The Client
McFadyen Solutions worked
with a large Washington, D.C.-based Federal Agency on a Dynamo
v5.5 project that includes the Dynamo Application Server (DAS),
the ATG eBusiness Platform (DPS & DSS), and the ATG Enterprise
Commerce Suite (B2C & B2B "DCS").
The Business Challenge
The client wanted a Dynamo implementation designed to be an
exchange to support multiple channels of nationwide food sales.
The challenge for McFadyen Solutions was to build a solution
that could be integrated with multiple legacy back-end systems
and a DB2 database. Goals for the system included billing
and invoicing to multiple parties, an order fulfillment component,
and a sophisticated pricing mechanisms based on manager-configurable
settings (requiring no changes to Java or JHTML code).
The Return on Investment
The solution is designed
to reduce overhead through the out-of-the-box personalization
and commerce features of Dynamo 5.5. The open J2EE development
platform and McFadyen's expertise are leading to a rapid return
on investment through improved sales and increased operational
efficiency.
B2B Attributes
In business to business
(B2B) commerce, the transaction of goods and/or services and
money takes place between two business organizations rather
than a business organization and a private consumer as in
business to consumer (B2C) commerce.
The McFadyen Solutions B2B
solution enables promotional offers for participating organizations
based on seasonal specials, inventory levels, and/or other
customized factors. Promotions can be set with automatic start
and end dates. User membership in certain programs allows
access to extended areas of the site and specials. Profiles
for organizations can be created and all members of that organization
inherit those attributes (e.g. billing address). Leaders within
the organizations can configure what content is presented
to members. Additional targeted content is presented to enhance
the web visitor's overall experience. Multiple payment types
are supported, including purchase orders. The solution is
also equipped with the capability to manage recurring orders.
The bi-directional integration
with the back-end mainframe fulfillment system allows buyers
to monitor order status. A dynamic product catalog management
feature enables automatic updates daily based on batch orders
that are integrated with the back-end system. Pricing and
fulfillment status are also automated and managed in a similar
fashion. Additionally, the ATG Control Center (ACC) allows
managers to change marketing campaigns/promotions and to review
their performance with easy-to-read charts. Custom JHTML pages
were created to make some of the ACC functionality available
via web browsers. Actuate reporting software has also been
integrated for more advanced online custom reports. Analytics
and business intelligence functionality is aggregated through
these reporting tools. A web-based customer service module
is planned for call center support to enable personnel to
view details of buyer's orders.
Personalization Functionality
Extensive personalization
has been implemented to leverage the Dynamo Personalization
Server (DPS) and the Dynamo Scenario Server (DSS). User behavior
is recorded in the visitor's profile and the site's content
changes dynamically to maximize sales through the presentation
of targeted content. For example, product and service offerings
and pricing are based on the user profile, including purchase
history. reporting tools. A web-based customer service module
is planned for call center support to enable personnel to
view details of buyer's orders.
Technology
- Dynamo (5.6) - DAS,
DCS, DSS, DPS
- O/s Win2000
- IIS web server
- DB: DB2 universal
- Reporting: Actuate
- Back end: main frame, Dynamo
used JMS and pipleline to integrate with back-end
system
- Version Control - MS Visual
Source Safe
 |
