Xpand IT has implemented a new Order Management solution at Via Verde.

"Xpand IT's proposed solution fits our business and not the other way around!", Via Verde

THE CHALLENGE

Problem's Dimension

In this context, Via Verde deals with about 5000 requests by day (between 4000 and 7000), belonging to operations in 6 different systems.
These orders result from requests and notifications of customers that should have immediate result.

The Solution

After the current Via Verde's systems analysis, Xpand IT was asked for a resolution sugestion. Based on its strong experience in systems architecture and integration, Xpand IT began by questioning the appropriateness of the technological infrastructure to the reality of Via Verde.

A lighter technological solution, with smaller hardware requirements and a good technical performance quickly emerged as the best solution. The use of open source and standards ensure the ease of hiring resources with adequate technical knowledge

Moreover, on a operational layer, the absence of a platform for managing various processes in an integrated manner and the problems that stemmed from there made an Order Management solution became central to the storage and control of the involved systems.

In order to support this approach a SOA (Service-Oriented Architecture) was proposed to isolate the specific functionality of each system and enhance its use optimally.

The result was an Order Management System based on SOA architecture implemented using open source products, less demanding in hardware and built on standards and protocols recognized by the technical community, which makes the solution quite easy to maintain and evolve.

Adopting an SOA enabled re-orient the architecture of Via Verde to provide the business functions in the form of services that could be accessed in several ways.

The use of JBoss ESB 4.6 as facilitator and aggregator component of these interactions resulted from a compromise between the total solution cost and desired functionality, also allowing the Via Verde maintain a strong relationship with the JBoss AS application servers that were part of the previous infrastructure.

Thus, the Order Management platform is based on specific services designed for the reception, validation and execution of orders. Maintaining the execution context of an order is achieved through the platform JBPM 4, which allows not only to keep executions over a long period of time (including supporting downtime, allowing remote applications to their state) but also watch and interact graphically with them. This form of arrangement is used for the design of complex business processes - Accessions, Changes to the Service, etc.

IMPLEMENTATION

The initial phase - Stage 0 - Definition of Architecture: consisted of exhaustive survey of existing integration platforms on Via Verde and the way the communication between the CRM and backend systems was handled.

Applying the experience of Xpand IT in SOA deployments and Order Management systems, we defined the architecture for the integration layer of Via Verde, implemented during Phase 1 - Implementation of the Order Management Framework and SOA Infrastructure (see diagram)

The main requirement of Phase 2 - Processing CRM orders and Business Workflow Configuration consisted in removing the main integration component in use, driven by higher licensing costs, inadequate to the purposes and lack of skilled resources. At the end of this phase, the processing of all orders from CRM was already effected by the new framework of OM.

The last phase, Phase 3 - Advanced Monitoring Interface, which is in progress, is the migration of existing services to SOA IT infrastructure in order to reuse the functionality offered by it.

FUNCTIONALITY

We highlight a few of the features of the implemented framework:

Sequencing / Dependencies Determining the sequence of keys is configurable by client system and type of request, and the platform also allows the definition of rules to establish the precedence among orders. Product Key Mapping The mapping of products coming from the client systems to the corresponding entities in the backend systems is carried out through rules, providing flexibility and speed in response to change. User Interface Through the JBPM console, the user can forward or cancel failed processes, and correct their data. The administration console allows JBoss to stop, start or simply monitor ESB services on an individual basis.

Automatic error reprocessing The platform enables automatic processing of errors, possibilitanto recognition transient errors and reprocessing after a given time, guided by a maximum number of attempts. The automatic notification via email is another of the mechanisms provided by the solution. Logging Logging mechanisms allow the definition of the level of logging and destination, allowing a quick intervention in case of system problems.

Technologies

JBoss ESB Implementing the SOA architecture relies on the use JBoss ESB 4.6, which is so key software. The main advantages of using this solution are focused on opensource factor in the integrated development environment, messaging architecture and robustness offered by the JBoss AS application server. JBPM The needs of Via Verde's business consisted in the orchestration of various business processes for access to backend systems. The use of JBPM 4 allowed to offer a programming model that supports processes of long duration, complex orchestration or require human intervention, all within one integrated platform. JBoss Rules The JBoss Rules opensource rules engine provides the necessary dynamism to the business processes of Via Verde. The rules of decomposition, processing, reporting and mapping products are defined in rules files, which can be easily changed without interrupting operation of the system.

Smooks The Smooks framework was designed to expedite the processing of XML and non XML data (CSV, EDI, Java, etc.) in a Java environment. At Via Verde, this opensource framework is responsible for the transformation of data between services, allowing the XML definition of data types and operations performed on them. JBoss AS The application server JBoss AS 5.1 is a Java EE 5 certified platform that offers business class services such as clustering, caching and persistence. Lets you develop and run Java EE applications, Web applications and portals. The fact that JBoss AS is the most widely used Java application server in the world is also a guarantee of continuity and solidity to the base of the infrastructure set for the Via Verde.

Solution Benefits

Faced with a difficult to resolve situation, Via Verde sought a partner that would help define the right solution to their reality. In a pragmatic way, the Xpand IT proposed to analyze the technical and functional requirements of Via Verde, while analyzing the infrastructure and existing knowledge, seeking the solution that best suited to all these factors.

The proposed solution not only follows best practices Design Systems Architecture, it is based on standards and software components and hardware optimized and extremely lightweight, capable of unrivaled performance.

By the use of open source standards and technologies, maintenance and evolution, in turn, become a task accessible to any technical person.

Via Verde now has a configurable order management platform, monitorable and a high performance - for example, the processing of all orders in a day (4000 ~ = 7000) can be done done in about two hours.

The platform allows various ways to capture orders, being flexible to the point of accepting several input formats for the same client application.

Also the decomposition and transformation rules are flexible and adaptable to the model received.

The implementation is based on JBPM specific procedures, designed for the business scenarios as they exist today in Via Verde.

As a result of this project, a Via Verde can now:

• Know in real time the status of any proceedings relating to a request from a client;
• Act more efficiently and quickly in case of any abnormality;
• Spend less money on maintenance and evolution of its solution;
• Accommodate more rapidly the evolving business requirements;
• Improve the Customer Experience, which is increasingly seeing the image of Via Verde as a company based on excellency.

Download the Success Story in PDF (Portuguese)

Faced with a situation difficult to resolve, the Via Verde sought a partner that would help define the right solution to their reality. A pragmatic way, the Xpand IT proposed to analyze the technical and functional requirements of Via Verde, while analyzing the infrastructure and existing knowledge, seeking the solution that best suited to all these factors.