Rabelink Logistics has implemented Yellowstar Solutions’ Enterprise Service Bus (ESB). The logistics service provider is now able to establish EDI connections with customers more quickly than before and is able to exchange data between its own WMS and TMS systems and that of its partners. ‘Potential time saving was the primary reason for taking this step, it unburdens the organisation’, says IT manager Tino Bömer.
Implementation of the Enterprise Service Bus allows for the accelerated creation of EDI connections with fellow logistics service providers and client forwarders. Bömer: ‘It used to take several weeks to make an EDI connection, now it is completed in no more than a few days. This is not only a huge time saver, but a service improvement as well. Plus we can establish most connections ourselves.’ With that last remark, Bömer refers to Rabelink Logistics’ continuous dependency on the assistance of the WMS and TMS supplier during the implementation period. ‘We had to submit a formal request for the development of an EDI connection and, on top of that, we were dependent on the capacity of this supplier.’
'The need for fast data exchange increased'
With the implementation of the ESB, a long cherished wish of Rabelink Logistics and its clients was fulfilled. ‘Recently, the pressure to be able to exchange data with partners quickly and simply was certainly building. Now that we have achieved this, we save costs on human data entry and this in turn means that exchanging the same data costs less time and money.’ And it improves quality.
Rabelink Logistics started the implementation of the ESB with a pilot project. Several tests were developed together with customer and logistics service provider Fiege, in which Fiege sent XML messages to Rabelink Logistics’ BluJay system. These tests ran successfully. Bömer expects the entire organisation of Rabelink to profit from the rollout as of the beginning of 2015. ‘For example: the customer service department will notice fewer customers calls concerning ETA information.’
