Americold, a global leader in temperature-controlled warehousing and supply chain solutions to the food industry, has significantly enhanced its already robust supply chain capabilities.
It has given its customers unprecedented visibility and access to their orders at every stage of the order lifecycle, from time of customer creation to final delivery, through its proprietary i-3PL supply chain control system in conjunction with Software AG’s webMethods portfolio.
WebMethods is used to capture and integrate data from Americold’s B2B, warehouse, transportation and ERP systems to produce advanced intelligence for its customers.
Thomas Musgrave, executive vice-president and CIO at Americold, comments: “We want to provide our customers with breakthrough improvements comprising the ability to easily find, review and change active orders, as well as offer them order confirmations and alerts from any stage of the order and delivery process.
“It is about offering a single portal with full visibility of an order even when that order will have transited through a number of different networks and system architectures, and the multitude of programmed business logic that is required to deploy B2B communications. This is more than simply meeting SLAs and updating the customer on the labor activities of an order.
“We’ve expanded capabilities to include ongoing updates to the customer on the virtual activities of an order too, ultimately exceeding customer expectations and garnering further trust,” he adds.
With more than 90 000 temperature-controlled truck moves annually, over 175 warehouses and 1-billion cubic feet of storage around the world, Americold is committed to providing its customers with the most competitive and complete supply chain solutions.
Musgrave adds: “The webMethods product integrates information from multiple sources enabling Americold management, partners, and customers access to live, accurate data, reports and alerts enabling them to take action, reshape demand, and make critical decisions more confidently.”
At the core of Americold’s digital transformation is Software AG’s webMethods Integration Server, which connects the company’s Warehouse Management System to its B2B Gateway. Software AG’s Optimize provides the monitoring of customer orders and shipment processes to ensure that any issues are noted and appropriate alerts are generated. Software AG’s MashZone serves as the user interface from where information is gathered.
Kevin Niblock, chief operating officer of Software AG North America, says: “Americold has embraced ‘digital first’ thinking to create a competitive advantage for the company. It is already experiencing positive customer satisfaction from the new systems. Most importantly, Americold expects to continue to uphold its SLA adherence metrics despite increases in complexity as greater visibility into its extensive supply chain will enable it to effect change and ensure smooth operations and on-time deliveries.”
