Cooper Tire Selects Sterling Commerce to Improve Data Integration with Customers and Suppliers
COLUMBUS, Ohio--Sept. 13, 2004--| Gentran Integration Suite Automates Business Processes to Enhance Supplier Relations, Business Forecasting and Multi-Enterprise Integration |
Cooper Tire, a leading manufacturer of replacement tires, recently selected business integration leader Sterling Commerce to enhance data sharing and multi-enterprise integration to expand supplier relations and decision-making support.
"To maintain and grow our market share, we needed to overcome all the complexity involved with sharing and integrating the information necessary to conduct business," said Dave Drake, lead systems architect, Cooper Tire. "Many of our customers and vendors are smaller, without sophisticated systems, so we needed to open up the playing field and offer numerous options for data integration. After evaluating a number of business integration solution providers, Sterling Commerce quickly emerged as the partner to handle the tens of thousands of electronic business documents we have per month, while supporting Web services and secure Internet communications, which are paramount to our daily operations."
Drake added, "Many of our customers and vendors were asking if we could support SOAP, Web services and secure FTP communications, and we needed a way to meet these customer requests with repeatable business processes that could be easily managed and supported."
By implementing Sterling Commerce's Gentran Integration Suite, a modular business integration solution, Cooper Tire could automate and easily modify its business processes, meeting its customers' changing business requirements while supporting a service-oriented architecture (SOA). In addition, with the product's Web extensions and perimeter services, Cooper Tire can easily and securely exchange data over the Internet.
"The Internet has made it possible to send files to anyone, anywhere, anytime," said Drake. "But, because the information we exchange is business critical, we needed an extra layer of services that provides the necessary security and tracking capabilities." Gentran Integration Suite's perimeter services provides a high performance, scalable and secure data pipe by providing lightweight server components that can be easily deployed to a demilitarized zone (DMZ) between firewalls to securely manage all message flows.
Cooper Tire also wanted to receive more data electronically to improve its supply chain management. The company could only accomplish this by integrating with partners outside the firewall to receive accurate and timely information about customer sales, individual store orders and product delivery status.
"We continue to press for more efficiencies in our supply chain," Drake said. "One area where we will focus in 2004 and beyond is electronic connections with freight carriers since many still communicate with faxes or phone calls." Gentran Integration Suite provides Cooper Tire the necessary tools to bring carriers into an electronic environment, including support for secure FTP and other Internet-based communications.
About Gentran Integration Suite
Gentran Integration Suite is a modular business integration platform that provides a range of capabilities, including support for Internet B2B, Web services, EDI, business process management, enterprise application integration, and enhanced file transfer. The product's modular architecture supports the growing requirement for precision IT investments - tactically solving high priority business needs on a strategic architecture platform.
About Cooper Tire & Rubber Company
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, headquartered in Findlay, Ohio, specializes in the manufacturing and marketing of products for the global automotive industry. Products include automotive, motorcycle and truck tires, inner tubes, tread rubber and equipment, as well as sealing, trim, NVH control systems and fluid handling systems. Cooper has more than 20,000 employees and 52 manufacturing facilities in 13 countries. For more information, visit the company's Web site at www.coopertireandrubber.com.
About Sterling Commerce
Sterling Commerce, a wholly owned subsidiary of SBC Communications Inc. , is one of the world's largest providers of business integration solutions. For more than 25 years, thousands of companies have depended on Sterling Commerce expertise to optimize collaborative relationships through the integration of applications, external partners, suppliers and customers. With more than 25,000 customers worldwide, Sterling Commerce is the dominant business integration solutions provider in retail, consumer packaged goods, manufacturing, financial services and telecommunications. For detailed, up-to-date information on Sterling Commerce and our solutions, visit www.sterlingcommerce.com and sign up for our e-business newsletter, e-biz buzz.
SBC Communications Inc. is a Fortune 50 company whose subsidiaries, operating under the SBC brand, provide a full range of voice, data, networking, e-business, directory publishing and advertising, and related services to businesses, consumers and other telecommunications providers. SBC holds a 60 percent ownership interest in Cingular Wireless, which serves 25 million wireless customers. SBC companies provide high-speed DSL Internet access lines to more American consumers than any other provider and are among the nation's leading providers of Internet services. SBC companies also now offer satellite TV service. Additional information about SBC and SBC products and services is available at www.sbc.com.