Case Study: Direct Sales

1
Case Study Direct Sales

• GOAL
• Deliver flexible integrated application to meet
  growing business demands
• Integrate Direct Sales Group and its unique
  workflows with Deere enterprise systems-including
  accounting, ordering, and JIT (Just-in-Time)
  inventory
• Increase User Productivity
• Reduce Enterprise IT unit costs
• SOx Compliance Business Checks Balances
• Move from an unsupported platform to a supported
  Deere IT platform
• Provisioning real-time business dashboards
• PROCESS
• Development team created screen mock-ups to
  understand overall system interactions and create
  unified workflow
• User-based Clinic Feedback

• BUSINESS
• John Deere needed an integrated system to
  Assemble Customer Quote, Process Purchase Order,
  Order Customization and Fulfillment, Sales
  Tracking, Accounting and Invoice Processing
• BUSINESS CHALLENGES
• Suite of VB applications
• Application had outgrown their business
  requirements
• Rising support issues leading to high maintenance
  costs
• Built on old technology (VB5), the legacy system
  required a small installation on thousands of
  client machines
• System could be accessed only within the John
  Deere network

2
Case Study Direct Sales Continued

• SOLUTION
• Stabilize current VB applications to achieve
  short term goals
• Plan for sunset of existing system. IT
• Multi-phase Development
• Rural Sourcing and Managed Offshore Delivery
• Personalization achieved via configurable options
• Thin Client browser-based system
• RESULTS
• Delivered a Flexible and Scalable system on-time
  on-budget
• Cost Efficiency Aquents starting point,
  delivered 15-20 savings from day one and for
  the life of the agreement. Aquent has further
  driven out efficiencies in support and
  maintenance to create additional savings of more
  than 20
• Increased productivity and continuous improvement
  was achieved

• (RESULTS CONT)
• Reliability Aquent has never missed its service
  level for time and cost delivery
• Relationship Client consistently rates Aquent as
  being easy to do business with, specifically
  noting strong working relationships, service and
  commercial perspectives

3
Case Study Equipment Remarketing Services (ERS)

• BUSINESS
• Deere Company wanted an integrated business
  solution to enhance brand value, create customer
  trust in used equipment, manage used equipment
  inventory, and eliminate uncertainty from used
  John Deere equipment
• BUSINESS CHALLENGE
• Remarketing used equipment involved mostly manual
  procedures with client-server based systems
• Remarketing process time consuming
• Application involved redundant data entry,
  increasing in error and cost

• GOAL
• Create used equipment e-marketplace that enhances
  Deere brand and builds trust
• Provide dealers multiple channels for trading
  equipment allowing online marketing collateral,
  real-time advertising and ability to calculate
  repair quotes
• Web applications that reduce paper processing and
  dealer hands-on time
• Easy-to-use interface which streamlines equipment
  evaluation process, submission of warranty
  requests and allows communication between service
  and sales within a dealer network.
• PROCESS
• Build unified e-marketplace for dealers -
  creating multi-sales channel to manage and market
  used equipment
• Iterative development methodology dramatically
  improves how IT is applied to business problems,
  ensuring a disciplined and sustainable process

4
Case Study Equipment Remarketing Services (ERS)
Continued

• SOLUTION
• Standardized integrated web based interface for
  managing inventory
• Online evaluation on equipment, advertise
  directly in real-time, upload and show specific
  images for repair estimates and communicate
  between sales and service divisions
• Dealer-to-dealer exchange of inventory
  information
• Upload up to 12 photographs for machines listed,
  generate professional sales brochures and repair
  quotes with photos and automated Ad creation with
  pictures
• Links to display Dealers inventory
• E-pricing guide to determine price of equipment
• RESULTS
• Reduction in total support cost of applications
  over 50
• E-enabled dealers to manage and showcase online
  inventory with detailed records and resolving
  redundancy
• Create marketing collateral on-the-fly

