When Best Buy selected the webMethods integration platform, it was the ideal solution for centralizing all business initiatives involving external communication with our vendors, said Patricia Vessey, E-Business communications manager, Best Buy Co., Inc. The webMethods integration platform will help Best Buy streamline business processes and enable access to critical information in real-time, all of which is key to running an efficient business, staying ahead of the competition, and potentially saving the company in IT costs.
Previously, Best Buy sent information to suppliers and brick & mortar merchandise vendors solely using traditional, batch-driven EDI, which has required maintaining extensive and costly Value Added Networks (VAN). By utilizing an Internet-based platform, specifically the webMethods integration backbone, Best Buy will reduce VAN costs by nearly 50 percent.
With over 600 vendors, Best Buy needed a more flexible and cost-effective platform to exchange and process buyer and supplier information. With the webMethods integration platform, Best Buy will be able to extract data directly from applications, resulting in more accurate and timely data. This solution will position Best Buy to send EDI formatted data via a VAN or via the Internet (EDIINT) and send XML data via the Internet. Best Buy's implementation of this enterprise solution is slated for spring 2002.
One of the most important ways that companies can achieve greater efficiency and improve operating margins is to quickly eliminate redundant business processes by integrating their enterprise applications and automating communications with business vendors, said Beth Lovett, director, Consumer Goods and Services of webMethods Inc. webMethods is pleased to provide the integration backbone to help Best Buy improve its overall business process management.
After an extensive evaluation, Best Buy selected the webMethods integration platform based on its flexibility and vision for implementation in a retail environment. Also important was webMethods' strategic relationship with i2 Technologies. webMethods' technology is embedded in i2 solutions. Best Buy is currently using i2 applications for transportation planning and management, demand planning, replenishment planning, markdown optimization and CPFR.
