Sterling Software, Soft Design Team on AS/400 WAP solution
Jim Martin
Over the last several months, Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) has made its way into the AS/400 market. Sterling Software Inc. (Plano, Texas) and its Denmark-based business partner, Soft Design, are the latest to do so, announcing an AS/400 based-WAP solution, which has already been implemented by Scandinavian Garment Services (SGS).
A logistics specialist for the fashion industry, SGS developed the solution by customizing Sterling’s COOL:Plex AS/400 application development tool and Soft Design’s Websydian e-business patterns. The combination of the two products enables SGS lorry drivers to both access and update information residing in SGS’s AS/400-based shipment tracking and tracing system using a Nokia WAP-enabled cellular phone.
“We’re very excited about the possibilities offered by WAP—a technology enabling whole new classes of applications,” says Wasim Ahmad, director of mid-market global solutions at Sterling Software’s application development group. “Once again, COOL:Plex proves that it can tie existing corporate business systems to new e-business applications in a pragmatic way, enabling corporations to extend their intranets literally into the hands of their employees using wireless internet devices such as Nokia WAP enabled cell phones.”
The new solution simplifies operations and lower costs for SGS and also improves its customer service by delivering up-to-date information about individual shipments to its customers.
SGS director of IT Kurt Neilsen commented: “It is a very important part of our overall product that we are able to provide our customers with accurate, up-to-date information about individual shipments, and, in particular, that the shipment has been delivered on-time. With the system we’ve had until now, many drivers haven’t been able to register shipments daily, simply because they do not make it back to base every day. With our new WAP-based registration systems, drivers can register shipments immediately, ensuring that our shipment tracking service can display information that is always up-to-date.”
[Editor's Note: MIDRANGE Systems offers an in-depth look at AS/400 wireless technology in the February 28 issue. For a preview, refer to the Andrew Seybold interview below.]
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