Ferrologic

Using business goals when working with our customers always produces the best results. Ferrologic does this by carrying out an introductory analysis in which we focus on business goals, operational processes and concepts. This work is carried out through workshops and interviews with business managers and IT managers. The information we obtain from this constitutes the building blocks for achieving integration from an operational perspective. The solutions thereby gain operational support in processes and concepts that do not need to be changed in order to adapt the technology. The following areas are examples where systems integration is a fundamental part of the solution in order to achieve business goals.

Business process automation

Business process automation aims to streamline business processes within the company or in terms of the company’s customers and suppliers. These processes often span a number of systems, between departments within the company as well as onwards to customers and suppliers. Systems integration is often part of the solution. The following are examples of business process automation solutions that Ferrologic has helped its customers to build.

• Order-to-cash-process, e.g. integration of order and invoice information between enterprise and subsidiaries, to achieve co-ordinated credit control, common enterprise invoicing etc.
• Master data synchronisation, e.g. synchronising customer product data between systems
• Front-to-back-office integration, e.g. CRM and ERP systems integration
• Supply chain management, e.g. web-based EDI and AS2-based B2B communication integration
• Workflow, e.g. e-invoice flow from scanning to authorised invoices in an ERP system
• Processing HR data, e.g. updating IT system access authorisation according to job role

Information integration

The aim of information integration is to transfer large quantities of data between systems. This may also involve feeding a system with information from underlying systems. The following are examples of information integration solutions that Ferrologic has helped its customers to build.

• Data warehousing. Ferrologic built a solution to feed information to a DW from other systems via an enterprise service bus.
• Portal solutions. Ferrologic built integration with an underlying system to create intranet and extranet information feeds. Some data could be obtained directly via a web service interface. Other information required intermediate storage, since the original source for certain information could not be accessed in real time.

Mergers and acquisitions

For successful mergers and acquisitions, the time to integrate business units is critical. This affects synergies and the degree to which streamlining can be achieved. The following are examples of operational solutions that Ferrologic has helped its customers to build.

• System and process integration of external units. This involved the acquisition of external units in another country, where order and invoice flows were rolled out quickly.

Improved IT flexibility

Today, many companies want to change their business processes and perhaps introduce new business models. This poses a challenge for many IT departments, since the systems have been optimised for existing business models. The following are examples of operational solutions that Ferrologic has helped its customers with for improved IT flexibility.

• SOA, BPM and MDM solution for a group with a large number of companies. New IT architecture was created, with a number of system-specific services being developed. These services were used in new processes that were implemented across the organisation. A master data management solution ensured that customer data was synchronised between the component systems. Everything was implemented in SOA architecture.
• A financial services provider decided to outsource its IT operation and aspects of its application development and management. The business had tough demands in terms of being able to offer and implement new service concepts quickly. SOA architecture was implemented, whereby new web services were integrated with legacy integration such as file flows, etc.

E-retail solutions

Selling or buying via web-based solutions requires integrated order flows, payment flows, etc. The following are examples of e-retail solutions that Ferrologic has helped customers to realise.

• E-retail solution for selling direct materials. Ferrologic provided integration with the marketplace’s underlying system, as well as integration with selling companies and selected customers. Further, an integration road map was defined followed by assistance in realising it.
• E-hub to simplify purchasing indirect materials. Ferrologic helped the customer to establish the entire architecture for the central B2B hub, also integrating supporting peripheral systems. Via this hub, buyers can refine purchases with selected, integrated suppliers.

B2B communication

Customers and suppliers can be brought into closer contact with various B2B solutions. The aim is to communicate more simply and using fewer resources, while achieving higher quality communication. The following are examples of solutions that Ferrologic has helped customers to realise.

