Project Overview
Outsourced application development project for an importer of furniture. System has seasonal catalogues of products with forecast order quantities. Manufacturers in Far East produce goods which are tracked through to Exel warehouses in the UK and then on to retailers such as Argos. Integrated with Accounts and Warehouse systems.
Background
Justwise is a major furniture importer, dealing directly with retail companies such as Argos. As a part of the supply chain requirements of their customers, they decided to put a web-enabled ordering and stock control system in place. It went to tender and 360 Systems was appointed to implement and manage the solution.
There were the usual hiccups and unforeseen hurdles in implementing a considerable change of business process like this. 360 were at our side throughout the change and their project management skills were really valuable in helping us with this.
Mathew Foxley, Financial Controller
The Solution
360 developed a solution based on open standards software. This is an enterprise wide system capable of running the core processes of the business from start to finish. There were a number of integration challenges to this project, including the tie-in with existing back-office systems, warehouse logistics, manufacturing control and retail demand forecasting. The co-ordination of organisations and systems could be problematic at times, but the team from 360 overcame them with planning and technical know how.
The solution has been built on open standards utilising Java, XML and web services technologies that enable integration with partner organisations. It has been implemented with reliability, security and scalability in mind to grow with the business as it expands into new markets. Once the system was in place, 360 took on a support role to provide expert technical assistance in concentrated bursts when required by the business.
Result
The result is a streamlined system for ordering, inventory control and stock checking. Customers can log on to the system, see what is available, order what they need and then track the order until it is delivered anywhere in the UK. It ties in with the warehouse systems and stock is updated 4 times a day.