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Shabra
Plastics & Packaging
5 . The Project
5.1 eBusiness Solution
5.1.1 Business Dimension
In order to meet the requirements of its largest customer, Shabra had to
create a direct EDI link between its order system and Musgraves systems.
This direct link allowed Musgraves to:
- Receive
invoices directly into its accounting system thus
negating the need for re-keying and long paper trails
- Pricing
Catalogue – Musgraves has access to a Shabra
pricing catalogue that allows the company to check
the price of any given item against the price quoted
on an invoice. If the prices match, the invoice
is passed. If they don’t, it isn’t
Now that the
systems and infrastructure are in place it will be a simple operation to
tie other large customers in through EDI thus offering them the same advantages
Musgraves is currently realising. Around 50% of Shabra’s 3000 other
customers are now placing their orders via the online web-ordering system,
the second part of Shabra’s eBusiness project. The website was built
for a number of reasons:
- To allow
customers with web access to order products online
- To allow
customers to send in queries on Shabra products
and services
- As an
info-site for customers wishing to get further information on Shabra’s
products and it’s recycling services
The online web ordering system allowed customers to
quickly and easily place orders and send them directly
to Shabra. Upon receipt, the order was logged (and with
no re-keying required, was less prone to errors), shipping
booked and the customer emailed, almost immediately,
with delivery day and time.
This allowed the customer to have any waste ready for
collection by the same truck on delivery day and meant
that they didn’t have to have waste sitting outside
their shop for long periods of time.
Additionally, when the customer knew the delivery date
for their order, they could easily request extra items
to be added to that order. For Shabra, this used to
mean a double requisition. With the new system, that
item could simply be added to the order as it stood.
Being able to simply update an order had obvious cost
savings for Shabra as there was less paperwork and less
transport cost (they wouldn’t have to send two
trucks for one delivery). This also meant that that
client received orders in a more timely fashion even
if they updated the order at the last minute.
Although orders received via email have to be re-keyed,
the use of copy and paste eliminated many potential
areas of error. Additionally, because orders weren’t
handwritten, there was less chance of misreading an
order (a 1 as a 7 for example).
The system also facilitated orders from those customers
who chose not to order via the web or via email. Using
an input screen (on which all staff were trained), orders
could quickly and easily be logged if received by phone
or fax.
The ordering system was also tied into Intact, the Shabra
accounting system, allowing for easier processing of
invoices and again, a reduction in paperwork and streamlining
of the process. Additionally, once the order is taken,
an email is sent to the relevant haulage company to
book a delivery (and if necessary a pick-up). The process
of using email saves a lot of waiting time on the phone
and gives Shabra an obvious communications trail in
case of a problem.
5.1.2 Technical Dimension
The main technical challenge for Shabra was ensuring
the EDI (see sidebar) application chosen integrated
seamlessly with Intact, its ordering and accounting
system. Without this seamless link, it would have been
difficult to tie the two organisations together. The
EDI application was provided by Celerity, a Dublin based
provider of EDI solutions. Although EDI is a standard
in itself, many of
the large users of EDI (such as Musgraves, Tesco or Campbells Catering)
tweak the standards slightly to better suit their needs. This has the effect
of
creating many different ‘flavours’ of EDI (which is, in itself,
one of the issues of EDI technology).
The service provided by Celerity allows clients (like
Shabra) to export data in a standard format (that most
accounting packages could output). This is processed
on site by an EDI agent – a system designed to
take raw data and translate it into messages that can
then be directly imported by Musgraves’ accounting
systems. These messages were then passed on to Musgraves
via a VAN (Value Added Network)
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