| CSC Progres Iniziativa: |
"SILOG", the logistic program of CSC Progres Iniziativa, stands the test under UNIX and
Windows NT |
| In this success story we want to present you again one of our customers, who growed out of a total specialist of RPG or Cobol400 into a multiplatform software producer... Through the transition of its proven software, SILOG, into an "open world", CSC Progres Iniziativa has opened up new markets. |
| CSC Progres Iniziativa, a subsidiary of CSC Progres based in Milan (Italy), has been producing high quality logistics software since 1987. In 1999 Progres Iniziativa was taken over by CSC (Computer Sciences Corporation, El Segundo, California, USA). Today, with approximately 700 employees and sales of 105 billion lire, CSC Progres Iniziativa is one of the largest software houses in Italy. The company represents a secure point of reference for Italian market, because of its complete offer. Its products cover all needs in entire software life cycle. Services are the results of the great competence in projects, consulting, training and education. |
SILOG
SILOG is a specialized software product for distribution logistics; it also includes physical stock management, complete distribution planning, transport management and statistics. It manages the complex requirements of an efficient goods transport system including selection of different transport enterprises, charges and administration. SILOG is primarily used by industrial enterprises and has interfaces to the most popular ERP applications, such as SAP R/3, SSA BPCS, JD Edwards, Prism, JBA etc. Since these other applications are active on multiple platforms it was necessary to offer SILOG versions for Windows NT and Unix platforms also. |
| Global companies that prefer SILOG on Windows NT and Unix include such well known names as Bayer, Coca-Cola and Heineken. |
| SILOG continues to be enhanced in order to meet the increasingly sophisticated requirements of its customers. |
The Challenge
Initially CSC Progres Iniziativa developed SILOG with the ASSET code generator from SSA. When, in 1994, SSA ceased development of the ASSET tool CSC Progres Iniziativa found themselves with a major problem and had to look for an alternative. Therefore, Mr. Longhi, Managing Director of CSC Progres Iniziativa, decided to look for a multi-platform conversion solution in order to deliver the most flexible solution with least expense without having to rewrite the existing application. "Adapting the current system to multiple platforms and adding a graphical user interface would have exceeded the capacity of our existing development team and could not have been accomplished in a realistic time. It would have meant a complete new development " says Mr. Longhi. |
| They looked for a solution that would convert their existing AS/400 application to open systems in a very short timeframe. CSC Progres Iniziativa also wanted to continue to develop and maintain SILOG on the AS/400 and convert each new release to open systems so that they would have very little impact on the development team. Lorenzo Longhi (left) and Paolo Canepari Manager of CSC Progres Iniziativa and CoManager of CSC Progres. |
Lorenzo Longhi
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Paolo Canepari
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The Solution
Many different companies were evaluated in order to find a solution. Finally AX/ware's crossplat-form technology from PKS was selected for a prototype. After a four day prototype and detailed analysis it was decided that AX/ware could meet the needs of CSC Progres Iniziativa. The migration with AX/ware produced Windows NT source code that was also fully compatible,
together with the AX/ware Application Server, with the other Unix platforms required by CSC
Progres Iniziativa. |
| In addition, the fact that AX/ware also delivered a client/server implementation with a graphical user interface and excellent integration with Oracle was important for consistency with SILOG's related applications from SAP, JDE etc. The decision to proceed with the full conversion using AX/ware became a simple one! At the end of November 1997 the development team was trained and the project commenced. As soon as April 1998 the first tests with the new software began and the results presented to sales departments and prospects. |
Advantage
Now with the SILOG logistics system on Unix and Windows NT the entire knowledge from ten years of development could be reused 1:1. CSC Progres Iniziativa could also increase the number of SILOG installations by about 25% as a direct result of its presence on Unix and Windows NT. |
| CSC Progres Iniziativa has become an AX/ware migration center and is able to offer these same migration services to other companies in Italy. |
| The cooperation of CSC Progres Iniziativa and PKS Software has been very successful ever since the first migration. Some of the innovations of CSC Progres Iniziativa have even become standard features of the AX/ware product itself. |
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