I liked this portion of the FT article:
These systems work well, says Mr Kambayashi, but they were not designed to provide the sophisticated information flows that Kasumi now needs. "EDI is used for orders and deliveries but cannot be used for promotions," says Mr Kambayashi.
Kasumi has, therefore, embarked on a two-year project to completely renew its information system using technologies such as Java, extensible markup language (XML) and web browsers.
The first step has been to upgrade Kasumi store and headquarter computer systems. This aims to improve the precision of ordering - today, often a hit-and-miss affair - and create closer links with marketing and inventory management.
The ultimate goal is to achieve precise item-by-item management and better sales forecasting, which Kasumi believes will benefit both it and its suppliers.
"Today it is very difficult to keep optimum inventory levels because sales forecasts depend on many different factors, such as promotions, store layouts or even the weather. All this information should be integrated in one system so as to enhance the accuracy of our sales forecasting," says Mr Kambayashi.
This first stage was completed earlier this year and the in-store systems upgraded with new Java-based applications that enables managers in each store to manage inventory more effectively.
Each store has a data server that collects information from the Pos terminals using a wireless local area network. This data is cached and distributed throughout the organisation from a central server at Kasumi headquarters.
The technology to do this, called Enterprise Java Beans, was supplied by eXcelon, a US software house previously called Object Design.
The next stage is much more ambitious and will ultimately see eXcelon bring more than 1,000 trading partners into the network. The aim is to create a system that allows Kasumi and its suppliers to exchange all kinds of information ranging from inventory documents and store maps to sales records and purchase orders. XML will be used as the common "language" to let different applications talk to each other.
Kasumi is using eXcelon's B2B Integration Server product for this part of the project. As its name suggests, the integration server links Kasumi's back office infrastructure into its suppliers and partners, irrespective of the hardware or software they use.
The eXcelon product incorporates XML data translation tools covering more than 70 data types - so suppliers who like to use spreadsheets, for example, can fill their PC-based spreadsheet directly with Kasumi's data. The integration server becomes the hub around which all information flows in Kasumi's extended supply chain.
The second phase, which starts next year, will initially involve Kasumi's 20 or 30 biggest suppliers and there is no cost for them to participate.
Mr Kambayashi hopes to be able to extend the project to include all suppliers, even those who might have no IT infrastructure beyond a stand-alone PC.
"We are looking into developing a web-based application, so even the smallest suppliers can enter our system using the public internet," says Mr Kambayashi. |