• RESULTS (CONT)
• Improved electronic pricing and elimination of
  price uncertainty
• Number of transactions increased from 1000 per
  year to 100,000 per year with no cost increase.
  Currently used by 4,000 dealers
• Equipment Remarketing Services profit increased
  by 30

5
Case Study Ordering Parts on the Internet

• PROCESS
• Aquent carried out pilot program to gain trust
  confidence
• Phased approach to establish new release, verify
  implementation, collect feedback and develop
  enhancements to function use
• Improvements released for application every 3-6
  months
• GOAL
• Increase parts sales in overseas markets
• Transform current parts ordering process to
  easy-to-use electronic system
• Multilingual system that reduced cycle time and
  expedite orders
• Reduce Enterprise IT costs
• Reduce cycle time for placing and processing
  orders

• BUSINESS
• Equipment Manufacturer needed user-friendly
  workflow system to guide dealer through Business
  Processes to view part information, parts order
  fulfillment, shipment tracking orders, check
  print invoices, enter parts return, order
  attachments and locate parts.
• BUSINESS CHALLENGE
• Existing system carried own limitations
• Inability to provide line to clients legacy
  forced dealers to order parts through manual
  system
• Language barriers, time-zone differences and high
  error probability made processing time long for
  orders
• System lacked tracking capabilities
• Challenge to grow business to 9,000 dealers
  worldwide
• Increasing IT cost to maintain network line
  between client and dealership

6
Case Study Ordering Parts on the Internet
Continued

• SOLUTION
• Design an orchestration of services around
  Distributed Network System (DNS), a host system
  that all business logic build into process dealer
  part orders
• Web-based user-friendly workflow guiding system
• User interface to be presented in multiple
  languages
• Implemented Order import functionality
  decreasing dealer input time
• Built-in tracking system which links part numbers
  to carrier websites
• Real-time dealer auditing features added
• RESULTS
• Effective reduction in cycle for parts order
  processing, reducing process to hours
• Business e-transformation saved client 1,000,000
  annually in network line charges
• Application proved to be cost effective
• Reduction in system/users errors by 50 to
  practically eliminating errors in overseas
  ordering providing superior customer service

• RESULTS (CONT)
• User Efficiency reduced number of keystrokes for
  finding a part from 15 screens to one
• Used by approximately 9,000 dealers worldwide,
  accounting for majority of clients total parts
  revenues
• Parts on the Internet processes around 5,000
  transactions per hour
• Over 5 years, over 20 releases of application
  have been kept up-to-date on function and
  architectural components
• High response system, on-call (7x24), tier 3
  support for application
• Application established standard architecture,
  which survives as level 0 architecture
• Current version of application supports peak load
  of 15,500 requests per hour, averaging 6-10 users
  per second

7
Case Study Warranty Information Network (WIN)

• BUSINESS
• A Fortune 500 Equipment Manufacturing Company was
  in need of a system to process equipment warranty
  registrations, warranty claim processing, inquiry
  of equipment warranty, product improvement,
  program support, and equipment claim history.
• BUSINESS CHALLENGE
• Un-flexible, incompatible and inconsistent
  warranty claim system
• Inefficient, unreliable and expensive underlying
  dial-up polling technology process
• Warranty claim process had great deal of paper
  processing requiring multiple steps throughout
  unreliable error checking applications
• Entered claims had long response time with
  possibility of rejection and repetition of
  multiple processes
• Changes and updates to system were complicated
  and cumbersome to co-ordinate and manage
• GOAL
• Reduction of Enterprise IT costs by eliminating
  dial-up polling process and development towards
  e-buisness solutions
• Elimination of paper processing with increased
  user productivity
• Development of efficient web application to
  complete warranty functions
• Streamlined warranty process through creation of
  quicker turnaround via easy-to-use interface

