…

                                                                  Customer Profile
A reusable iWay infrastructure
produced dramatic savings for
the development of Alcan's
e-commerce, employee benefits,
and customer portal sites.




Alcan, Inc.



Snapshot
Organization
Alcan, Inc., a world leader in the production of   According to Alcan's Bo Foster, the aluminum-production company expects an annual savings of $16 million,
                                                   thanks to integration technology from iWay Software.
primary aluminum, fabricated aluminum, and
specialty packaging products.

The Challenge                                      Connecting the Enterprise
Devise a low-cost, all-purpose integration
                                                   iWay Integrates Multinational Business Operations
strategy to streamline multiple e-business
development objectives.                            for Alcan, Inc.

The Strategy                                       Pop open a can of soda or beer, and chances are better than one in three that
                                                   the can you're holding was produced by Alcan, Inc. As a world leader in the
Wrap a ring of common services around Alcan's
                                                   production of primary aluminum, fabricated aluminum, and specialty packaging
core information systems so developers can use     ­ including aluminum sheet metal for beverage cans ­ Alcan has significant
XML, Web services, and other standard interface    interests in raw materials, primary metals, and fabricated products, as well as
mechanisms to link users to information.           flexible and specialty packaging for the food, pharmaceutical, and personal-
                                                   care industries worldwide. Whether it's contributing to the design of a more
The Results                                        fuel-efficient automobile, engineering a sophisticated industrial component,
                                                   or devising a clever packaging concept for food products, Alcan has proven
Annual savings of $16 million.
                                                   itself to be a market leader.

Information Builders Solution                      This relentless drive toward innovation and efficiency also typifies Alcan's
iWay Software, Consulting.                         information technology (IT) department, where employees such as Bo Foster
                                                   are setting new standards for information delivery, sharing, and exchange.

                                                   "We have four key goals: to meet customer expectations, develop a low-cost
                                                   development strategy, eliminate waste, and position Alcan for the future,"
                                                   explains Foster, who is responsible for Alcan's U. S. corporate applications and
                                                   e-commerce programs. "Integration technology from iWay Software plays an
                               important role in creating better e-business processes and delivering timely information to
                               our users. We are budgeted to deliver $16 million worth of annual savings. iWay tools are
                               an important part of that solution."

   "Integration technology
 from iWay Software plays
                               The Road to EAI
                               Alcan succeeds through a remarkable combination of talented people, innovative products,
       an important role in
                               advanced technologies, and a customer-focused culture. With annual revenues exceeding $12.5
 creating better e-business    billion, the manufacturing giant employs 53,000 people and has operating facilities in 41 countries.
  processes and delivering
  timely information to our    For a company with mature information systems supporting manufacturing, supply chain,
 users. We are budgeted to     financial, human resources, and logistics operations around the globe, meeting IT goals often
deliver $16 million worth of   comes down to a simple premise: staying connected. Foster says his primary business and IT
                               tasks center around generating better information and ensuring better processes.
annual savings. iWay tools
      are an important part    For example, Foster's team is closing the e-commerce capability gap by building self-service
          of that solution."   applications for employees, customers, and vendors, with an emphasis on business
                               intelligence to boost productivity. "Self-service is our mantra," he says.

                               It's all part of a comprehensive e-business strategy designed to increase trading-partner
                               intimacy while streamlining collaborative commerce and logistics. On the buy side, this
                               includes lowering the cost of procurement with online links to the company's freight
                               database and electronic catalogs. On the sell side, it entails enhanced business processes
                               for online ordering, portal integration, and access to self-service applications.


                               Selecting the Right Software
                               Successful e-business integration involves tying unique front-end applications designed
                               for Web-based self-service into multiple back-end databases, transactions systems, and ERP
                               applications. To meet these objectives, Alcan conducted a balanced scorecard evaluation that
                               revealed iWay as the best fit for its application-integration needs. Alcan was drawn
                               to iWay for its comprehensive, service-oriented architecture and overall ease of use.

                               "Realizing our e-business objectives requires an integration strategy that wraps a set
                               of common services around our diverse core systems ­ and delivers cost-effective Web
                               services as well," Foster explains. "The key challenge is diversity. iWay allows us to put
                               a ring of common services around our core information systems. We can use XML, Web
                               services, and other standard interface mechanisms to link users to information."

                               Alcan compared iWay against several other application-integration solutions, with an eye
                               toward cost, functionality, and an easy fit with their existing technology infrastructure.
                               "One of the things that we were most impressed with was iWay's ability to execute a proof
                               of concept in literally just a few hours," Foster recalls. "Some of the other vendors struggled
                               to demonstrate similar capabilities in days, and even then we were never 100 percent satisfied
                               with their results."