• Integration of ~1000 suppliers for all communication: item catalogue, orders, delivery plans, delivery notification, invoicing etc.
• E-invoices are scanned in, information is extracted and invoices are authorised in a workflow and integrated with the customer’s ERP system.
• EDI-based integration for payment flows between the company and its banks.
• File-based integration with Sweden’s banking infrastructure.
• Web service-based integration with external suppliers of credit checking and master data services.
• Methods for partner on boarding. To streamline the integration of a large number of partners, a framework was devised to facilitate the integration process. Partners are offered templates, guidelines and testing opportunities.

Legal requirements

Many legal requirements (e.g. SOX, Basel II and HIPAA) can affect which information must be traceable, which information must be stored and how long this information must be stored. This affects the way in which the integration flows must be configured in different nodes. The following two examples show how Ferrologic has helped customers to realise solutions involving legal requirements.

• Traceability and storage. Ferrologic has helped a service supplier to build a solution to store transaction data for ten years. Live data was transferred from the production database to a separate database where data was stored for six months. The data was then transferred to a final archiving medium. Data was captured and routed to the correct storage medium via an integration platform.
• Traceability of input and output data. Ferrologic has helped a service supplier to save input and output data from the company by storing data in a separate database via an integration platform.

Business activity monitoring

One way of measuring operational efficiency is to define processes and take measurements. Processes can be implemented in the integration warehouse as shadow processes on top of normal processes. This makes it relatively easy to measure various key performance indicators (KPI) for e.g. lead times, cycle times, volumes, etc. by reading the underlying processes without disrupting them. The following are examples of solutions that Ferrologic has helped customers to realise.

• Implementation of supply chain monitoring. A number of suppliers send components via distribution channels to a central warehouse. The problem lay in knowing how suppliers function, being able to compare suppliers with each other and being able to provide adequate feedback. Ferrologic helped to establish new overall shadow processes, define KPIs and alerts relating to delivery dates, and monitor message sequence compliance.

Streamlining integration projects and management

We use much of our accumulated knowledge of integration to streamline customers’ integration projects, management and operational monitoring. Overall, this involves organisation in order to achieve a high degree of standardisation in terms of the work carried out and the solutions devised. Standardisation leads to reuse, which in turn lowers costs for development and management. The following are a few examples of how Ferrologic has helped customers to reduce their integration costs.

• Setting up an Integration Competence Centre (ICC). The ICC was responsible for standardising method, process and component development, and for managing common artefacts. Standardised solutions, automated testing and a strict release and deployment process led to cost-effectiveness, and to a minimum of problems arising in production.
• SOA governance project. A review was carried out of the customer’s operations in relation to IT processes, IT organisation and management tools. Setting up SOA governance routines whereby monitoring and benchmarks for the degree of reuse, etc., were defined.
• Outsourcing integration. The customer wanted an external integration supplier. Ferrologic assisted by defining the organisation, roles, tasks and expertise, as well as helping with the procurement process. The aim was to achieve a cost saving of 20‑30 percent.
• Project methodology for a large-scale integration project. The challenge lay in delivering many hundreds of integration flows, cost-effectively and in a relatively short time. A meta model was used to define and search for integration requirements. Based on this, type solutions were drawn up by a core team. Type solutions were used by the development team to achieve integration. A design board was set up as an interface with the project team, and the board also monitored testing.

Establishing a modern integration architecture

Today, many companies have multiple integration platforms that they want to consolidate into one. Other companies have old solutions and want to migrate to newer platforms for better performance, better monitoring and faster troubleshooting. Sometimes, technology reaches retirement age and needs to be replaced. The following are examples of solutions that Ferrologic has helped other companies to realise.

• One company had built a number of integrations with different technical solutions, implemented by individuals who were no longer with the organisation. Management, monitoring and error handling left a lot to be desired. Ferrologic established a new, modern integration architecture based on open standards, where all integrations were built in a coherent way, while a central team monitored and managed the solution.
• Migrating from an older EDI solution to a modern platform. The older platform’s technology was no longer supported. The number of VAN connections was reduced, transferring to AS2-based communication via the internet.
• Migrating from an older Amtrix solution to a new solution based on modern architecture and open standards.