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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