• PROCESS
• Aquent worked with two different corporate groups
  within Equipment Manufacturing Company to devise
  targeted solution host group to meet needs of
  processing and dealer systems project manager
  to define dealers requirements
• Aquent launched pilot dealer program by limiting
  number of users in system. Feedback provided
  improvement to system prior to launch
• Aquent created cost effective Multimedia Training
  CD in place of training sessions
• SOLUTION
• Stabilize current suite of applications to meet
  current and pressing needs of dealership
• Modified technical architecture to include
  provisions for user interface to be presented
  internationally and in multiple languages
• Secured access to Equipment Manufacturing
  Companys corporate database, allowing dealers
  information on customers, machines and product
  improvement programs
• Real-time dealer auditing features added, saving
  process time and increasing accuracy and
  consistency

8
Case Study Warranty Information Network (WIN)
Continued

• FEEDBACK (CONT)
• The goal was to make the dealers job as easy as
  possible by designing the system from his/her
  perspective. When you focus on supporting the
  dealer, the dealer has more time to sell
  machinery and becomes more profitable. And that
  has a positive affect of the companys
  profitability. Business Analyst, Dealer
  Systems
• In reviewing the Warranty Information Network
  program with the personnel that use it, they are
  very satisfied with the overall functions of each
  section. We have had very little problem with the
  whole internet communication program with the
  Equipment Manufacturing Company. Application
  User Dealership

• RESULTS
• Global Impact system is currently used
  internationally and in over 150 countries
• System has been deployed to over 10,000 dealers
  worldwide
• Application proven to be cost-effective,
  improving timeliness and quality of dealer
  interaction on global and day-to-day basis
• Return on Investment (ROI) immediately realized
  by eliminating old system, which cost over 1
  million a year
• Equipment Manufacturing Companys tradition of
  excellence in customer service improved due to
  efficiencies gained
• User Productivity up due to Dealers data input
  time reduction of 75
• System more efficient through Real-time auditing,
  allowing dealers to retrieve more claims
  submitted in first attempt with dealers payments
  received faster
• Client benefits from flexibility, cost savings
  and satisfied customers and dealers. Dealers save
  700,000 a year resulting from efficient auditing
• FEEDBACK
• Aquents technical expertise was terrific. They
  took time to totally understand the project scope
  and requirements. As a result, dealers have a
  state-of-the-art warranty information application
  that is easy to use and helps lower costs and
  increase profits through reduced effort.
  Project Manager, Dealer Systems
• Where do I begin with WIN? While I work with
  countless other web sites, the Warranty
  Information Network is the easiest to use with
  very little down time. Application User
  Dealership

9
Manufacturing Mobile Solution Case Study

• BUSINESS
• A manufacturing major. Long term value-add at
  reduced cost
• Business Challenge
• Enable the field to have access to most
  up-to-date equipment inventory
• Enable field personnel to generate sales quotes
• SOLUTION
• Use of mobile devices such as a PDA
• Quote generation abilities with interfaces to
  Pocket Outlook avoiding the need to capture
  customer contact information
• Inventory explorer with powerful search
  functionality with Thumbnails
• Sales help information
• Synchronize inventory with Dealer Business
  Systems
• Optimal synchronization algorithms

• SOLUTION (CONT)
• A common architecture for mobile and desktop
  solutions
• All back-end infrastructure was Java-based
• Interoperability achieved via the use of XML over
  https based services
• Personalization achieved via configurable options
• UI was targeted for the MS Compact Framework and
  the regular .NET 2.0 framework.
• Aquent was selected to provide an application
  integration service for the solution.
• Originally mainframe based, and integrating with
  two major backend applications, Aquent
  successfully re-architected the applications
  suite to increase systems agility.

One of the best value deals in Europe. Gartner
Group.
Aquent work hard to keep my business
More Case Histories
10
Manufacturing Mobile Solution Case Study
Continued

• RESULTS
• Cost Efficiency Aquents starting point, in the
  initial outsource with client, delivered 15-20
  savings from day one and for the life of the
  agreement. Aquent has further driven out
  efficiencies in support and maintenance to create
  additional savings of more than 20.
• Increased productivity and continuous improvement
  was achieved
• Reliability Aquent has never missed its service
  level for time and cost delivery.
• Relationship Client consistently rates Aquent as
  being easy to do business with, specifically
  noting strong working relationships, service and
  commercial perspectives.

