E2open : The Rise of the Business Network

In my previous blog, I shared my views on why B2B Integration (also known as Multi-Enterprise Business Process Integration) is challenging for most businesses. Executives understand that they rely heavily on their trading network and that there are opportunities for process collaboration improvement, but are perhaps not sure where they can optimize to get the greatest value.

Over the past few years we have seen lots of mergers and acquisitions in this space. We have seen evolution from EDI VANs, to EDI over the Internet, industry specific XML standards, platform evolution from EDI Gateways to Multi-Enterprise B2B Gateways, to the move towards B2B Managed Services. There has also been a new category of capability delivered to the market: the Business Network.

What is the Business Network and how is it distinct from these other capabilities? Traditional legacy B2B solutions provide a mechanism to deliver and possibly integrate transactional data, but with no process context to the message exchange. Additionally, if point solutions are implemented, there is no ability to leverage the content in the network and the tight coupling of application formats to B2B standards can create additional challenges.

Definitions of a Business Network vary, but in my view the Business Network is a packaged, multi-enterprise process integration solution for a trading community delivered as SaaS. The Business Network is built on top of an integration-as-a-service platform, with Multi-Enterprise Network-based process modeling baked into the overall solution and the network community provided as part of the offering.

Supply Chain Insights expert Lora Cecere defines this capability as the End-to-End value network. In her research she sees this class of service as "Multi-Enterprise Systems of Reference" and the bundling of integration and process management in a network model. In her Supply Chain Shaman Newsletter released last spring, she commented that the Business Network is "one of the disruptive technologies that can help us get unstuck in delivering on corporate performance".

Why should a Business Network be important to you? In that same report, Cecere highlights the challenges companies facing in terms of having confidence in their ERP system's ability to provide the necessary process visibility for supply chain business processes.

Does your business currently see similar challenges in trading network collaboration and process visibility?

By definition, Supply Chain Business Networks like E2open's can complement the traditional ERP by providing a systems of reference platform for those networked processes, oftentimes multiple tiers deep in the supply chain, with capabilities to support the multi-enterprise process for all partners in the network regardless of IT capability.

Multi-enterprise business process integration delivered through a Business Network solution can solve visibility and collaboration challenges and become a source of truth for processes supported "in the network".

One example of a recent use case that highlights the value of the Business Network value comes from one of our customers, Lufthansa Technik Logistik Services (LTLS).

• Lufthansa Technik Logistik Services (LTLS) was founded on 1 January 1998 as a fully-owned subsidiary of Lufthansa Technik AG - ~1,300 employees
• LTLS provides maintenance, repair and overhaul of flight engines and components
• As LTLS primarily deals in spare parts, typically for engines, time is of the essence as planes may be grounded awaiting the parts to arrive.
• LTLS supports space allocation - Ordering and booking of cargo space electronically w/ Lufthansa Cargo and other airlines via EDI messages.
• LTLS OTM users can now book the next available truck/cargo space in seconds (used to take hours and was a manual process)
• Integrated electronic business execution for all types of LSP's in one solution, delivered in the cloud with no additional on-premise software for LTLS to manage
• Ensures continuity of supply and reduces delayed deliveries by getting immediate notification of problems and exceptions.

The LTLS solution was deployed on the E2 Cloud Connectivity platform, which is the integration layer of the E2open Business Network. It represents one of many use cases supported with the E2open Business Network platform.

In my next blog, I will dive into capabilities that further differentiate Cloud Business Networks from point solutions and discuss key core architectural components and service models that add real value to the bottom line.E2open Cloud Connectivity platform.