From China to Insjön Sweden – From pallet to store
Clas Ohlson is growing fast – The business is expanding with stores opening in new countries and there is even growth in the existing markets. For that reason, work was started in 2016 with a business system to meet the new demands.
Triona is part of the development of an integration platform for transport data. The project programme is called sCORE and the aim is to review which information management system is needed to continue to develop the business.
“The old business system has simply reached end of life from a technical perspective. What we are building now is a modern and broad base to which we can add functions, as and when new needs arise”, said Daniel Thyberg, Project Manager Transport, for Clas Ohlson.
Clas Ohlson has chosen Microsoft Dynamics AX as its new business system. Specific parts however, such as the generic functions for handling logistics and transport, did not sufficiently meet Clas Ohlson’s needs. The best solution was to build these functions themselves. It was at this stage that the decision was made to contact Triona for help with the development of an integration platform for transport data (TDP).
“That the Triona team are located near to our head office is a requirement because we work so closely together. Triona made the strongest impression of all the bidders. They put themselves forward and promised us resource capacity for the project. ”, added Daniel.”
Data for 200 stores, 600 suppliers, and millions of customers.
TDP is the engine for all transport tasks. It is the part of the business system which procurement and transport administration will use for the management of logistical and transport data for more than 200 stores, 600 suppliers and millions of customers globally. The logistical challenge is to be able to optimize deliveries so they are as effective as possible, both from a time and resource perspective. For this reason, the platform is also integrated with Clas Ohlson’s own transport administration system which keeps track of logistical actors.
“When an order is placed the system can decide which logistics company should be used. It also communicates to the warehouse which items can be packed together on the pallets and in the delivery trucks. It also keeps track of pallets which cannot be loaded on a certain type of delivery truck are loaded on the correct truck bed”, said Björn Tolö solution architect at Triona.
Close cooperation
That the requirements specifications are continually developing, together with a tight time frame is a challenge for the project. The project uses agile processes for requirements capture, requirements breakdown, and development. Issues are prioritized for the up-coming three-week sprint with only a rough plan for the overall project. Something which places a high demand for cooperation.
“We have a very close cooperation with the customer in this project. For us it’s a pleasure to work with a customer who is extremely proficient both from a technical and business perspective”, said Johan Larsson business area manager at Triona.
TDP is a part delivery in Clas Ohlson’s project program sCORE. The final delivery will take place in the beginning of June 2017.
