The Web is uniquely suited to providing low-cost connectivity solutions that generate significant operating efficiencies by connecting your customers directly to your back-end systems.
BlueScope Steel and New Zealand Steel are Australasia's largest steel producers. They supply around 80 per cent of all flat steel products sold in Australia and New Zealand, including familiar brand names such as COLORBOND and ZINCALUME. BlueScope Steel customers span a range of industries in Australia, New Zealand, Asia, the US, Europe and the Middle East.
BlueScope Steel's online order management system plays a vital role in servicing this diverse, geographically dispersed customer base. However, in 2002 the company realised that their current system wasn't providing the fast and efficient service they required. As a result, it posed a real business risk. Not only did they need to redesign and redevelop their main customer-facing business system - they needed to do it fast.
Integrated business logic
Fujitsu redeveloped bluescopesteelconnect.com a Web-based application that links a self-service customer interface directly to the company's back-end order management and fulfilment systems. Now customers can create their own orders from anywhere in the world and monitor the progress of each order online until it is fulfilled. Integrated business logic is used for validation and initial processing before the order is transferred to the appropriate management system. Order data is entered only once, by the customer, ensuring optimum operating efficiency and accuracy. Customers can also download order templates, invoices and customer statements at a considerable saving in time, mailing costs, and manual processing.
In addition to redeveloping the application, Fujitsu designed and deployed a new technical architecture to support it, including firewalls, a new development environment and a dedicated production environment. Throughout the project, we adopted a collaborative approach, working in an active partnership with BlueScope Steel and selected external vendors.
Fujitsu redeveloped bluescopesteelconnect.com using the open-source Java Struts application framework. We used an IBM DB2 database to store and manage application data. The company's Web infrastructure is run using the RedHat Linux 7.2 operating system and IBM Websphere Application Server. In addition, we chose Secureway LDAP directory server for centralised security authentication.
Superior customer service at a reduced cost
After only four months of intensive development, the new bluescopesteelconnect.com went live on 31 January, 2003 - right on schedule. Since then, it has successfully processed thousands of orders, providing superior customer service at a reduced cost.
