With the integration of the SAP CPI middleware solution, the digital agency dotSource was able to ensure fast data exchange between cloud and on-premise for BHS Corrugated Maschinen- und Anlagenbau GmbH in compliance with data protection regulations. Not only has the new interface integration been an important milestone in BHS Corrugated’s digitalisation, but it has also laid the foundation for further cloud migrations, thus strengthening the company’s position as the world’s leading solution provider for the corrugated board industry.
In traditional plant and mechanical engineering, more and more processes have been digitised in recent years. Especially in B2B, companies benefit from the reduction of manual, error-prone processes by connecting different software solutions to create a harmonised system landscape. This is also true for BHS Corrugated from Weiherhammer, a company that has been producing complex corrugators and individual machines for more than 60 years.
The iCorr® universe is a central element in the service structure of the tradition-steeped Bavarian company. Besides the B2B e-commerce platform, iCorr® Maintenance Cloud is also a key component. Important customer data flows from the iCorr® shop to iCorr® Maintenance Cloud, including data on the removal of spare parts. Although these spare parts are already stored in the customer’s warehouse, the rights to them are not transferred to the customer until they are removed. As a result, the spare parts will only be invoiced from that date. Since BHS Corrugated manages this process via the ERP system, the data from iCorr® Maintenance Cloud is very important for the ERP. However, the different hostings impede the data flow because the company from Weiherhammer not only works in a cloud-based environment, but also has an on-premise ERP solution from SAP, which is used as a tool for accounting and controlling.
In order to enable seamless, secure data exchange between cloud and on-premise while building bridges across the specific firewalls, BHS Corrugated had to face the challenge of creating and implementing an intelligent interface management concept. This challenge prompted BHS Corrugated to turn to its long-standing digitalisation partner dotSource who is also an SAP Gold Partner.
Middleware Mediates Between Solutions
A middleware is required to ensure security-critical data exchange. Since BHS Corrugated had already been using SAP ERP, it was quickly decided to implement SAP’s middleware: with Cloud Platform Integration (CPI), SAP provides a wide and constantly growing portfolio of integration packages, interfaces and mappings to allow different SAP systems to communicate with each other based on interfaces and to bridge the gap between on-premise and cloud.
By using SAP CPI, dotSource managed to ensure fast data exchange between the ERP and iCorr® Maintenance Cloud in compliance with data protection regulations. In addition, the implementation of SAP CPI resulted in an integration platform for BHS, which is now a central component of the future-oriented system architecture and meets the highest security standards for data exchange. This platform allows for the implementation of further cloud projects, for example the connection of the iCorr® B2B shop.
Find out more about our SAP services here.
