One of BMW's major suppliers is engaged in the research, development, design, manufacture, and distribution of automobile lamp products. The company primarily provides automobile head lamps, tail lamp sets, fog lamps, brake lamps, and steering lamps, among others. Its products are applied in various automobiles, including JETTA III, COROLLA EX, TIGUAN, BORA GP, PASSAT, AUDI A6, EXCELLE, and others.
As a component supplier for BMW, the automobile lamp supplier required integration of electronic order processing and fulfillment processing with BMW's EDI system. This same supplier chose CData Arc to implement a simple SCM EDI process that could easily be managed through Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. CData Arc enabled the supplier to leverage its current IT assets to bypass the time and expense involved of implementing a full-blown ERP system or processing through a third-party provider.
Integration with BMW
This core BMW supplier uses CData Arc for secure file transfer (via OFTP), EDI messaging, and spreadsheet integration. The following diagram provides a high-level overview of how CData Arc is used for processing:
Secure File Transfer
BWM requires that its suppliers communicate via OFTP2, which is the most widely used protocol for the exchange of mission-critical automotive data. The CData Arc OFTP Connector is configured to securely send and receive documents directly with BMW's EDI system.
EDI Messaging
For order processing and fulfillment, BMW requires its suppliers to communicate through a number of standard EDI messages. To do this, the auto lamp supplier uses the ANSI X12 Connector of CData Arc to transform data between spreadsheet values and EDI standards, including:
- 830 (DELFOR - Planning Schedule/Material Release)
- 856 (DESADV - Advanced Shipping Notices)
CData Arc provides the BMW supplier with an easy way to pipe EDIFACT messages to Microsoft Excel. Excel templates are used to transform EDI messages into human-readable Excel documents. In addition, EDI message data is flattened and pushed into Excel-based reports.
To communicate updates to BMW, the supplier manages an Excel spreadsheet with product information. CData Arc monitors the Excel files for changes, and any updates trigger CData Arc to both convert this data to EDIFACT and pass the EDI documents to BMW through the included OFTP Connector.
The supplier selected KA Software, which is one of CData Arc's featured technology partners, to assist with mapping, translating, and configuring OFTP. Working with KA Software allowed the supplier to rapidly accelerate its integration with BMW and provided it with a local resource for future expansion.
The Result
The auto lamp supplier uses the secure MFT features of CData Arc, along with CData Arc's powerful mapping, translating, and transforming capabilities, to rapidly enable secure and reliable B2B messaging with BMW.
Using CData Arc, the supplier quickly fused its ad-hoc product management processes with BMW's EDI systems and transformed its existing Excel spreadsheets into an interface for direct, bidirectional communication with BMW. This was accomplished without in-house development or third-party management.
