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Application development for a Fortune 500 retailer
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Business Challenge
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The client wanted to develop an automated and integrated solution for the management
and deployment of product promotional offers to support their marketing campaigns.
The primary drivers were to shorten the timeline and simplify the processes for
creating promotional offers and thus improve productivity, and acquire a competitive
advantage in implementing strategic promotional programs.
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Solution
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We developed an Offer Management System (OMS) that supplies the necessary data and
application functionalities to the customer enterprise application for administering
and managing the promotional schemes. This enhanced the client’s capability to create
and manage targeted promotional pricing offers.
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The OMS operates on WebSphere Application Server 3.5 with iPlanet 4.1. The solution
interfaces with applications like Purchasing Behavior and Coupon Management, devices
like POS and e-POS, and databases like Teradata. The interfacing was achieved through
messaging using WebSphere MQ Integrator (WMQI).
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Benefits
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Some of the benefits of the solution are:
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Provided a single interface for legacy systems to implement targeted promotional
pricing activities
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Delivered targeted promotional pricing offers to meet marketing objectives
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Consolidated administration and capture of promotional offer information in a centralized
application
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Enabled client to gain competitive advantage in strategic promotional programs
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End-to-end application development and support for system modification
to enable third-party software communication for a Fortune 100 retailer
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Business Challenge
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Our client had three Mainframe systems. One system was dedicated to price change,
promotions, and item activity information for their stores. Another was an application
that provided an electronic means of accurately checking (scanning) vendor deliveries
for correct costs, quantities, and authorized items at the warehouse locations.
It also provided for the automated handling of vendor invoice payments. The third
Mainframe application was used for transmitting nutrition and ingredient information
to their stores.
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The client wanted to modify the three Mainframe systems to allow the host computer
to communicate with the new version of third-party software, which controlled all
the file maintenance functions of the POS system used by the client.
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Solution
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We were involved in integrating and developing a comprehensive solution that consolidated
all the functions of the current pricing systems into one centralized system—which
reduced labor inefficiencies with regard to sign printing/processing, and enhanced
the label printing/processing process.
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We engaged a dedicated team to assume the responsibilities for Mainframe development
and another for the activities under store support. The technical environment comprised
IBM OS/390, SCO UNIX, IBM 4690 POS (hardware) and MVS–OS/390, VS COBOL II, JCL,
DB2, UNIX, Shell Scripting, and PERL Scripting (software).
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Benefits
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The major benefits our solution offered were:
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Our prior experience in working on projects of similar nature based on ABUILD and
AMUST enabled the client to realize significant financial benefits.
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We helped document the feature set of all the Mainframe applications; this was non-existent
prior to our involvement.
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We developed a UNIX script to capture all the alerts displayed during installation
at various stores, to be subsequently stored in a central database. This way, the
client realized a faster response time to address issues that were previously not
addressed.
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Application to monitor business trends for a Fortune 100 manufacturer
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Business Challenge
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The client is a global manufacturer and marketer of high-quality, brand name products
that vary from food and beverage products to branded apparel and household products
for consumers throughout the world.
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To meet customer requirements and volume levels, and monitor business trends, the
client wanted to create a business scorecard application. This application was to
processes transaction data from the client transaction database to generate various
key performance indicator (KPI) reports. The reports were to capture real-time trends
of how the business progressed, based on which, the management can take appropriate
remedial actions proactively.
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Solution
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We used Compliance 360's IT Governance product and other tools to develop the KPI
reports. Our assignment involved:
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Gathering details about the business significance of each KPI
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Analyzing the existing transaction database structure and correlating it with the
business requirements
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Designing the data warehouse based on transaction data structure and requirements
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Designing the portal, application framework, and KPI report pages
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Testing the data warehouse and KPI reports based on the requirements
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Deploying the application and providing training to the users
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Benefits
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We played an integral role in ensuring that all requirements of the client were
met as well as suggested various improvements before work began. The key benefits
our solution provided to the client include:
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Better and faster trend analysis
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Faster response time to issues
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Reduction in manual efforts to identify business trends
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Development of a Rebate System for a Fortune 100 retailer
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Business Challenge
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Our client—the largest wholesale club operator in the U.S.—sells a variety of products
that customers can purchase from the warehouses through special order.
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The client wanted to implement a rebate system. The system was to facilitate customers
who are members claim manufacturer rebates through a simple process. When an item
has an active rebate, the rebate information will be printed at the end of the member's
receipt. The member can then claim all rebates (from multiple manufacturers) on
their receipt by mailing them to the address printed on the receipt. The member
then receives one rebate check for the total rebate amount.
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Solution
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We were actively involved in the development of the rebate system that was capable
of providing the client with a variety of useful information including:
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Rebate details—such as total rebate units (items) sold, total rebate dollars, and
total sales dollars on rebate purchases
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A summary of totals grouped by date, warehouse, company, and item
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The returns of items for which there are rebates
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We adapted our CMM Level 5 certified ABUILD methodology to help develop the system
in a phased approach, leveraging our global sourcing and delivery model with the
right mix of onsite offshore resources. The team that developed the solution consisted
of an Onsite Coordinator located onsite and seven engineers and two Project Leads
offshore.
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The technical environment comprised IBM AS/400 (hardware) and AS/400, RPG IV (software).
