Digital-CX-Solution-for-Leading-Technology-Distribution-Player.pdf
- 1. Ph:+1 281 829 4831 info@techwave.net Leading Technology Distribution Player CASE STUDY About Client The Client is a renowned worldwide technology distributor specializing in unified communications, network infrastructure, data center, and security solutions. Operating in over 70 countries, the company boasts a vast network of specialized dealers, enabling its global presence. Leveraging its extensive cloud capabilities, development resources, and services, the client plays a crucial role in revolutionizing the technology supply chain. With a strong track record of over 30 years and an annual revenue surpassing US$ 3 billion, the company combines deep industry knowledge with exceptional technical expertise to drive success for both vendors and partners. Executive Summary There were significant challenges and obstacles related to product onboarding and adherence to specific business rules within the BlueSky platform. These difficulties had a detrimental impact on their day-to-day business operations. Additionally, integrating the Partner View functionality with BlueSky posed another major hurdle. To overcome these issues, the client sought the assistance of Techwave. Techwave.net
- 2. Ph:+1 281 829 4831 info@techwave.net BlueSky serves as client's comprehensive platform and B2B Portal, streamlining essential processes such as procurement, provisioning, billing, and analytics throughout the entire cloud supply chain. With a specific focus on cloud products, BlueSky plays a crucial role in managing billing operations effectively. Also referred to as BS 2.0/VPS (Vendor Provisioning Services), BlueSky acts as the central system that connects and integrates with various vendor systems for provisioning purposes. It facilitates seamless vendor integrations for all products and offers different user interfaces to present these products. Acting as a master subscription system, BlueSky maintains a comprehensive product catalog with configurations and retrieves pricing information from SAP through queries. The company utilizes the UI to manage different phases of operations, including order placement, order approval, and generation of reports for billing purposes. It's worth noting that America region operates independently and employs BS 1, while separate divisions for EMEA and APAC have their own ERP systems. SAP plays a critical role in supplying materials and reseller information to BlueSky, including the material master for SKU prices and foreign currency exchange rates. On the other hand, Partner View primarily focuses on non-cloud products like routers and switches. As part of customer's ongoing initiatives, Partner Central is a newly introduced platform aimed at consolidating all offerings into a unified and cohesive system. Techwave.net Techwave effectively addressed these challenges by introducing a self-service interface for the product configurator feature. This solution enabled the client to seamlessly create new products within the BlueSky platform while ensuring compliance with their unique business rules. Techwave also facilitated a smooth onboarding and activation process for the newly created products. Furthermore, they successfully implemented a single sign-on mechanism in collaboration with their team. In their efforts to assist the client, Techwave developed two distinct portals: Distributor and Reseller. These portals served as interfaces through which relevant stakeholders could access and manage their respective functionalities. To ensure up-to-date price information, BlueSky utilized BAPIs to retrieve pricing details from SAP, with SAP serving as the authoritative source of master data for the BlueSky platform. Blue Sky Platform
- 3. Ph:+1 281 829 4831 info@techwave.net BlueSky was undergoing the following challenges: Onboarding new products and enabling transactions within the BlueSky platform Developing and implementing new products in accordance with specific business rules within the BlueSky platform and ensuring they become active Significant difficulties in generating various reports, including reconciliation, billing, usage, executive reports, cloud revenue reports, and master agent report The outdated user interface on the login page requires an upgrade Browser compatibility issues affecting resolution and display Performance issues, particularly in the SKU Wrapper step and SKU Hierarchy Techwave.net Client Challenges Partner Central was encountering the following challenges: Integration between BlueSky and Partner Central view functionality is necessary Partner Central requires a content management system, Adobe Experience Manager (AEM), to provide business users with flexibility and control over making minor changes
