Digitalization: Prescription for Success
Company Size
1,000+
Country
- United States
- Worldwide
Product
- Digital Business Platform
- webMethods
- ARIS
- Alfabet
- Apama
Tech Stack
- Application Integration
- Master Data Management
- Business Strategy & Transformation
- Enterprise Architecture and Portfolio Management
- Streaming Analytics
Implementation Scale
- Enterprise-wide Deployment
Impact Metrics
- Brand Awareness
- Cost Savings
- Productivity Improvements
Technology Category
- Analytics & Modeling - Real Time Analytics
- Application Infrastructure & Middleware - API Integration & Management
- Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Connectivity Platforms
- Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Data Management Platforms
Applicable Industries
- Healthcare & Hospitals
- Retail
Applicable Functions
- Business Operation
- Sales & Marketing
Use Cases
- Inventory Management
- Retail Store Automation
- Supply Chain Visibility
Services
- Software Design & Engineering Services
- System Integration
About The Customer
The customer is a retail pharmacy company, the first global enterprise of its kind. It employs nearly half a million people, operates more than 10,000 stores and hundreds of distribution centers in numerous countries, and delivers products to nearly a quarter million healthcare providers. It is also one of the world’s most admired companies. One of the biggest changes in the company’s history was the recent merger of two major companies that created it. This massive undertaking brought together two iconic brands with complementary footprints, but very different IT architectures.
The Challenge
The retail pharmacy company, a global enterprise with nearly half a million employees and operations in numerous countries, was facing challenges due to heightened competition from digital disrupters like Amazon, increasing healthcare costs and changing regulations, growing customer choices and expectations, and a boom in IoT healthcare devices. One of the biggest changes in the company’s history was the recent merger of two major companies that created it. This massive undertaking brought together two iconic brands with complementary footprints, but very different IT architectures. The newly formed company was dealing with a very complex environment—and many different technologies across the enterprise. It needed a solution to standardize global operations—a “cook once, serve many” solution.
The Solution
After considering SAP®, Oracle and its current IBM® technology stack, the company found Software AG was the clear choice. Software AG presented a clear and compelling business case for a digital business platform. Rather than buy more tools (and add complexity), the company would invest in a unified set of software capabilities to achieve productivity improvements with faster application development, more reuse and reduced maintenance costs, improved infrastructure stability— greater reliability, less downtime and faster issue resolution, lower OPEX by optimizing the application portfolio, and lower inventory costs, thanks to end-toend supply chain integration and visibility. The company focused in on the value of vendor independence. Rather than being locked into one vendor’s proprietary approach, it would be free to use and choose any IT as well as build on current investments in SAP and IBM systems. Technology-agnostic, Software AG’s Digital Business Platform would work with all systems as an “independent federation layer” now and with future acquisitions.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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