One of the best value deals in Europe. Gartner
Group.
Aquent work hard to keep my business
More Case Histories
11
Case Study John Deere Supply Network

• PROCESS
• Team performed multiple quality checks, then
  released it to small pilot groups. After
  tweaking, tools rolled out to larger groups and
  eventually enterprise-wide
• Implemented final changes to Achieving Excellence
  then follow-up with in-person training sessions
  for Deere and its suppliers
• SOLUTION
• Supply Management worked with Aquent to
  streamline existing applications such as
• Supply Net A secure network for staff and
  suppliers
• Achieving Excellence An enterprise-wide supply
  chain performances application
• Cost Reduction Opportunities Process An
  enterprise supplier and communication process
  application
• Supplier Profile An information management
  application
• Warranty A tracking application allowing
  suppliers to track performance in field
• NAFTA- an automation of the NAFTA certification
  process
• Others- Supply Collaboration for Quote
  Processing, Enterprise Order Fulfillment, JDSN
  e-Invoicing, Enterprise Product Development
  Program Global Strategic Management

• BUSINESS
• The Supply Management Services department of John
  Deere Company provides support for sourcing of
  purchased materials and services for worldwide
  operations
• BUSINESS CHALLENGE
• Standardized Internet portal linking internal
  staff and suppliers to suite of web applications
• Manage supplier resources on global scale with
  numerous personnel and many processes
• GOAL
• Automate processes by standardizing existing
  applications and develop new streamlined
  applications
• Implement e-business solutions to reduce
  Enterprise IT costs on-going support
  maintenance
• Eliminate paper processing and increase user
  productivity

12
Case Study John Deere Supply Network - Continued

• RESULTS
• Web-based portal where suppliers and Equipment
  Company can access Supply Management applications
  through single seamless interface
• Applications that produced sizeable cost savings,
  saving an estimated 17 million the first year
• Automation and consolidation of numerous manual
  processes
• Standardized look and feel across all Supply
  Management applications
• Over 8 years, more than 30 different applications
  encompassing a variety of supply management
  business have been released
• Long-standing partnership including
  highly-responsive system, on call (7x24), tier 3
  support for application
• Business saved e-transformation of supplier
  processes saved 2,000,000 annually, turning
  process from weeks to hours
• Application proved to be cost-effective.
  Reduction in system/users errors by 50 to
  practically eliminating errors

• RESULTS (CONT)
• From 1998 to 2004, Deere achieved 73 overall
  improvement in supplier delivery performance,
  averaging 12 improvement per year for six years,
  while nearly doubling the number of suppliers
  participating.
• In same time period, Deere saw a 66 improvement
  in supplier quality, averaging 11 improvement
  per year for six years
• Number of suppliers achieving top-partner level
  rating nearly doubled during periods when
  delivery and quality were made tough by three
  and 2.5 times respectively
• The John Deere Cost Reduction Opportunities
  Program (JD CROP), has delivered hundreds of
  millions of dollars worth of savings since 1997,
  with partner-level suppliers regularly exceeding
  goal of reduce costs by 5 of the amount Deere
  spends with them
• FEEBACK
• Aquents value goes beyond technical
  implementation. They understand what we are
  trying to accomplish and step up to assist us in
  any way they can. It has been a mutually
  rewarding experience, Jim Hurl, Manager of
  Supply Management e-Business for Deere
• We have warranted all our products and have been
  heavily involved in supporting them, Our
  knowledge management methods enable us to
  incorporate the lessons we learn into all future
  projects. Chris Moody, president of Aquent
  Consulting
• By sticking to an iterative, consensus-driven
  approach to technology development, the Achieving
  Excellence team created a platform for supplier
  rating that has the potential to be scaled across
  Deeres diverse, global enterprise. The
  technology is built on a foundation that scales
  easily. Anybody can use it. Dan Neff,
  president of Aquent IT Solutions