The client is a leader among Italian large-scale retailers who had recently started upgrading its information system, transforming existing programs on the legacy system (AS / 400) into web applications.

THE PRE-PROJECT SITUATION

The constant exchange of significant data flows (Orders, Notes, Warehouse delivery confirmations, Invoices, stock level notices, etc.) with usual suppliers was managed with AS 400.

These flows constitute a highly heterogeneous external world, created by diverse information systems and consisting of different types of communication, over diverse channels, on which no control or technological standard could be imposed.

THE NEED

The client's need was to be able to receive and send data streams to and from this outside world in the most varied forms and technologies, such as:

• EDI files (Electronic Data Interchange) exchanged via external providers;
• pdf documents or text files sent as e-mail attachments;
• formatted text files sent via FTP;
• other such as fax documents, direct writing on the database, etc.

THE SOLUTION: THE MIDDLEWARE

We created a layer of intermediate software (middleware) between the client’s information system and the communication channels used by the external world, acting as an interface for data exchange.

The middleware is crossed by all the heterogeneous data flows entering and leaving the company, normalizing them into a single standard format.