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Benefits
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Benefits of this engagement:
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The client achieved significant cost benefits by utilizing our approach to staffing
and development
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The client realized better inventory control over products with faster time-to-market
rebate programs
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With the value added tracker functionality we built into the system, the retailer
could effectively track the rebate program
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Legacy Maintenance for a Fortune 50 retailer
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Business Challenge
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The goal of the project was to perform maintenance on two of the client's business
systems—the E-Catalogue system and the EXE system"that were part of their day-to-day
business across several divisions.
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Solution
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Our team worked to schedule and clone specific jobs after working on the job flow
diagrams in association with the client IT teams
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The tem carried out data conversion (including several mock runs for division roll-outs)
and System and Acceptance testing
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System test support was followed by roll out and production support for 4 weeks
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17 CICS sub routines were rewritten for increasing the efficiency of the E-Catalogue
system
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The technology we used included MVS - OS/390, UNIX, VS COBOL II, JCL, CICS, DB2,
Informix, and Changeman.
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Benefits
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Speed-to-market : The applications were running at all client divisions by
2Q, 2003—six months later
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Production support: Our IT team provided 24x7 production support, thus aiding
in the freeing up of client resources
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By using the customized EXE and E -Catalogue system, the client could avoid buying
expensive software licenses for Tandem and other similar warehousing packaging systems.
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Point of Sale (POS) Application Maintenance for a Fortune 50 retailer
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Business Challenge
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Our client is one of North America's largest food retailers, with about 1,800 stores
located mostly in the western, mid western, and mid-Atlantic regions of the U.S.,
as well as in Western Canada. They outsourced the development, testing, and maintenance
of their POS applications to us.
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They wanted to re-deploy their POS application maintenance and support resources
into other key focus areas. The objective was to achieve better resource utilization
and to reduce the POS application maintenance cost.
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Solution
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Service Levels offered: Level 1 to Level 3.
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On average, our project team resolves 50 Severity Level 1 and 40 Severity Level
2 issues every month. The average resolution time for Severity Level 1 issues is
3-4 hours and for Severity Level 2 issues is 48 hours. The project is currently
in the steady state with no on-site component. The visibility and control our reports
and escalation procedures provide make this possible.
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We also provide the client with preventative maintenance services. The team studied
how the POS applications interact with the other systems and with the business processes
the applications support. Based on their observations, they provided our client
with information about specific areas including:
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Application Personalization
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Delayed Data Maintenance
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Shelf Label Print
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Expansion of Tax Reporting Features
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Our project team conducted a detailed system study of the existing POS applications.
The architecture of POS controller and terminal at a typical store in our client’s
chain was analyzed and studied at the POS workbench set up offshore for the development
and testing of POS applications. We have Base 24 connectivity from Offshore POS
Lab to the client's Tandem System. The responsibilities of the Test Environment
Group (TEG) that conducted the offshore testing included:
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Creating and updating test data and database objects
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Performing initial data loads
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Ensuring that database objects and programs are kept in sync with production
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Benefits
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The client accrued the following benefits from our solution:
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An annual POS maintenance savings of around 40%
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Accurate and timely records of sales because the client was able to determine sales
trend and shelf time for individual items through application tuning
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The ability to react effectively to market dynamics
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Fewer critical breakdowns
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Production support for a leading global retailer
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Business Challenge
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The client, a leading global retailer, had a need for production support for their
retail applications. The primary drivers were reduction of maintenance costs and
transition of their staff to other critical development activities.
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Solution
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We have been providing 24X7 (ongoing) support for the past 2 years employing a team
of 20 offshore resources
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On average, we process 660 tickets monthly
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Wherever applicable, we work with stakeholders on root-cause analysis to eliminate
deviations
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The applications reside on an AIX RISC 6000 processor and utilize Korn shell scripts,
C, Oracle, PERL, MQ Series, and Autosys. Besides, two other VB applications are
running on NT workstations.
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Benefits
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Uninterrupted support and high productivity
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Value added services such as root-cause analysis have helped reduce issues by as
much as 12 %
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Application maintenance for a Fortune 500 wholesaler
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Business Challenge
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Our client's Warehouse Operations application is a key system that conducts efficient
warehouse operations. It is mission critical to keep the applications up and running
through a continuous maintenance engagement.
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The client selected us as a business partner, in view of our retail domain experience
with Supply Chain Management, Inventory Management, Distribution Management, and
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) solutions.
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Solution
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As part of the maintenance engagement, we assumed responsibility for maintaining
over 500 programs for our client’s procedures. Additionally, we developed 16 new
programs. This was a wide-ranging endeavor that involved detailed requirements analysis,
bug fixing, as well as development and testing. We performed extensive unit testing
at both onsite and offshore to ensure that the functionality of the existing programs
remained intact.
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Benefits
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Some of the benefits of this engagement are:
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Freed client resources by automating the warehouse handling approval process
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Reduced the time to follow the handling process, thereby improving productivity
and warehouse management
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Reduced the maintenance costs for steady-state operations by 60% by working from
offshore
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Provided round-the-clock support to the client’s Information Systems (IS) team
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Surpassed client expectations-we successfully executed the application maintenance
and development without complication, on budget, and within the SLAs
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