Technology Overview

Planning, Execution, Visibility And Transaction Management Converge On A Single Platform

Overview

One Network provides robust Replenishment, Distribution and Transportation applications that are built on a next-generation infrastructure and delivered via a high performance global network.  As supply chains grow in complexity and impact, legacy infrastructure increasingly becomes both the bottleneck and greatest risk in the IT stack. 

At the core of this problem, organizations are not suffering from a lack of applications, middleware or system software.  Quite to the contrary, they have too much software, with different architectures, conflicting business rules and confusing user interfaces that combine to hinder process effectiveness, create needless complexity, lead to expensive integration projects and slow user adoption rates.

One Network’s Services Oriented Architecture (SOA) reduces IT complexity and cost and accelerates both implementation and upgrade cycles. Our applications are built on the ONE Global Technology Platform that includes advanced tools to design applications, define and enforce multi-company controls, ensure flawless transaction execution, monitor real-time performance and an intuitive user interface.  Perhaps most importantly, our open architecture embraces the customer’s existing IT systems, allowing for rapid deployments that extend the life of legacy applications, while significantly improving overall process effectiveness.

 

Changing Technical Architecture

Organizations and government agencies are dealing with a fundamental change to the structure of their supply chain.  The nature and impact of these changes were reviewed in the Solutions section.  As the pace of organizational and business model change outstrips technical innovation, legacy supply chain software has become more of a barrier than an enabler.  The traditional strategy of trying to solve the problem by buying more application, middleware and system software is not a solution (unless you happen to be a software vendor).   The “bloatware” IT strategy will not deliver business value.

Our direct import business is increasing dramatically and One Network will give us a much more efficient process, with the ability to scale up as much and as quickly as our business grows.
Direct Import Manager, Argos

At the core of this problem, supply chains have grown in scope, complexity and business impact. And, at the core of the One Network solution is a clear vision that these next-generation business processes can only be managed with a next-generation IT solution that is architecturally designed to:

  • Manage multi-company, transaction-intensive business processes
  • Manage dynamic, rapidly changing business processes
  • Sense real-time changes and automatically execute a fully constrained operational response
  • Unite a diverse group of trading partners into a common global network

One Network’s solution is driven by innovation.  Innovation at the architectural level to flawlessly manage high impact, multi-company processes.  Innovation at the delivery level to unite customers, suppliers and outsourcing vendors into a global network.  Innovation that finally delivers a Global Value Network solution that keeps pace with your organization’s dynamic changes.

Next-Generation Value Network Solution

One Network delivers a proven solution that fundamentally redefines how processes are defined, controls and policies are enforced, trading partners collaborate and transactions are executed.  Today, over 2,200 companies use our solutions to manage over $150 billion in global trade as goods and information moves from the origin of supply to the point of consumption.

We provide Replenishment, Distribution and Transportation solutions, built atop four key technology layers:

  • ONE Global Network Applications
    One Network provides a wide array of highly functional, network-based applications that support each step in the Replenishment, Distribution and Transportation functions.
  • ONE Global Technology Platform 
    One Network designed and built a powerful software infrastructure that is the foundation for our solutions.  The Platform includes Development Toolkit to model processes, Controls Manager to define multi-enterprise rules and policies, Transaction Manager to ensure flawless execution, Analytics Manager for real-time performance monitoring, an innovative User Interface and Industry-Specific collaboration tools. 
  • ONE Global Transaction Network 
    The core of One Network’s vision is that next-generation processes are controlled by a network of trading partners.  This challenge can not be solved by putting more software behind the firewall for each trading partner – that simply adds needless cost and complexity and creates overlapping and conflicting rules.  A network of business partners can only be optimized through a high performance global network that unites all trading partners and serves as the backbone of multi-enterprise transaction management.  Link to On-Demand Network section for more detail.
  • Customer’s Existing Technology Portfolio 
    One Network fully recognizes that our customers have spent millions to install legacy systems.  A “rip-and-replace” solution simply is not feasible.  Our Applications, Platform and Global Network co-exist with and extend the useful life of the existing IT portfolio.   

ONE Demand-Driven Platform

The foundation of our solution is a powerful software infrastructure.  Designed and built 100% by One Network, the Platform is the first system that truly enables companies to transform yesterday’s supply chain into tomorrow’s demand-driven network.  The Platform reduces IT costs and complexity by uniting multiple and disparate planning, execution and analytics systems on a common platform.  The Platform reduces operating costs and improves capital efficiency by providing a single backbone that defines policies and controls, manages transactions and unites trading partners on a global, demand-driven network.

The innovative functionality includes:

  • Value Network Designer
    Intuitive development environment to design, modify and manage value network processes.
  • Value Network Simulator
    Powerful tool to model systems prior to production event to ensure specifications and requirements are in complete accord.
  • Value Network Controls Manager
    Innovative solution to define multi-enterprise business rules, controls and policies that govern both end-to-end process and procedures for exception management. 
  • Value Network Transaction Manager
    Flawless management of multi-company transaction execution, across all trading partners, in complete accord with universal policies and controls.
  • Value Network Business Analytics
    Real-time and historic reporting tools to monitor and manage corporate performance.
  • Value Network Desktop
    Intuitive user interface that presents customized perspectives based on each user’s role, responsibilities and permissibility.

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