NorthAmerican Logistics Cuts XML Translation Costs with Software AG's Tamino

By Jaikumar Vijayan

September 23, 2002 12:00 PM ET

Computerworld - Software AG
Category: Data management
URL: www.softwareag.com
Location: Darmstadt, Germany (corporate headquarters); Reston, Va. (headquarters of U.S. subsidiary Software AG Inc.)
Founded: 1969
Technology: Tamino XML Server, an XML server for Internet database management. Processes XML documents natively
Key customers: DaimlerChrysler AG, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
How It Works: Tamino XML Server makes storing, processing and retrieving XML data easier and faster compared with traditional relational database management systems where XML data has to be modified and reconstructed every time it is stored or retrieved. "Tamino is a high-performance native XML server for storing and publishing XML documents in support of e-business applications," says Karen Deda, a product manager at Software AG Inc.


Gary Voight, CEO and president, Software AG Inc.

Tip: As with any database, modeling your data to represent relationships among elements is a key aspect of the planning process.

As a company focused on specialized distribution and logistics services, NorthAmerican Logistics has been a longtime user of electronic data interchange (EDI) for exchanging different types of data between its networks and those of its customers and supply chain partners.
But all that is starting to change. Under increased pressure from some of its high-technology customers and in a bid to reduce the traditional value-added network (VAN) translator costs that are associated with EDI, NorthAmerican Logistics has recently started using XML for its business-to-business data exchange.
This Web-based approach aligns NorthAmerican Logistics' capabilities more closely with those of its partners, says CIO Ann M. Harten. And it offers the logistics provider, which is a service of Fort Wayne, Ind.-based North American Van Lines Inc., a relatively easier way to exchange different types of data than EDI does, while making the data exchange process faster and more efficient.
The company won't completely abandon EDI anytime soon. But in each of the next three years, Harten says she expects that NorthAmerican Logistics will move at least 10% of its EDI traffic over to XML. The goal, she says, is to eliminate at least $40,000, or 13%, from the $300,000 the company spends currently on VAN costs each year.
Playing a central role in this transformation is Tamino XML Server, a native XML database from Software AG. The database allows NorthAmerican Logistics to store and process XML documents natively without any transformation.
In traditional relational database management systems, XML data has to be modified and reconstructed each time it's stored or retrieved, according to Software AG's Karen Deda. Tamino XML Server makes that process faster.
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