AMCAP

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AMCAP shifts e-Business into gear with Fujitsu Interstage

The much-vaunted concept of Web services has been with us for some years now, but many IT managers are still grappling with its significance. For Perth-based automotive parts supplier AMCAP, the benefits of Web services have moved from the theoretical to the distinctly practical.

Founded in 1968 and now part of the Automotive Holdings Group, one of Australia's largest private companies, AMCAP is an established auto parts distributor with annual turnover of A$100 million. Western Australia is the company's heartland, but it services dealers and distributors nationwide and also in New Zealand, South Africa and Asia. AMCAP handles sales and distribution for GM Performance Parts, Holden, HSV, Mitsubishi, New Holland agricultural machinery, 3M and a number of specialist part makers. In recent years, it has diversified into new areas such as fishing tackle.

The mainframe meets e-Business

AMCAP runs a very mature IT environment centred on a Fujitsu Global Server 8300 mainframe running the XSP operating system. Its core business applications, all built in COBOL, provide a stable distribution and management platform reflecting years of investment in development, customisation and finetuning.

Staff access the mainframe using a combination of terminals and PC-based TTWeb terminal emulation software. The advantage of TTWeb, developed by Sydney-based host-connectivity specialist Turbosoft, lies in its ability to encapsulate terminal traffic in TCP/IP packets. This means AMCAP clients nationwide can access the mainframe via the Internet to check stock levels, place orders and collect electronic invoices through direct interaction with the distribution company's order management system.

"AMCAP was very happy with its existing setup, but the piece we were missing was the ability to receive online orders from customer systems such as ERP applications," explained AMCAP information technology manager Jim Newton. "Large and complex orders had to be rekeyed into our system - despite the fact that customers were generally creating the orders electronically."

AMCAP previously developed its own system to accept electronic orders through FTP and batch processing. However, the growing pace of electronic orders mean this system was proving increasingly slow, costly to maintain and not always reliable.

Opening up the mainframe with Web services

AMCAP engaged Fujitsu to develop a proof-of-concept solution using the Interstage integration toolset. Mr Newton said Fujitsu's Interstage Suite offered an ideal approach because it extended the strengths of the mainframe but added modern e-Business capabilities. "We looked at moving to .NET, but there was too much work involved and it meant throwing away decades of investment in our mainframe," Mr Newton explained.

Using Interstage, Fujitsu developed a Web service that allowed third-party applications such as customer ERP systems to make application calls into AMCAP's core business environment. The Web service allows the mainframe to receive and queue orders through a network-based file reading program. The new interface also coexists peacefully with the existing batch file system, allowing customers to choose the most convenient way to place orders.

"Fujitsu's pilot implementation proved the advantages of the Web services approach," Mr Newton said. "The whole ordering process became more streamlined, reliability improved and orders entered our system in real time, without the delays associated with batch processing. The Interstage module can process 21 requests per second and handle multiple transactions simultaneously, whereas previously transactions were all held in a single queue."

The Interstage solution was a quantum leap for customers, greatly enhancing their ability to interact with the AMCAP ordering system. For example, it enabled the company's Fin Tackle fishing supplies subsidiary to rapidly develop an online ordering facility with a pure Web interface. This allows customers such as service stations and fishing shops to order quickly and easily.

The new system also helped AMCAP reduce bad debts. Interstage offers a two-way approach, allowing the mainframe expose its services via the Web but also to reach out and use external applications via Web services. This means AMCAP's host can now access comprehensive credit rating information using a Web service published by a credit agency. Similarly, the mainframe can now utilise postal software that lets AMCAP address envelopes using Australia Post-approved barcodes.

Mr Newton said the biggest benefit derived from extending the capabilities and longevity of the company's core COBOL applications. "Interstage allowed us to put a graphical front-end onto the solid foundation of our business systems. It allows AMCAP to embrace e-Business while staying on the mainframe platform we know so well."