Moving towards a green future – SANYO switches to EDI On-Demand from Crossgate
The producer of batteries for hybrid vehicles has elected to replace its EDI translator with the B2B 360° Services “powered by SAP” from Crossgate for its electronic communications with business partners
Munich on 19 October 2009
SANYO Component Europe GmbH, the leading supplier of industrial batteries for hybrid vehicles and other electronic automotive components, is switching its communications with business partners to the on-demand EDI service from Crossgate.. Fully in line with its green “Think GAIA” corporate vision and effective immediately, SANYO will be switching to the B2B 360° Services “powered by SAP” from Crossgate, which are available as a subscription-based EDI service. With a single connection, the company will integrate to Crossgate’s Business-Ready Network – the B2B network linking more than 40,000 connected business partners. SANYO will be using the platform to exchange data with globally active customers and suppliers in the automotive industry. The electronic trading requirements of their business partners are held in the Crossgate platform repository which simplifies mapping, on-boarding, and connectivity. This reusable repository of trading partner specific mappings greatly speeds up the connectivity and has already led to the smooth linkup of the first business partners this past August.
SANYO Component Europe GmbH has declared it its goal to accelerate the introduction of innovative and ecologically friendly technologies, and to become a leading supplier of industrial batteries for the automobiles of the future. To begin with, the batteries will be used in “hybrid vehicles”, as they are known, but long-term plans foresee their use in purely electric cars too. SANYO markets its photovoltaics modules in Europe, an area of business that has already developed a strong foothold for itself. As a result of the rapidly growing portfolio of new customers, the up-and-coming company was on the lookout for a modern solution for its electronic communications with business partners. The previous solution, an in-house EDI middleware used solely for one process, was unable to meet the new and complex EDI requirements and was also highly cost-intensive to maintain.
EDI leadership in the automotive industry
“Since we had no expertise in EDI in the company itself, we were most interested in an on-demand solution,” says Oliver Toll, Assistant Manager for the SAP Department of SANYO Component Europe GmbH. “Crossgate, a highly experienced provider of EDI on demand, impressed us with a complete offering. In addition, it maintains a B2B repository of reusable trading partner profiles from the automotive industry – partners that are also our customers. We can use this EDI asset as we grow and expand our business.”
EDI on demand
Crossgate’s software-as-a-service approach (SaaS) – is a flat-fee EDI subscription service that does not require additional investments in hardware, software and maintenance. This IT consolidation was very much in SANYO’s interest. With the on-demand B2B 360° services “powered by SAP” solution from Crossgate, the company is now able to connect to Crossgate’s Business-Ready Network through just one interface, and immediately start exchanging electronic data with its business partners. SANYO will soon start processing other business processes via the Crossgate platform, optimizing collaboration with its suppliers and saving costs at the same time.