- 4. Ph:+1 281 829 4831 info@techwave.net Techwave s Strategy and Solutions in the BlueSky project involved various accomplishments and improvements - In the initial phase, we provided QA support and delivered the APAC migration successfully Analysed and facilitated the onboarding of new products such as Avaya Containerized IP Office, Cisco PMI, Annuity, Microsoft New Enhancements (Software Subscriptions, Perpetual licenses, Azure Reserved Instances), Microsoft New Commerce experience, Avaya Cloud Business, Azure Plan, and 8x8 (VoIP provider) to transact within BlueSky Introduced the Product Configurator feature and implemented it successfully, allowing the creation of new products based on specific business rules within the BlueSky platform and enabling their onboarding and activation Made significant enhancements to various reports, including Reconciliation, Billing, Usage, Executive Reports, Cloud Revenue Report, and Master Agent Report Improved performance by providing support for Penetration testing Refactored the Login Page for better functionality Provided support and maintenance for production issues Integrated Adobe Analytics Conducted a complete portal refactor to address resolution issues on different browsers, mobile devices, and tablets Refactored the Product Configurator UI to address performance issues, specifically in the SKU Wrapper step and SKU Hierarchy Techwave.net Techwave Strategy and Solution Integrated Azure Auth UI and Azure API management Implemented Single Sign-On functionality Analyzed and developed Global Search functionality using SOLR Integration In the Partner Central project, Techwave achieved the following -
- 5. Ph:+1 281 829 4831 info@techwave.net BLUESKY BlueSky consists of two essential portals: the Distributor Portal and the Reseller Portal. The Distributor Portal caters to client Account Managers, providing them access to product catalogs, materials, SKUs, and reseller information. Account Managers review and approve orders placed by resellers on behalf of customers, ensuring smooth order processing. The Reseller Portal serves as a webstore where resellers can conveniently purchase products from the company. The client users act as intermediaries, representing the customer in cases where direct transactions between customers and client are not possible for the entire order flow. SAP INTEGRATION The integration with SAP plays a critical role in the functioning of BlueSky. The system retrieves up-to-date price details from SAP using BAPIs. SAP serves as the central source for all master data, including SKUs and reseller information. However, SAP restricts the push of products related to the cloud only. The Material master classification tab ZDW ensures access is controlled based on the account group, segregating end customers and resellers and then pushing the relevant information to BlueSky. The classification of products as software or hardware is determined by the business, and the MDM team assigns the appropriate Cloud tag in the Material master. If a reseller or SKU is not extended to a specific sales organization, such as ZA (South Africa), the MDM team ensures it is extended to enable transactions in that particular sales organization. BILLING Billing within BlueSky is managed through Cloud Billing Services, a separate system. The cutomer staff downloads vendor billing files, which are then uploaded to automatically generate sales orders and invoices in SAP. Cloud products are billed in arrears rather than upfront. Vendors provide information to the client regarding what needs to be billed and to which customer, typically at the end of the first month of the subscription. Vendor billing and reconciliation files are then processed for subsequent months throughout the subscription duration. BlueSky retrieves invoice information from SAP and passes it to CBS (Cloud Billing Services) to create the invoices. Techwave.net Business Impact
- 6. Ph:+1 281 829 4831 info@techwave.net AUTHENTICATION Techwave, with its team of experts, excels in API design, building, and implementing API Management Suite in Azure with seamless integration with SAP and Hybris systems. As demonstrated through the mentioned solutions, Techwave has exhibited proficiency in Azure, and SAP, catering to both internal and external applications, and delivering innovative solutions to address the client's specific business needs and enhance operational efficiency. This has resulted in increased productivity gains and optimal utilization of the implemented business applications. Additionally, Techwave offers comprehensive application support and maintenance services, ensuring the client's systems remain operational and supported in the long run. Why Choose Techwave? Techwave.net 13501 Katy Fwy Suite 1000, Houston, TX 77079, USA. Ph: +12818294831 info@techwave.net Techwave Consulting India Private Limited External Appplications USERS Blue Sky APIs for Partner Central User List User Details Search User Create User Update User Technical Team & Technology Resources Business Analysts Groovy/Grails Developer UI ( Angular JS ) Developer QA Team Project Manager Technology Stack/ Tools-Current Angular JS: 1.7.8 Groovy:2.5.8 Grails:2.5.6 ORDERS Order List Order Details Search Order Update Order Download Draft Order Download Order Altachments Subscriptions Subscription List Subscription Details Search Subscription REPORT & VISUALISERS Fetch List of Reports &Visuallzers Fetching Report/ Visualizer Dala CUSTOM PRICE FILES List of Custom Price Files Triggering generation of Custom Price File