Order processing for a beverage distributor.

Exteria B2B implementation can speed up data inventory processing by rapidly deploying services, providing real-time information of inventory to clients and vendors, thus speeding up delivery of goods and lowering employment costs.

A beverage company seeks to improve their clients experience processing orders.

A company that handles beverage inventory and order processing, current daily procedure was to manually fill out a faxed order inventory form and fax it back to the distributor. A staff of three was required to handle the daily inventory and ordering process. The order form was complex and employees found it impossible to complete an order effectively within the given time frame of a workday.

To automate this process, there were three functions considered for data integration:

1. Auto-processing of an Excel file
Exteria reads the order form created by Excel and transfers it to the host computer. The procedure is completely automated, resulting in a reduction of 75% labor costs.

2. Input order form from Browser
In the past, the client’s manually inputted orders into an order form and faxed it to back the vendor. At the end of the workday, the vendor would fax the available inventory back to the clients. Because the vendor served many clients, multiple orders would come in at any given time, thus leaving the distributor unable to provide its client’s with the correct inventory amount available for any given product. 

By using Exteria the distributor was able to auto-process the orders--providing clients with real-time information of inventory. In a case where there is limited or no stock of an item, clients now have the ability to change the order to accommodate their needs. For the vendor, this drastically improved accuracy and speed of delivery because the order data was directly converted to logistics.

3. Send available inventory via e-mail
The distributor mails inventory to the clients on a request bases. Thus the burden to the system server is lighter for the mail delivery than the providing on screen statistics.

By implementing these three functions, the staff workload decreased significantly. The in-house system was connected with the clients. The inventory form was then transferred to the client from an excel file and read from a web browser, or email.  The system automation made it possible to improve the accuracy and efficiency by providing clients and their vendors real-time information of inventory.

For developers, Exteria is an easy-to-use tool that allows for efficient system development.

Exteria’s graphical user interface and robust functionality allows developers to implement new systems quickly. Developing a system in-house to automate inventory processing and ordering in this case would have taken 45-days of development time. Using Exteria, programmers can deploy a comparable system in one day, thus significantly lowering server and development costs.

Exteria is a low cost EAI/ SOA tool.

The cost effectiveness of Exteria is not only in the initial cost but also the robust nature of the tool. When there is a need for new services, Exteria will continue to deliver.