                               Putting iWay to Work
                               Alcan purchased iWay's software along with two weeks of iWay professional services. "The
                               learning curve was fairly short, particularly with the consultants on board to assist us," Foster
                               notes. "They helped us install the software, then went on to define and implement a service-
                               oriented architecture that pertains to many of our business requirements."
By using iWay's integration framework, developers can build integration hubs composed
of all the information sources that need to be accessed to service a business application or
business transaction. Then, by plugging in the appropriate iWay adapters and connectors,
data from multiple sources can be accessed and retrieved without having to hardwire all the
separate interactions between the data sources and the applications.                              "iWay's use of Web services
                                                                                                  as a way to integrate
iWay quickly demonstrated superior alignment with Alcan's overall EAI strategy. "As part
                                                                                                  applications is unique.
of our procurement program, we had to pull information from legacy purchasing and
maintenance systems, Oracle Financials, and several other point solutions and integrate it        It has allowed us to address
with our e-Marketplace," says Foster. "We accomplished this by using iWay as part of an           some business problems
EAI hub based on Microsoft BizTalk Server."                                                       that we didn't think were
                                                                                                  economically feasible,
Alcan went on to apply the same integration logic to its logistics, payroll, and HR systems.
                                                                                                  particularly in the case of
"iWay fits in very closely with our Microsoft .NET architecture and it simplifies the
                                                                                                  our large-scale systems.
integration and transformation of data from mainframe systems, VAX midrange systems,
and other legacy assets," says Foster. "For example, we are moving toward booking orders          Being able to start small
online using Microsoft Commerce Server and the Microsoft SharePoint portal server. iWay           gave us lots of opportunities."
helps by simplifying the connections to numerous back-end systems."

For these and other e-business initiatives, iWay provides a consistent and reliable integration
platform, enabling the reuse of enterprise IT assets across multiple business systems. For
example, Alcan employees depend on iWay's standard, system-to-system interfaces to check
pension balances and predict future earnings within the retirement portal. iWay also works
hand in hand with Microsoft BizTalk Server to underpin a global logistics system.

"We needed a loosely coupled infrastructure to deliver information to manufacturers
and transportation firms about loads and shipments," says Foster. "iWay simplifies the
interchange of information and transactions that originate in half a dozen legacy systems."

"iWay has enabled us to obtain significant value by addressing business problems that we
thought would be too expensive to tackle," Foster adds. "We have created data warehouses
using iWay tools. We have also enabled partners, employees, and customers to leverage
information that they could not easily access in the past."


Moving to Web Services
Looking ahead, Foster sees iWay as a fundamental component of Alcan's Web services
strategy. Developers can use the iWay graphical workbench to automatically generate
iWay Business Services ­ Web services that incorporate data or functionality from existing
systems. "No programming knowledge is necessary to generate services that reuse
functionality from ERP or CRM systems, legacy applications, and diverse data sources,"
says Foster. "iWay fits very well with our Web services integration initiatives."

Alcan's emerging portal architecture uses this Web services infrastructure to connect a
Lotus Notes backbone, third-party content, information from data warehouses, and unique
business applications with users throughout the organization.

"Some of our business units use Microsoft solutions," Foster explains. "Our corporate group
in Montreal uses an IBM solution, while our European offices use SAP solutions. By creating
Web services around each of these IT environments, developers throughout our organization
can mix and match information and present it in the correct cultural format for each group.
                                 An employee in São Paulo doesn't necessarily want to see information in the same way as
                                 a user in Cleveland," he continues. "Our Web services strategy creates common serviceability
                                 for many different applications."

Find Out More                    Built-in connectors and adapters make the entire integration process a turnkey operation.
                                 "iWay's use of Web services as a way to integrate applications is unique," Foster states.
To see how we can help you       "It has allowed us to address some business problems that we didn't think were economically
succeed, visit us at             feasible, particularly in the case of our large-scale systems. Being able to start small gave
                                 us lots of opportunities."
www.iwaysoftware.com, e-mail
us at info@iWaySoftware.com,     Ultimately, iWay will enable a Web services engine for sales and marketing functions as
                                 well as the integration software that helps connect the AccessAlcan Web site to back-office
or in the U.S. and Canada,
                                 systems for finance, logistics, order entry, and procurement. For example, supply-chain
call toll-free (866) 297-4929.   partners use the AccessAlcan report center via extranet connections to check the status of
                                 outstanding shipments, invoices, pricing information, and account balances ­ as well as to
                                 view the status of pertinent manufacturing operations. Shipping and logistics companies
                                 depend on the Alcan Logistics Portal to review load summaries, confirm deliveries, and
                                 track invoices online. "AccessAlcan supplies customer access to the ERP system, and is the
                                 gateway to other value-added services," Foster explains. "The iWay Web services engine
                                 is an important part of this middleware framework."


                                 Counting the Savings
                                 Alcan has made significant headway toward achieving its overall e-business vision and
                                 the savings have been dramatic. According to Foster, one e-commerce site that combines
                                 user-managed content with an AS/400-based ERP system was expected to cost $500,000
                                 to develop. It was delivered for only $160,000, thanks in part to the iWay infrastructure.
                                 An employee benefits site that was quoted at $180,000 came in at $15,000. And a customer
                                 portal that uses SAP data was created for just $50,000 ­ once again, much less than
                                 expected, thanks to the reusable iWay infrastructure.

                                 But by far the biggest savings have resulted from using iWay in the context of a massive
                                 freight initiative connecting business units across North America. "For a $600,000 IT
                                 investment, we are delivering $12 million in annual savings," Foster says. "iWay allows
                                 us to broker transactions among legacy manufacturing, financial, logistics, and load-
                                 tendering solutions to dramatically simplify the architecture."

                                 These exceptional achievements were recognized by CAMP, Inc., a consortium of
                                 manufacturing companies in Ohio, when they awarded Alcan with their prestigious eVolution
                                 in Manufacturing Award. "Our goal is to meet customer expectations and devise a low-cost
                                 integration strategy," Foster sums up. "I believe that any company can benefit from the
                                 integration strategies that iWay makes a reality."




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