Company increases efficiency collaborating with partners

Posted by Justin Hesser on February 16, 2012

Communication and collaboration are two integral pieces of any successful faction, whether it be a family of four or the entire food supply industry. That can difficult without the right means to connect with associates, but developing technology continues to give us more and more methods of accessing each other and working together.

Using an IBM-hosted business-to-business (B2B) cloud service, Gist Limited, a third party logistics company that specializes in distributing chilled and frozen goods, was able to work more efficiently with its clients and improve critical internal operations.

The B2B cloud system allows Gist to exchange business documents with its partners securely and in real time. The IBM service translates the files into the appropriate format or protocol that the receiving party requires, and as a result, Gist’s document error rate has dropped by 20 percent.

“Third party logistics companies deal with a complex network of partners, each with a unique set of requirements, and need real-time visibility into constantly evolving processes,” IBM commerce solutions regional leader Ronald Teijken said in a press release. “With these concerns addressed, Gist can now focus on meeting the stringent standards of the food industry, using cloud services to ensure that goods are delivered on time.”

Gist was able to streamline productivity and improve its overall service by working with its clientele on a large scale, but smaller bodies like retailers and schools can benefit similarly from an in-house system. Using database software, a FileMaker developer can create a custom data system specialized for specific needs of any organization, which can be complemented with a mobile application that can be accessed by all necessary parties directly from their iPad, iPhone or iPod touch.