Background
Mazak sales related business Information is held on multiple order processing systems. Data transfer between each of these systems was based on a manual process, thus during the sales process (promotion to purchase transaction), information was transferred between systems via a printing-faxing-transcription (re-keying) manual communication process. In addition, each of the systems involved in the processing of a sales order only captured the information required to achieve its own operational goals. Mazak recognised that operational effectiveness would be improved if a system could be implemented that was capable of: relating and coordinating the transfer of information between systems and providing users with improved access to the information held on these disparate systems.
Following a scoping exercise, that enabled Modcomp to work with Mazak to study the existing system architecture, business applications, and data structures, Modcomp proposed a Business Process Integration (BPI) solution that would achieve the goal of improving operational effectiveness. The solution was a collaborative exercise - with Mazak and Modcomp working together to define, develop and test the systems.
The solution was based on the ViewMax system coupled with a JBoss application server. The solution although tactical in nature with a rapid deployment, also provided a strategic J2EE platform to enable the phased porting and redeployment of the legacy RPG based applications.
The Solution
User Interface
To minimise training it was decided that the new browser based user interface would retain the existing 5250 style screens. These are now html based and are generated by ViewMax and contain information that has been merged from other applications.
Audit Trail
To help users track information relating to order modifications, an audit system was provided to record all sales order modifications/revisions. A further facility was added to allow users to view and compare sales order revisions with the system automatically highlighting the differences.
Workflow System
The ViewMax system was also integrated with Lotus Notes to provide users with automatic notification of tasks requiring management action. Each action message contains an embedded link to direct the user to the relevant information or data entry page within the sales order processing system. The workflow process also tracks management actions to enable bottlenecks and delays to be detected.
Single Sign On
The ViewMax server is also integrated with the Lotus Notes user directory (LDAP); this provides the users who access the new system with a single sign on. This greatly simplifies user account and profile administration.
The ViewMax system is configured to generate a number of business documents such as invoices. Prior to the implementation of the system these had to be generated manually.
The Modcomp solution also provides a means of capturing information relating to prospective customers. This improves the data which is available to the European statistical systems and thus improves the effectiveness of the European marketing analysis process.
In any business information system, one source of errors is incorrect or imprecise user input. Once entered, detecting transcription errors can prove difficult. The Modcomp solution provides a high level of validation during the data input process.
Building On Existing IT Assets
Most of the information of value to Mazak has been accumulated over the years by the existing information systems. Much of the programming investment also resides in applications on those same systems. The Modcomp solution built on these valuable resources and thus provided a rapid and cost effective solution. Also, the solution was deployed without requiring changes to the existing business applications. Therefore the Modcomp solution represented a low-risk path through which Mazak improved effectiveness.
Thin Client Web Technology
Web technology has enabled real-time access between front and back-office applications, application deployment and intuitive interfaces that are simplified and do not require extensive user training.
Conclusion
The Modcomp solution allowed Mazak to rapidly and cost-effectively deploy a sales related business information system. Moreover, the solution was deployed without replacing the existing operational business systems - hence reducing risk and allowing Mazak to make the most of its investment in IT infrastructure.