Today’s automotive Original Equipment Manufacturers  are trying to find ways of simplifying B2B infrastructures, make them easier to deploy on a global basis and at the same time ensure that all suppliers are able to use the same B2B solution, no matter what their B2B expertise may be or where in the world they may be located. 

In recent years, hosted supply chain management solutions have been seen as a possible way of simplifying B2B infrastructures, but how will this be achieved?  Software as a Service (SaaS) based environments have been around for a few years now but they have really only been used for specific functions within a company, for example in customer relationship management or human resources applications.  SaaS based environments have many advantages over traditional software implementations, for example  

• there is no upfront capital cost in purchasing software, it is delivered via a monthly or annual subscription model
• there is no software infrastructure to manage, all you need is a web browser to access the hosted SaaS application
• as the software is managed centrally you can be assured that all users of the SaaS application will be using the latest version

In order for automotive OEMs to expand into new geographically dispersed regions around the world and to ensure 100% involvement from their trading partner community, they will have to find new ways to support their supply chain. SaaS has the potential to transform today’s B2B platform used within the automotive industry, providing companies with access to the same information, anytime, any place and anywhere in the world at a lower cost using a simpler, easier to manage infrastructure.   

The new version of SaaS, version 2.0, includes capabilities to integrate seamlessly with other back office systems, and this could see more widespread adoption of SaaS based environments within the automotive supply chain. There are a number of building blocks that make up a SaaS based environment and GXS Trading Grid infrastructure provides the ideal platform to deploy a SaaS based environment.  The highly available and reliable nature of our Trading Grid  infrastructure means that applications can be deployed and used simply by using a web browser.  For a small supplier with no internal IT support or skills to deploy their own B2B infrastructure, SaaS has the potential to provide a new level of interaction with an automotive manufacturer’s supply chain. 

Moving forwards, Integration as a Service, (IaaS), will also grow in importance and you can be assured that through our partnership with Software AG and their webMethods solution we will be able to provide hosted integration solutions as well.

SaaS will form the basis of a presentation I will be giving at the Odette show at the end November in Prague, which will look at ‘Next Generation B2B Trading Platforms’.  For further information about this event please visit www.odette.org.

In recent months we have seen an increased interest from Tier 1 and Tier 2 automotive suppliers wishing to outsource the management of their B2B infrastructures. Automotive OEMs are asking their key Tier 1 suppliers to take on more solution based work, for example producing entire transmission, drivetrain and suspension systems for delivery to their customers. As a result, a shift of responsibilities is occurring in the automotive supply chain where the original Tier 2 suppliers are now being asked to undertake work previously carried out by the Tier 1 suppliers. In order to manage this shift in the supply chain, many of the lower tier automotive suppliers are having to re-evaluate their B2B e-Commerce strategies so that they can remain competitive and support their customers with their global expansion plans.

Many of these suppliers will have never implemented a B2B platform before, or know how to manage their B2B environment effectively. In addition, these suppliers may be in a different country or located in a region where B2B expertise is limited and IT infrastructure cannot support global trading partner relationships.  These smaller suppliers are expected to embrace new B2B technologies and at the same time change business practices in order to implement these solutions and services. Also, they will not have extensive inhouse expertise to run a complex B2B environment and more importantly they must be allowed to focus on their core competency, manufacturing automotive components for their customers.

GXS hosts its Managed Services environment on GXS Trading Grid®, GXS’ secure, scalable, high-performance B2B integration services platform that spans best in class data centres around the world. If required, GXS can provide a web form based trading environment, community enablement programs and support for a multitude of communication protocols and document formats.

So if you are an automotive Tier 1 or Tier 2 supplier and you want to stop pulling your hair out trying to think about how you will implement a best in class global B2B trading environment, simply visit our Managed Services microsite for further information.