The food company claims that EDI is something that has been discussed for years. Until recently however, it was felt that the cost was too prohibitive. "A few years ago, EDI was for most customers still a very expensive solution," said Puratos e-technology manager Joachim Verheyen.
The firm now feels that fears over return of investment no longer apply. Puratos has customers in Spain, France, Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom and Ireland, and has to process orders electronically and send invoices electronically - a more efficient solution makes good business sense. "With solutions like Covast and Microsoft BizTalk Server, it is much cheaper than it was," said Verheyen.
Puratos claims that the system provides a number of advantages including reduced errors and quicker information flow. "The whole list of the advantages of EDI applies here," said Verheyen.
EDI technology is catching on fast in the food industry as a means of keeping track with every aspect of the food process. Covast says that for a minimal outlay, a comprehensive IT infrastructure can be established that helps companies track costs and identify any weaknesses in the chain.
"We at Covast are extremely pleased that Puratos has chosen to utilise Covast's EDI Accelerator and Microsoft BizTalk Server as its EDI platform of choice in order to provide their customers with a total communications package," said chief executive Daan Scheer. "Microsoft and Covast deliver a complete B2B environment that can provide instant connectivity to trading partners as well as a solid architecture infrastructure. Puratos has proven that with its initial pilot project."
Puratos says that it chose Covast's EDI Accelerator for its pure EDI functionality and chose BizTalk Server for its underlying integration capabilities. "We chose Microsoft BizTalk Server and Covast together as a full EDI solution," said Verheyen.
Puratos picked wholesaler Makro, a member of the German Metro Group, to carry out the pilot project as the company is based close to Puratos' headquarters in Belgium. The same solution that Makro is using in the pilot will be used for all Puratos customers who wish to use it.
Founded in 1919 and headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, Puratos makes ingredients for bakery, confectionery and chocolate products as well as a host of other semi-finished and finished food products.
Covast provides the Microsoft-recommended EDI solution for BizTalk Server. The firm claims that the combination of Microsoft BizTalk Server and the Covast EDI Accelerator delivers an excellent IT solution that enables companies to easily integrate their EDI infrastructures with internal applications and provide a gateway for connecting trading communities. The company has European headquarters in the Netherlands and US headquarters in Atlanta.