s service-oriented architecture (SOA) strategy has produced significant savings in terms of both THE cost and time required to onboard new applications and partners.
Bossini Implements Software AG to Integrate Supply Chain Initiatives
-
Asia
s leading apparel retailer uses the webMethods ESB to advance its supply chain strategy - Seamless integration of applications, extended real-time process visibility and dynamic synchronization of data used to streamline business operations
- Use of SOA for integration yields 30% improvement in productivity
Founded in Hong Kong in
1987, Bossini has expanded rapidly to become one
of the world
s fastest
growing apparel brands. Today, the company
operates more than a thousand stores in over
twenty countries with two hundred new stores
opened in the past year alone. As a
fashion-focused retailer, the company has
defined the speed and efficiency that it
capitalizes on emerging trends as a strategic
differentiator and has implemented a strategy to
bring new designs to market faster as a result.
To support these
efforts, the company
s
IT leadership identified the need for a more
interoperable planning and execution environment
as a key requirement. More specifically, Bossini
set forth to implement a new integration
infrastructure that would link key systems
together more fully, automate process execution,
and provide real-time, end-to-end process
visibility spanning multiple transactions and
steps. Through this approach, Bossini could also
synchronize real-time data across multiple
orders, shipments and SKUs as a means for
maintaining
one
version of the truth
.
Following extensive evaluations of four competing integration solutions, Bossini selected the webMethods ESB to address these requirements. As a proven solution, the webMethods ESB minimized risks due to the demonstrated scalability and robust architecture that it offered. Equally important, its support for key industry standards would streamline the integration of both internal applications and third-party trading partners.
Our
evaluations determined that the webMethods ESB
would allow us to achieve real-time
interoperability across numerous disparate
applications, including independence from the
constraints of their operating systems and
hardware platforms. For example, the integration
between our legacy systems and new applications
has been painless and seamless. Its ease-of-use
and user-friendliness has also facilitated
faster development of standards-based, service
interfaces for integration,
said Mr. Andrew Ling
Director of IT and Supply Chain of Bossini
Group.
As part of its evaluation, Bossini had also embraced the importance of SOA and Web services in terms of the long-term sustainability and adaptability of the project. By standardizing on the webMethods ESB, they would be able to take full advantage of standards-based, service interfaces for interoperability and orchestration. This would allow Bossini to speed deployment of new applications and processes as well as the on-boarding of new partners. It would also make subsequent changes easier to implement while allowing the company to take advantage of the cost-savings enabled by additional reuse of the original interface.
Mr. Ling added,
Software AG
s
leadership within the SOA and BPM markets was
important to us as we anticipate that these
technologies will play an important role in
helping us to deliver greater customer value. We
were also impressed by the company
s
marquee list of customers within the
manufacturing, retail and apparel sectors. Of
equal importance was the platform
s
flexibility in meeting our unique requirements
as this is crucial to our ability to gain
competitive advantage in the fickle world of
apparel retailing. In our decision, we also took
into account the faster adoption, lower training
costs and quicker return-on-investment enabled
by the very intuitive design of the webMethods
ESB. Finally, we were very appreciative of
Software AG
s focus
on
update & extend
as oppose to
rip & replace
as a means for
safeguarding our current IT investments. With
little doubt that Software AG will remain the
technology leader within the business
infrastructure marketplace, I
m
confident that we made the right decision.
Bossini
s
expectations for improved IT productivity have
already been met by the initial implementation.
For example, use of the webMethods ESB to create
standards-based, service interfaces has led to
an approximately 30% improvement in productivity
versus conventional programming using J2EE.
Furthermore, Bossini has secured greater control
and governance over its SOA initiatives, which
has led to better reliability and performance
for the key processes supported by this system.
The company also believes that its on-track to
produce the anticipated business improvements
that the initiative targets.
Mr. Paul Heneghan,
Software AG
s Senior
Vice President for the Asia/Pacific region of
the webMethods business division, added,
We are extremely
excited that Bossini has adopted our technology
to foster faster, smarter decision-making
through better access to real-time information.
Our solution will allow Asia
s
leading apparel retailer to respond to changes
in customer demand with the agility and
flexibility required by today
s
fast-paced, global marketplace. From an IT
perspective, Bossini will also be able to
capitalize on improved productivity, faster
implementations and measurable cost-savings.
Software AG
s
4,000 global customers achieve measurable
business results by modernizing and automating
their IT systems and rapidly building new
systems to meet growing business demands. The
company
s
industry-leading product portfolio includes
best-in-class solutions for managing data,
enabling service oriented architecture, and
improving business processes. By combining
proven technology with industry expertise and
best practices, our customers improve and
differentiate their businesses
faster. Software AG
has more than 37 years of global IT experience
and approx. 3,700 employees serving customers in
70 countries. The company is headquartered in
Germany and listed on the Frankfurt Stock
Exchange (TecDAX, ISIN DE 0003304002 / SOW).
Software AG posted total revenues of
483 million in 2006.
