BSH EDI adapter helps Pro-Active company implement a business-critical solution for electronic document interchange
PaperlinX Scandinavia is a group of several companies operating in various fields of business. A major point in the E-commerce policy of all member companies is to develop electronic communication with their customers and suppliers, thus reducing the time spent on manually handling orders, invoices and other types of documents.
As a member of PaperlinX Scandinavia, Pro-Active Company is responsible for providing IT infrastructure and support for electronic document interchange of all Paperlinx Scandinavia companies. A huge number of documents in various formats (EDIFact, cXML, xCBL, OIOXML, Flatfiles) are being sent and received simultaneously. Rather than
deploying and supporting different solutions for each format (and format version) of electronically exchanged documents, the company develops a single solution that handles all formats (and versions) used in electronic communication. The documents sent and received by each company go through the same engine and end up in a centralized ERP system. The backbone server platform for the solution is Microsoft BizTalk Server.
One of the technical challenges Pro-Active Company encounters during the solution development is related to the particular versions of the EDIFact standard used. In fact, there is a big difference between the standard electronic data interchange in Denmark and the rest of Europe. Unfortunately, the adapter that is provided out-of-the-box with BizTalk Server by Microsoft, does not support these versions. The company starts looking for third party alternatives.
Peter Ring Madsen, IT Consultant in Pro-Active Company, comments on the results of the research:
“We found a company called BSH PLC which had an EDI adapter for BizTalk Server on the Internet. We then contacted them to get a trial version, so that we could test the functionality and possibilities of the BSH adapter. After we played with functionalities that the adapter had, we asked BSH to add some new functionalities – so that the BSH adapter could be suitable for the Danish EDI market, and to satisfy the Danish Government requirements for EDI communication on the Danish business-to-business market.
They really managed to meet our requirements. Right after we implemented the BSH adapter in our BizTalk solution, we were ready to receive and send EDIFact files. That point was an actual breakthrough for us, because until this moment we had spent a lot of time, energy and resources on investigating other options.”
Two years after Pro-Active Company first starts using the BSH EDI adapter, numbers are descriptive enough. Currently the whole communication between Pro-Active company and its customers and suppliers is going through their BizTalk solution. Each day they send and receive about 300 orders, 150 invoices and 4,000 other files in EDIFACT format using the BSH EDI adapter.
Peter Ring Madsen comments on the partnership with BSH:
“At the beginning it was the price of the BSH Adapter that caught our eye, but after we had some requests for changes to the adapter, we came to like their quick response and the professionalism of their work. We now more or less expect them to keep up that spirit in the future. We have been working with BSH for 2 great years now and we are looking forward for the next step – another couple of years of successful cooperation.”
About Pro-Active company
Pro-Active Company is a supplier and partner in the fields of Logistics, IT/E-business, Finance, HR and Marketing. Clients of the company include CC&CO, Living Office, PaperNet, Plus Office and Udesen, which join the company in forming PaperlinX Scandinavia. PaperlinX Scandinavia has 300 employees and annual revenues of 950 million DKK, and is owned by PaperlinX Limited in Australia. The core business areas of the company clients form the base for Pro-Active Company operations. Pro-Active company attaches great importance to providing all-round solutions, and to creating synergy by combining all its areas of competence, giving its client companies more time to focus on their core business areas.
For more information: www.paperlinxscandinavia.dk
About BSH PLC:
BSH PLC is a Bulgarian software company that provides complete IT solutions based on Microsoft technology and server products. The company was founded in 2000 and is Microsoft Gold Certified Partner. The company competencies in the field of software development include implementing e-commerce, enterprise application integration (EAI) and business process management (BPI) solutions, as well as custom software development. The company has an in-house Graphic Design Studio that works in the field of web design, advertising, editorial, corporate identity, illustration and typography. The ability of the company to provide complete solutions – starting from analyzing customer requirements, going through the full development cycle and covering the after-sales support activities, has attracted clients from more than 20 countries all over the world.
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