Overview

Transformation Services

Transformation Services is the universal message transformation engine of Automotive Exchange.

Transformation Services enables you to manage and monitor the automatic EDI communication with your customers and trading partners according to the requirements of their business processes. If required, messages can be imported, edited, and adjusted manually.

Transformation Services transforms messages that contain structured data from one format into another format. Structured data are BOD messages, EDI messages, or files of special formats such as XML and other structured data formats.

You can set up rules for the transformation of data and messages for specific trading partners and business processes. The core transformation is based on and controlled by XSLT style sheets. An XSLT style sheet is defined for a message type, a message standard, and a trading partner.

Transformation Services uses Exchange Services for the EDI communication with external trading partners. Additionally, the classical file system can be used to exchange messages.

Release Management

Release Management is the planning application for customer release orders in Automotive Exchange.

Release Management enables you to manage and monitor the automatic release orders of your customers and trading partners according to the requirements of their business processes.

Customer release orders, typically planning schedules, shipment schedules, and sequence schedules are transformed into ShipmentSchedule, PlanningSchedule, and SequenceSchedule BODs by Transformation Services. Release Management imports these BOD messages from Infor ION.

Imported contracts from the connected ERP system are the basis for the processing of release orders. The new requirements are processed according to the rules that you can set up for specific trading partners and business processes.

Release Management creates a new single plan for the requirements of the imported message type. Release Management validates and prepares the new single plan according to the configured trading partner-specific rules and calculates the in-transit quantities. The requirements of the new single plan are consolidated with existing requirements of the same message type. Release Management then combines the requirements of different message types to a new combined plan and calculates the new net quantity.

Planned and firm requirements of the combined plan are then published in PlanningSchedule, ShipmentSchedule and SequenceSchedule BODs to the connected ERP System.

Shipments and inventory consumption are imported from the ERP system. They are used to update plans, in-transit quantity and CUMs. A new version of the combined plan is created and published.

Shipping

Shipping is the automotive solution for shipping and foreign trade. This functional area in Automotive Exchange covers the comprehensive requirements in automotive export, shipping, and carrier business, but is not limited to automotive use.

Shipping imports shipment information and commercial and proforma invoice information from the connected ERP system. The imported information is shown in the Shipping area and processed according to the configured workflow. As one step of the workflow the information is used to print documents and labels, for example, barcode labels, waybills, and advance ship notices. If required, you can edit shipments, warehouse containers, packaging instructions, and the packaging of shipments. Missing information can be added manually.

Shipping exports the processed data to Transformation Services. There, it is transformed into the trading partner's preferred EDI format and transferred to the connected OEM system through imports shipment informationExchange Services.

Compliance

You must ensure that no financial transactions take place with persons or organizations listed on sanctions lists. No goods may be delivered to these persons or organizations.

Therefore, you must check these lists after each update of a list and you must document these checks. Checking the sanctions lists manually is a time-consuming and error-prone process.

To simplify this process, the Compliance area monitors names and addresses of companies and persons. It checks each address against all important international anti-terror sanctions lists. The Compliance area updates the lists and automatically performs and writes the verification results into a log file. If there are matching addresses, then a warning is generated.

Administrative Functions

Automotive Exchange offers administrative functions to manage additional data and master data that are used by the functional areas Transformation Services, Release Management, and Shipping.

Additional data is stored in code lists and codes. These code lists and codes are exclusively used by Automotive ExchangeAutomotive Exchange properly. This information is not contained in BOD messages that are processed by Automotive Exchange and is not provided by an ERP system.

Usually, master data is automatically imported from an ERP system. Sometimes, special master data cannot be provided by the ERP system. This information can be stored and managed in the Administrative Functions area. You can add, for example, the preferential trade agreement, the preference criterion, the commodity code, and the customs procedure to the item master. The information is used by the Shipping area to process and print export-related documents.

You can also use the master data management as a stand-alone solution. For example: For packaging material that cannot be imported from the ERP system, you can create and manage your own item master data.

Additionally, you can manage print jobs, scheduled jobs, sequential numbering, users, accounting entities, locations, roles and permissions.

Exchange Services

As a separate web application, Exchange Services is used to manage and monitor the EDI message exchange between external trading partners and applications that are connected to Infor ION.

Exchange Services sends outbound EDI messages from Transformation Services to external business partners, receives inbound EDI messages from trading partners, sends them to Transformation Services, and polls for data.

Exchange Services supports different protocols such as FTP, FTPS, OFTP, OFTP2, AS2, and X.400 for ISDN. OFTP and OFTP2 are available for ISDN and TCP/IP connections. OFTP2 supports high-speed internet connections and offers enhanced options for a secured data exchange.