Danone says “mmm” to Sterling B2B EDI network

Sterling Commerce is replacing Danone's existing network in bid to increase the flexibility and responsiveness of its B2B commerce. Part of IBM's unfolding Smarter Commerce portfolio, the Sterling Collaboration Network is being rolled out across Danone sites world-wide, each with multiple sales and distribution points and factories, and involving the on-boarding of 600 trading partners. Hans Vollebregt, head of EDI solutions at Danone, says that the project supports the full range of the food giant's order-to-cash processes, including ordering, invoicing, delivery and logistics – with traditional EDI across a spectrum of formats to allow third party data to be integrated with Danone's warehouse data. "IBM's Sterling team was quick to react to our requests for increased flexibility in meeting trading partners' needs," comments Vollebregt. "The company also has a proven track record in Europe in providing B2B integration as-a-service. And the team's willingness and ability to meet our needs is what made all the difference." By delivering real-time visibility and control over the business processes shared with its community of partners and customers – which include large retailers – IBM's B2B network brings Danone a new accuracy and speed in responding to customer demands, he adds.