Prerequisites

To produce meaningful and measurable outcomes from this proof of concept, it is critical that the customer be involved throughout by providing a staging environment and application expertise of their enterprise systems, as well as network access and privileges. Connection points covered by this proof of concept are limited to available .NET Adaptors verified with BizTalk Server 2006.

Synopsis

ABC equipment maintenance company receives service requests from a variety of sources including field technicians, directly from customers via the web, telephone operators, and/or from trading partners.

The proof of concept demonstrates how these requests may be received via channels including smart client generated XML documents, web site HTTP inputs and direct entry to an ERP system. It also shows how client numbers, from ABC's ERP system, may be viewed and selected at the time the service requests are made, and where this is inappropriate (such as in the case of client web entry and trading partner systems) BizTalk Server intercepts the service request for human input of the client number.

BizTalk Server declarative rules also alert managers of the service request and prompts for allocation to a field technician. It also activates costing and credit approval processes, supplemented by account balance information from the ERP system. All workflow is supported by time sensitive escalations. Once allocated and approved, BizTalk Server orchestration outputs are sent to various ABC line of business applications, including time allocation to the field technician’s records in the HR system, client service history in the CRM system, parts despatch request in the warehousing system, inventory and invoicing data back to the ERP system, and email notification to the requesting party of the service schedule.

Data Flow

Data access requires customer numbers, account balances (ERP) and internal email addresses (Exchange). Record updating may include Customer History (CRM), Personnel Time Records (HR), Pick List Generation (Warehousing), Invoice Generation (ERP) and/or Email Outbox (Exchange).