eBusiness Service is WM-data's strategic hub for electronic
business. The service efficiently ties together different
units operating on the market and manages the Swedish banks'
e-invoicing solution, Swedish Post's eSkicka, combinatorial
bid matching, insourcing, eHotel and many other services.
Through eBusiness Services, WM-data takes on an overall perspective
of the customer's business processes and its internal and
external connections to various business events. "xTrade Business
Communications Suite is the platform for our service. Around
it we have built unique services to meet the demands which
WM-data wants to offer their clients. The system handles all
kinds of data flows, from the simplest of file transfers to
total insourcing of internal and external systems that exchange
information", says Lasse Asp, head of eBusiness Services at
WM-data.
Gains on many levels
eBusiness Service's customers are primarily large companies,
which exchange a lot of information with each other and
with the end customers as well as out-of-the-box services
with collaborative partners to meet the needs of the consumer
market: "Our services result in direct cost reductions
through, for example, lower purchase prices due to e-auctions
and lower invoice costs. The VAN service also supplies increased
availability towards the companies' customers. The companies
get the advantages of the latest technology and access to
the customer clientele that is already established in eBS",
says Lasse Asp.
Less expensive and more advantageous to use an existing
service
For a separate company it may get costly to build and maintain
an infrastructure containing all the services needed for
communication with partners and customers. It is better
to connect the company to an already existing VAN service
and thereby get access to services already up and running
and also to other communicating companies. "By using WM-data
eBusiness Services our customers can focus on their core
activities. They can take advantage of our services and
streamline their business processes", Lasse Asp continues.
"We have received a lot of positive responses regarding
our smorgasbord of complete services, which creates a complete
service for the companies. The companies can start out using
one service and then gradually add more services - all through
the same channel."
The banks and the Swedish Post made available to their
customers Together with Föreningssparbanken and Nordea
WM-data eBusiness Services has created the concept e-faktura,
which makes it possible for the banks' internet customers
to get electronic invoices instead of invoices on paper.
eBusiness Services constitutes the distribution and data-capturing
channel of the solutions. The banks contribute the services
towards the customers.
Another good alliance is the collaboration concerning the
Swedish Post's eSkicka (eSend) where WM-data eBusiness Service´s
distribution net mediates the Swedish Post's service for
electronic invoice handling. It has created eSkicka mediated
through WM-data eBusiness Service´s distribution net.
Entire concept for DHL (earlier Danzas)
For the logistics company DHL, WM-data has created an entire
concept. All of DHL´s systems are connected through
the WM-data net. WM-data also handles all of DHL´s
integration, communication between internal systems as well
as communication with external parties.
WM-data eBusiness Services chose xTrade Business Communications
Suite
"When we were going to develop a hub for electronic business
we had the choice of going for standard products or to choose
a homogenous platform which we could easily adapt to suit
our requirements. xTrade BCS provided performance, security,
closeness to supplier and the possibility to keep the services
that we had already developed. xTrade BCS is the platform
around which we have built our own services. It is a strong
platform, and the engine xTrade BCS is an integrated part
of the solution", says Lasse Asp.
All kinds of data flows, from the simples of file transfers
to total insourcing of internal and external systems that
exchange information, are handled by WM-data eBusiness Services.
The platform consists of clustered xTrade Business Hub Back-End
servers that handle the processing functions of the system,
and xTrade Business Hub Front-End servers, that manage the
communication. On this platform WM-data has built its unique
solutions for its customers.
Future prospects
"It is clear that the readiness for using electronic messaging
has increased. Services that facilitate the customer's core
operation are looking at a bright future. And the concepts
security, availability and cost-effectiveness will always
play a decisive role", Lasse Asp concludes.
