Baker Hughes Outsourced B2B EDI Solution with DiCentral Leverages SAP R/3 Investment
Baker Hughes Incorporated is a leading supplier of reservoir-centered products, services and systems to the worldwide oil and gas industry and a leading supplier of separation technologies to the worldwide process industries.
The Challenge:
In 2001, Baker Hughes was required to switch data integration providers within 30 days as a part of Project Renaissance, a major company initiative to achieve significant cost savings by streamlining internal business processes and effectively implementing SAP enterprise resource planning software. Baker Hughes chose DiCentral to manage the data exchange.
Emergency Migration Needed:
Since they had 30 days to integrate into SAP R/3 and get six of their largest trading partners up and running in record time, they needed a provider that could not only be successful from a technical perspective but could demonstrate they were financially stable prior to engaging in the process.
Minimize Days Sales Outstanding:
Baker Hughes needed to retain its Days Sales Outstanding record and needed a solution that would not negatively affect that record. Anything less than a complete delivery of a system would have meant considerable dollars being missed.
DiCentral Solution:
Outsourced B2B Integration Solution for SAP R/3(R/3)
Future Proof Solution:
Also important to Baker Hughes was choosing a solution that would be scalable for future needs. As industry players turn to PIDX XML transactions, RNIF 2.0 communication protocol and Electronic Field Ticket utilization, they wanted to be able to adapt and stay with the same solution.
The Solution:
Baker Hughes selected DiCentral because it allowed Baker Hughes to achieve customer integration in 30 days, instead of the five to six months proposed by other providers. Another critical factor in the selection was DiCentral's ability to adapt easily to changing e-commerce environments in the future. Baker Hughes expects their measure of Days Sales Outstanding (DSO) to be reduced over the long term as a result.
Total SAP R/3 B2B Integration in 30 Days:
Baker Hughes looked to DiCentral’s unique SaaS platform to integrate data to SAP R/3 using SAP IDOC and an additional ERP system in its Baker Petrolite division. “We’re delighted with the success of the integration project,” says Noel Malcaba of Baker Hughes. “With DiCentral, we didn’t have to buy expensive software or dedicated lease lines.”
Days Sales Outstanding Improved:
In switching from one SaaS platform to DiCentral, they were actually able to more cleanly process data from two backend systems, SAP and IBM Prism. Because DiCentral was able to add 150 business rules to the data going into and out of SAP, it sped up the process to getting paid due to less human intervention on complex transactions.
“DiCentral helped us improve our Day’s Sales Outstanding,” said Mr. Malcaba. “It really helps the company’s bottom line. I’d recommend DiCentral to other oil and gas industry suppliers – especially those companies with high volume transactions or enterprise solutions like SAP.”
Scalable Solution meets Future Needs:
DiCentral's solution met the needs of Baker Hughes as new trading partners, processes, business rules and technologies were added to the solution set. Today Baker Hughes trades with over twenty trading partners including banks, oil companies, and manufacturing companies using various technologies. Through it all DiCentral’s Outsourced EDI solution successfully adapted to each new scenario.
DiCentral Support Team Collaborates to Provide Solutions:
"DiCentral's solution drastically reduces the cost of data exchange and requires only days or weeks of set-up and operational time rather than the months required by traditional solutions," said Thuy Mai, DiCentral Chief Executive Officer. "We are pleased to serve as a technology partner with Baker Hughes, and we look forward to expanding our service relationship to the entire supply chain."