Campbell Hausfeld synchronizes JD Edwards data to Wal*Mart in fifteen days
Campbell Hausfeld, headquartered in Harrison Ohio, is a leading U.S. manufacturer and marketer of air compressors, air tools and accessories, paint sprayers, welders and pressure washers. As an automotive supplier to Wal*Mart, Campbell Hausfeld was a frontrunner in meeting Global Data Synchronization requirements and will be so again for meeting RFID requirements. Campbell Hausfeld uses LANSA Data Sync Direct to synchronize JD Edwards World Item Master information to Wal*Mart. Other retailers will follow.
Larry Rude, IT director at Campbell Hausfeld, says, "We selected LANSA Data Sync Direct because the solution was easy to use and easy to integrate with our JD Edwards World solution. Having used the product for over two years now, I can also say that LANSA provides excellent training and support. The LANSA product upgrades are timely and stay ahead of the changing requirements and ever growing number of attributes retailers require."
"LANSA's upgrades are timely and stay ahead of the ever-growing number of attributes retailers require"
The Challenge
Campbell Hausfeld's products are available from general retailers and specialized power dealers. While the general retailers and eTailers may carry up to 1,000 popular products, specialized power dealers sell all 10,000 genuine replacement parts, products and accessories. At Wal*Mart you can find Campbell Hausfeld products in the automotive/garage/tools section.
In 2004, Campbell Hausfeld had to meet Wal*Mart's Global Data Synchronization requirements and since then other retailers followed.
Rude explains why Campbell Hausfeld selected LANSA. "LANSA's certification by UCCnet and Transora was important, as was LANSA's track record of easy integration with JD Edwards World. LANSA multilingual capabilities were also a factor, as our Canadian operations will soon need to be able to synchronize to their retailers in French and English."
"When we initially started synchronizing our products to Wal*Mart, there were only 36 core attributes, but now there are over 85. Next to these baseline attributes, we also need to cater for extended attributes for the hardline industry. The American Hardware Manufacturers Association has established a set of over 150 product attributes that include attributes ranging from 'gross weight' to 'goods return policy'. In addition, some retailers require other attributes that are currently not yet available in UCCnet, which need to be provided separately. But as some of the large retailers are board members of the Global Registry, these other attributes are likely to be included in Registry at some point in time."
"Needless to say the solution has to be flexible and provide frequent upgrades to keep up with changing requirements, " says Rude.
"LANSA's certification, easy integration with JD Edwards and multilingual capabilities were decision factors"
The Solution
The data cleansing and the collection of item attributes were the biggest effort as Rude explains. "We only had part of the required UCCnet attributes in our JD Edwards system. We have multiple product lines and people in different divisions may interpret attributes differently. Data Synchronization is a business project and the product managers maintain the Global Trade Identification Number (GTIN) information and publish it to the Global Registry. But because everyone needs to do the attributes in a consistent way, we appointed a cross-departmental coordinator to oversee it all."
Although LANSA Data Sync Direct offers files and maintenance facilities for additional item attributes, Campbell Hausfeld decided to create a file within their JD Edwards environment for most of the missing attributes. This made it easier to keep all the master file maintenance in one place.
Campbell Hausfeld and other manufacturers that need to provide RFID-tagged items to Wal*Mart in 2005, have to provide RFID information separately, as some RFID related attributes are not yet available in the Global Registry. Wal*Mart pulls in the data from the Global Registry and asks manufacturers to complement that data with an RFID flag on its Web site.
Retailers that are not yet ready to accept data from the Global Registry in an automated way, or retailers that request additional attributes that are not yet established in the Global Registry, also offer Web sites for browser-based maintenance of attributes. For example, Home Depot offers a facility to maintain synchronized information in the bighammer.com Web site.
"Long term we don't want to continue using the retailers' Web sites, because it is quite labor intensive," comments Rude. "Also, there are less strict validations on the Web site. If you send your data to the Global Registry and the retailer picks it up, you get immediate confirmation that they synchronized and certified your data."
"We only had part of the required UCCnet attributes in our system"
The Benefits
The GTIN Manager pulls in relevant
product information from the ERP
system and allows review and
maintenance of GTIN attributes
"The LANSA Data Sync Direct solution is easy to use, and LANSA provides excellent training and support," continues Rude. "Whenever we place a call for technical support or a product update, we get a quick response. I haven't heard any complaints from my people or from the product managers."
"If I exclude the time we spent on cleansing data and collecting attributes, I estimate it took us less than 15 working days from initial training to starting to use the solution."
"The main driver for us to implement Global Data Synchronization (GDS) was to be compliant with the retailers requirements, but there are other benefits as well. GDS forced us to change our processes, cleanse our data and make sure our data is in a standard format. We now have more accurate data because we follow more disciplined procedures and have checkpoints."
"Because the data is cleaner, there are less mistakes in the whole process including ordering, invoicing and delivery," concludes Rude.
"It took us less than 15 working days from initial training to starting to use the solution"
Company and System Information
- Campbell Hausfeld manufactures air compressors, air tools, nailers and staplers, paint sprayers, pressure washers and welders. Its products are geared to both the professional and DIY markets. Founded in 1836 the company sells its powered equipment through its Ohio-based headquarters and is a subsidiary of The Scott Fetzer Company. Campbell Hausfeld employs over 1,200 people in its manufacturing and distribution facilities.
- Campbell Hausfeld uses a dual processor iSeries model 830.
- For more information visit: www.campbellhausfeld.com
LANSA UCCnet Direct was renamed LANSA Data Sync Direct in January 2004- The LANSA Data Sync Direct solution integrates with Campbell Hausfeld’s JD Edwards ERP solution.
- LANSA Data Sync Direct is a turnkey, scalable business solution used by more than 300 businesses to comply with retailer requests for data synchronization. The solution may be implemented in a hosted or behind-the-firewall configuration on Windows, IBM iSeries or i5 Systems and Linux. LANSA Data Sync Direct is certified by 1SYNC™ and also conforms to the latest EAN.UCC XML schema version.
- 1SYNC is a company established from the consolidation of Transora and UCCnet that provides item registry and data synchronization for electronic commerce.
- Find out more about LANSA's GDSN Solution