How Mitsui automated and deployed 40 business processes to 70 sites in less than 12 months

Accounting and internal control processes automated with WorkflowGen and integrated with an ERP

As a global corporation, Mitsui (43,000 employees, 462 affiliated companies in 2016) wanted to implement the next generation Business Process Management system in order to standardize trading subsidiaries business processes, strengthen internal control and integrate with the new ERP system (SAP).

The scope of the deployment was global, with a target of more than 70 sites in North America, Europe, Asia and Oceania.

Mitsui's worldwide operations range from product sales, worldwide logistics and financing, through to the development of major international infrastructure and other projects in the following fields: Iron & Steel Products, Mineral & Metal Resources, Infrastructure Projects, Integrated Transportation Systems, Chemicals, Energy, Food, Food & Retail Management, Healthcare & Service, Consumer Business, IT & Communication Business, Corporate Development Business.

Mitsui has been using WorkflowGen since 2006 with hundreds of thousands of transactions performed every year.

Masaki Takahiko, Global Information Systems Enhancement Dept. at Mitsui shared his experience:

By selecting WorkflowGen we were able to spend less than 12 months from the tool selection to the production. The development efficiency of the workflow definition and the .NET web forms is very high. The concept of the WorkflowGen product is excellent: it enables focus on the workflow function, its robust design facilitates the quick implementation of new functions, it leverages the core Web technologies (.NET, XML, RSS Feed, Web Services, etc.), the degree of flexibility of development on the user side is high, and the cost performance is also good.

The tool is easy to use, and the design and various settings of WorkflowGen are intuitive and comprehensible. It offers convenient ready-to-use components. The user interface is refined, and the usability is high.

WorkflowGen facilitates the customization of all aspects of the workflows (routing, email notifications). Advantys, the WorkflowGen vendor, showed flexibility and responsiveness to our specific requirements, and the Help Desk support was quick.

Several months after the initial deployment Mitsui was able to identify the following main benefits:

Internal control strengthening

• About 40 business processes were standardized with WorkflowGen to meet the requirements of internal control such as efficient process, strict access control, storing vouchers, and monitoring (internal audit).

Efficiency of communication between organizations

• Instructions to SSC from remote locations of each company were integrated into WorkflowGen, and the whole business process became more efficient.

Real-time integration with SAP

• End users can access and register SAP data from WorkflowGen in real-time without logging on to SAP manually.
• SAP menu and WorkflowGen menu were integrated into SAP Enterprise Portal, allowing users to access both functions without knowing the difference.
• By defining user interface and workflow routing on WorkflowGen and business logic on SAP, the maintenance of the whole system became more flexible.

Fast implementation

• About 40 workflow forms were implemented with effective functions and technologies including SAP integration in a short period of time (12 months).
• Ease of development, customized training, and quick online support greatly contributed to the success.

Mitsui deployed WorkflowGen including the following features

• Real-time integration with SAP
• Real-time synchronization with SAP of all 40 WorkflowGen .NET web forms
• Real-time update processing from WorkflowGen to SAP
• Single Sign On via the SAP Enterprise Portal
• Task list display on SAP Enterprise Portal (via RSS feeds)
• Web Farm architecture with load balancing
• Time zone management (Time zone setting by user by location)
• User synchronization (User information is synchronized with user database of authorization hierarchy at job starts)
• Form configuration synchronization with add-on tables
• Dynamic selection of line managers

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