Whitecap Canada Inc., a leading developer of customized e-Business solutions and Internet-based applications, and CCL Custom Manufacturing, the world’s largest contract manufacturer of consumer products, recently announced the successful completion of a leading-edge supply chain integration initiative. Using Web services standards, Whitecap and CCL have launched an "Internet based EDI" system that automatically exchanges key supply chain documents with Dow Corning, a major supplier to CCL, and Procter & Gamble, one of CCL’s largest customers.

Examples of the documents being exchanged automatically and in near real-time include: demand forecasts, purchase orders, change orders, and advance ship notices. By exchanging these documents electronically, both the sending and receiving companies save significant time in manual paper and fax handling, and reduce the incidence of errors caused by repeated manual data entry steps.

Since its initial launch in March of 2003, Proctor & Gamble has expanded its use of the system from 3 SKU’s to 380 SKU’s – a dramatic testament to the effectiveness and stability of the system. Similarly, Dow Corning now receives and processes 100% of all CCL orders and change-orders automatically using the system. The dollar value of business flowing through the system is currently in the "tens of millions of dollars" and will only grow as CCL extends use of the system to additional customers and suppliers.

Whitecap designed and developed the XML document exchange system, which works in combination with CCL’s existing browser-based B2B portal, which is in turn tightly integrated with CCL’s JD Edwards ERP system. The XML document exchange system is based upon Web services standards, including XML (eXtensible Markup Language) and xCBL (XML Common Business Library) a pre-eminent XML component library for business-to-business e-commerce, SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol) and Microsoft’s Message Queue (MS MQ) technology.

The design of this new system posed several technical challenges, many of which resulted from the relative newness of some of the technologies involved. For example, the use of SOAP as the basis for document transfers over the Internet required that Whitecap design a layered security framework to provide suitable privacy and authentication for the documents being exchanged.

Unlike traditional EDI solutions – which are based on proprietary technologies – XML-based integration solutions are based on well-accepted industry standards, and are an order of magnitude easier and less expensive to implement as a result. System-to-system integration eliminates entire levels of data re-entry, reduces errors, and dramatically improves process cycle times across the supply chain. Because of the huge process efficiency benefits achievable through XML-based integration solutions, IT industry analysts such as IDC and Gartner Group are predicting that Web services herald the next phase of e-Business, which has been dubbed “Enterprise-to-Enterprise”, or E2E for short.

According to Al Hintz, Director of IT for CCustom ManufacturingCL , "Executing simultaneous XML projects with a large supplier and a large client – both on very short timelines – was a major challenge. But through great teamwork on behalf of all the parties involved, we got the job done. Both Dow Corning and Procter & Gamble are very pleased with the new system, which dramatically improves information flow up and down our supply chain. All in all, I’d have to say it was one of the most successful IT projects I’ve ever been involved with."

Al also went on to say, "I can’t emphasize enough how pleased we were with the work done by our technical consultant and partner on this project. We selected Whitecap Canada Inc. based on their demonstrated expertise in XML and we weren’t disappointed. Not only was their technical leadership in the design and programming of the XML system crucial to the overall project’s success, they were also a terrific group of people to work with, and we look forward to expanding our business relationship with them."

Akhil Bhandari, corporate Vice-President and CIO for parent company CCL Industries Inc., added, "This is exactly the kind of IT initiative that makes sense to invest in. It improves the speed and accuracy of information exchange between key supply chain partners, and saves time and money for all the companies involved. CCL made the strategic decision to be a leader in the adoption of XML in our industry, and we look forward to continuing in this leadership role as we expand the current system to additional suppliers and customers."

Rich Gaasenbeek, Whitecap’s Executive Vice-President of Business Development commented, "Working with the CCL team on this project has been a real pleasure, and we are excited about expanding the system to additional CCL customers and suppliers. We honestly believe that Web services in general – and XML in particular – is the future of B2B e-business. Since we began working with XML four years ago, XML based projects have become a significant and increasing part of our overall business."