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MaddenCo Opens Door to New Business with Web Services

"The solution of IBM and GeneXus has made our product more innovative, expanded our market and made us more competitive", said Greg Madden, president of MaddenCo.

When a top customer asked MaddenCo Inc to make its text-based software product compatible with the customer's Web ordering system, there was never any question about complying. The real issue was whether it would pay off and whether it could be done at a reasonable cost. The answer to both questions has been a resounding "yes".

MaddenCo, a leading provider of software for tire dealers headquartered in Evansville, Indiana, USA, has had a thriving business for more than 20 years. It markets and supports the Tire Dealer System, a comprehensive business management tool that handles every aspect of the tire-selling process. The product, currently used by 200 dealers and wholesalers at more than 1,400 points of sale across the United States, has a large base of loyal customers in an industry where text-based applications remain the standard.

Consequently, when one of the world's largest tire manufacturers approached MaddenCo's president Greg Madden in 2004 and asked him to enable his application to interface with the manufacturer's Web site, the request came as a surprise: "We were happy, successful and comfortable in a our text-based world ", said Madden. "And then, one of our clients asked us to support a graphical interface- and it has been one of the smartest moves we have made".

To get the job done, Madden Co went to GeneXus USA, GeneXus Master Distributor in the USA. Madden had a long and successful track record using GeneXus to build and maintain his existing text-based system, and knew that the company could once more deliver an innovative solution.

Linking two disparate systems
The tire manufacturer wanted to allow each of its authorized dealers to order tires from its Web site, but have its wholesalers, most of whom use MaddenCo's system, process the orders and deliver tires. For this to happen, the manufacturer's website and MaddenCo's System would have to seamlessly and transparently exchange data. The problem was that MaddenCo's text-based application was not compatible with the tire company's Web portal and its graphical user interface. The two systems used different software languages, so MaddenCo needed GeneXus to find a solution to let the disparate platforms communicate with each other.

The solution: Web Services.
The GeneXus team developed a series of web services based on the concept of Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) that linked the tire manufacturer and MaddenCo applications, creating a robust inquiry and ordering system.

"Websphere and GeneXus allowed us to implement this solution without rewriting any of MaddenCo's current application code whatsoever", said Dane Drotts, president of GeneXus USA. "If we had had to change the code to link MaddenCo to the tire manufacturer, the cost in time and money would have been enormous".

Madden agreed: "I can't express how important it is that the solution of IBM and GeneXus allows the tire manufacturer's site to interface directly with our existing text-based programs running on IBM AS/400", he said. "The solution allowed us to preserve our existing investment in technology, which is an extraordinary achievement."

More customers, new opportunities.
MaddenCo has realized significant benefits from the IBM and GeneXus solution. Because it now supports a Web interface, the company has opened door to new business opportunities. MaddenCo has already seen a rise in new business in the year since the Web Service solution was implemented in early 2005: it has added 26 new customers compared to 15 in the prior year. This increase is partly due to the incentives offered by the tire manufacturer to wholesalers and dealers to install the MaddenCo system, if they were not using it yet.

The Web Services solution offers tire wholesalers and dealers a choice they never had before, which increases customer satisfaction. "If a customer loves our system but wants a graphical user interface on the front end, we can now provide it", said Madden.

Several new MaddenCo business partners, including one in Canada and another in Australia, are already successfully connecting their Web front ends with MaddenCo's current applications linked via the Web Services, for customers seeking the most modern tire dealer system available. Furthermore, Web Services allow MaddenCo to support new features with its system, such as credit card processing.

"We were doing great with our text-based system, but we are now positioned at an entirely different level," Madden said. "The IBM and GeneXus solution has made our product more innovative, expanded our market and made us more competitive. It will allow us to grow our business significantly in the years to come"

To see the complete text of the success story published on IBM's Web site go to:

http://www-306.ibm.com/software/success/cssdb.nsf/cs/JKIN-6MVQSB?OpenDocument&Site=software (HTML)

http://www-304.ibm.com/jct09002c/isv/marketing/industrynetworks/automotive/success/genexus_success.pdf (PDF)

GeneXus USA
http://www.genexus.com/usa

MaddenCo.
http://www.maddenco.com

 

 

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