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Integrating systems allowed real time access
to data and increased productivity
Om Logistics successfully deploys homegrown ERP solution
on Micro Focus platform and improves overall business
productivity.
“With improved infrastructure and data quality,
we are able to maintain a good work–life balance.
Real time access to data and standardizing technology
processes has helped us provide excellent service to our
customers. The transition to Micro Focus COBOL proved
extremely beneficial for us as it fits perfectly with our
business needs.”
[S.K. Goel, Vice President, Om Logistics.]
The Customer
Om Logistics Ltd, the flagship company of the Om Group, is one of the leading
Logistics Support and Solutions providers in India with an integrated solution for
all the components of TOTAL SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT. Om Logistics provides
value added services to all its customers with their latest technologies, customer-
friendly systems and processes. In an endeavor to provide total customer
satisfaction, they have over the years conceived and developed a wide array
of services for efficient management of cargo movement.
Infrastructure
Om Logistics is an ISO 9001:2000 certified organization. They cater to a widely
distributed Indian market through its 450 plus satellite locations with real time
online connectivity. It has over 1000 delivery locations spread across the length and
breadth of the country and a fleet size of 4000 dedicated vehicles. Om Logistics has
10 million sq/ft. of warehousing area across the country and a state of the art
infrastructure to service their customers.
The Challenge
Prior to the adoption of Micro Focus products, the company had major IT
infrastructural challenges. They had a widely scattered network and presence in
more than 60 locations across the country. There were problems of information
flow within the organization as they were not centrally connected. All data had to
be couriered to the head office which was then manually fed into the system, so
customer success
Challenge:
A scattered network across
India brought issues of
transparency in information
flow within the organization
and significant loss of revenue
Solution:
• Application developed in
Micro Focus COBOL, deployed
on a X86 32-bit platform
with Linux.
• Initial application re-written
in 2 months from scratch to
deployment, with regular and
continuous enhancements.
• Document management
system using Micro Focus
COBOL development tools.
• Document management
system using Micro Focus
COBOL development tools.
Benefits:
• A significant improvement in
their business giving real time
access to information.
• An accelerated turnaround
time and optimized workflow
• Ability to provide better
customer service and exercise
better quality control
• Reduction in costs
• A centralized server, reduced
local repository of data
• Addressed revenue leakage](/proxy?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimage.slidesharecdn.com%2Fea91b2cf-da5d-48d1-b098-e2d7b2da2ae5-160323105505%2F85%2FMF_OM_logistics_Final-1-320.jpg)
![there was no real-time data availability, which led to a delay
in reporting and hence delays in bill generation. Many
clients refused to pay due to the delays in their bill being
generated and this often resulted in lost revenue for the
company.
Om Logistics realized the need for a centralized system, so
a Visual Basic based application was developed where some
of the data could be synchronized with the central server
through the Internet. However, the data available was too
large to be synchronized online. Older platforms like FoxPro
and Visual Basic were gnawing away at the bandwidth
delaying the billing process and increasing usage of
additional local resources. The delay also led to a continued
loss in revenue with billings not being updated in the
required time period.
The company also reported probems such as data
corruption, virus attacks and data loss, all of which made
it a less productive environment for employees.
In addition, Om Logistics needed to know the movement of
outbound material/goods, the status of its fleet and its
manpower resources to plan a schedule. It was also important
to know in real-time if any problem had occurred during
transportation e.g. a traffic blockade, a disaster, an accident,
a theft, etc. The business required faster decision making,
quicker response time, and transparency in operations.
They were unable to provide their customers with online
value added services and their accounting procedures were
not on a par with the latest technology. In their quest to
achieve greater customer and employee satisfaction, they
decided to improve their IT infrastructure and implement
a core enterprise solution.
The Solution
Om Logistics was looking for a solution that fitted into their
overall growth strategy. They needed a solution that kept
their business simple, yet agile. The success of their business
depended on speed of communication and real time
availability of information. After extensive market research
and evaluating various vendors, Om Logistics chose
Micro Focus. Initially, there was skepticism in taking up
COBOL as there were perceived notions of COBOL being
obsolete. After a user acceptance test for a month, they
discovered that Micro Focus COBOL required low
bandwidth, is stable, low on maintenance and low on cost.
They also ranked it high on functionality and technology
and in a two to three month time frame, a complete
changeover was made from Fox Pro to COBOL.
The solution consisted of developing a homegrown ERP
application on Micro Focus COBOL. The new system allowed
all the branch offices to be directly connected to the head
office online through a central server. Now, all the data
resided on the central server which could be accessed and
updated online through Telnet anytime, anywhere. It also
removed the need for regular data synchronization.
Being deployed on a 32-bit platform, it allowed seamless
migration from a 32 to a 64-bit platform and a Linux Operating
System with no major business disruptions in the process. In
addition, Om Logistics implemented a document management
system using Micro Focus COBOL development tools.
"The Integration of the GPS system with the Micro Focus COBOL application is very straightforward
and allowed real time data from the vehicle consignment’s location to be accessed with a gap of only
5 minutes, compared to uncertainty, as we used to solely depend on the manual feedback of the
driver. This helped in providing valuable information which enabled better resource utilization."
[SK Goel, Vice President, Om Logistics]
Storage
Router/Switches
Server-I
Router Router Mobile User’s Dial-Up/Broad Band
Server-II
Backup-Server Tape-Library
VPNVPNVPN InternetInternetInternet
Branch office Branch office
LAN LANLAN
Server-I and
Server-II act as:
1. Application Server
2. Data Server
3. Web Server
4. Mail Server
5. GPS Server
6. GSM Server
7. Map Server
8. Firewall
Server-IServer-I
Backup-ServerBackup-Server
Router/SwitchesRouter/Switches
Tape-LibraryTape-Library
Server-IIServer-II
Figure 1: Infrastructure layout of Om Logistics Ltd.](/proxy?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimage.slidesharecdn.com%2Fea91b2cf-da5d-48d1-b098-e2d7b2da2ae5-160323105505%2F85%2FMF_OM_logistics_Final-2-320.jpg)
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Uploaded byS K Goel
MF_OM_logistics_Final
Om Logistics deployed a homegrown ERP solution developed using Micro Focus COBOL to address issues with a scattered network across India that caused lack of transparency in information flow and revenue loss. The new centralized system provided real-time access to data across 60+ locations, improving productivity, customer service and reducing costs. Key benefits included accelerated response times, optimized workflows, reduced errors and reliable data access, enabling quick decision making and more effective resource utilization.
