TMCnet News
Citizen Watch Company Selects EXTOL To Keep EDI Running Like ClockworkPOTTSVILLE, Pa. --(Business Wire)-- EXTOL International, Inc. (www.EXTOL.com), a leading provider of integration software for both internal and external applications, today announced Citizen Watch Company has selected Extol to manage its high volume of EDI and related transactions and processes. Citizen is the market share leader in the mid-priced watch category in North America. Citizen exchanges a high volume of electronic transactions with 30 large trading partners using 21 different transaction types. All of this is handled by just one person who is responsible for managing all EDI-related processes, including deploying and maintaining integration with internal business applications and high-visibility reporting. Citizen uses Extol to make business information visible throughout the organization. Staff members in the Warehouse, Order, Credit and Finance Departments can simply press a designated Function key to access order, shipment and payment information. Dozens of people use this information access to improve the functioning of their departments, and ultimately enhance the engagement experience with customers and partners. "As the only EDI person, I rely on Extol's products to perform flawlessly. They enable me to rapidly respond to the demands of internal departments and external customers and partners," said Amapola Yeung, eCommerce Manager for Citizen Watch Company. Commenting on the end users who access EDI transaction data, Yeung explained, "All they have to do is type in the purchase order number, and they get all sorts of relevant information. A non-EDI person can look at an English version that lists details about the order, including quantities and shipping information." Also important to Citizen is the capability to eliminate custom code for application interfaces and provisioning new trading partners. This capability, provided by their Extol solution, brings both an efficiency and accuracy benefit. "For Citizen Watch, EDI is not just a customer facing activity. Extol's EDI solution supports a wide range of information needs throughout the Citizen organization," stated Steve Rosen, Extol Vice President, Marketing. "This has led to improved customer relationships built on accurate, timely answers to current status queries. The integration has resulted in rapid resolution of disputed transactions, fully informed service and sales teams, as well as accurate shipping and billing information to those departments," Rosen said. Citizen's trading partners include well-known retailers such as Macy's, JC Penney, Kohl's, Sears, Finlay Jewelers, Zales Diamond Store, Sears Canada, Hudson Bay and Zellers in Canada. They also supply to all U.S. military exchanges such as AAFES and NEXCOM, and manufacture branded products for the Disney Merchandise Group. The Extol solution is running on Citizen's System i550. It automatically integrates with their homegrown ERP and Warehouse Management System, both written in COBOL. About EXTOL EXTOL International, Inc. is a leading provider of B2B and internal integration software. Extol solutions deliver ready-to-use services that target multiple B2B and internal challenges empowering existing IT teams to respond rapidly to new business opportunities and demands. Extol solutions are also available preconfigured to address specific electronic commerce applications including EDI, AS2, web services integration, global data synchronization, and the integration and management capabilities required to take full advantage of supply chain functionality. For more information, please visit www.EXTOL.com. |
