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 Auto Parts Supplier's Net Zooms Past The Rest |
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By Mona R. Litt
And they're offÉISDN speeds around the track, with the analog modem trailing far behind.
ISDN is in the home stretch. The modem continues to lose speed. The finish line is in sight. The modem will never make it. ISDN wins, according to Western Auto/Parts America, for the fastest retail transactions over a computer network. The Kansas City, Mo.-based company greatly relies on the speed of ISDN lines to make split-second POS (point-of-sale) transactions in more than 640 stores. ISDN lines "decreased our transaction time to six seconds," says Rick Mentel, Western Auto's data communications and network manager. "Who wants to wait longer for a single credit-card transaction to go through the system?"
Mentel also reports that ISDN has lowered the company's long-distance bills because data phone calls don't tie up lines for as long as they would with an analog modem. The company now offers more bandwidth to its stores at the same cost as with the modems. The Integrated Selling System, a custom POS application, includes a cash register program and invoicing system, as well as Triad, an auto motive parts directory. This system also provides executives with reports on lost sales because of out-of-stock merchandise, and it ensures the success of transactions sent across the WAN, Mentel says. All Western Auto retail stores receive credit authorization by contacting Sears' (its parent company's) network via a dedicated T1 link connected to Cisco Systems' PIX firewalls and IBM Corp.'s Global Services Network Services long-distance system. JDA's (Jon Donald Armstrong) Merchandise Management System 530S, running on an IBM AS/400, handles sales analysis for district managers and helps determine which districts perform better financially, according to Mentel. With this information, managers can aggressively find solutions for any particular location's problems. Western Auto not only links its retail staff to the network via ISDN, frame relay and T1 connections, it also makes pertinent information available on its intranet. Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Information Server (IIS) 3.0 lets Mentel's team post telephone and store directories, and update company news, logos and forms. The intranet also provides employees with the latest details on Shelly and Randy Anderson's race car, sponsored by Western Auto, and the NASCAR event schedule. Mentel plans to have employees order cellular telephones, calling cards and pagers over the intranet by the end of January. "They can visit the page, fill out the information and send e-mail directly to the vendor," he explains. Plans for this year include running 10-Mbps switched Ethernet over fiber segments for more effective performance and possibly installing a 100-Mbps Ethernet backbone. These upgrades, Mentel says, will allow for more bandwidth for updated and improved applications.
For more information on Western Auto/Parts America visit its Web site at www.partsamerica.com.
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