Ingram Micro Logistics

End to End Logistics, information at your finger tips. Brand2Media designed a customized client web portal, to allow IML's major customer’s access to information, consistent with what IML’s own customer service was able to see on internal systems.

Client Challenge
IML grew to be the world leader in distribution on the foundation of a solid IT framework. This framework came in at a time when the internet was just emerging and bandwidth was expensive. As a legacy process, IML’s client reporting system was batch synchronizing once a day and involved multiple reports from multiple systems, and a variety of formats. This process was no longer what clients where expecting, however increasing the frequency, presentation, and accuracy of this information as inventory and orders moved, would cause significant accuracy problems to reporting. The job of tackling this went to Brand2Media and IML’s own IT team.

Brand2Media Solution
The obvious solution for IML was to design a customized client web portal, to allow their major customer’s access to information, consistent with what IML’s own customer service was able to see on internal systems. The challenge would be how to push data in a consistent format. In the early days of the solution design, Brand2Media and IML worked to identify a database structure that would accommodate ever changing data streams from multiple sources including XML, EDI, and flat files. In all, the original design called for over 11 integration points, being created at different times and sent to Portal at different frequencies. Brand2Media developed a highly integrated Web Portal to work with these feeds to seamlessly tie everything together, providing the ‘one-stop’ IML clients were looking for. The solution allows IML’s Clients to track inbound stock transfers, inventory levels in all warehouses, order allocation and status, shipping status, and even returns status. IML’s commitment to the Portal as new client interaction tool has meant that Brand2Media is dedicated to not only maintaining the solution but actively involved in ongoing improvements and upgrades. UPDATE 2006: Brand2Media made a significant upgrade to portal to allow for IML clients to receive ‘proof of delivery’ and ‘shipment tracking’ information in a consolidated report. The upgrade called on Brand2Media to connect 7 transportation companies including small parcel and truck load carriers. UPDATE 2007: Brand2Media and IML invested in a new Portal design based on IT upgrades at IML. These changes helped reduce the number of data feeds, increase data output frequency and improve data accuracy.

Result
Since released Portal has helped decrease customer service calls and allowed IML clients the ability to retrieve mission critical information at their convenience. As Portal’s scope is slowly increased to include more customers, the long-term impact will be significant.