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Insights Newsletter – June 2023

Focusing on Data Connectivity, Transformation, and Custom Engagement

The ACS Information Systems & Services department (IS&S) is a global group comprised of multiple teams, each with their own responsibilities and areas of expertise. Focusing on data connectivity, transformation, and customer engagement in support of operational processes, the IS&S Customer Integrations team manages all existing and future messaging solutions for ACS and its trading partners.

While access to purchase order, booking, and shipment information is readily available anytime within Infor Nexus, ACS recognizes the need to be able to share this information systemically with our account base – allowing for more effective workflows and enhanced visibility through a customer’s ERP, WMS, TMS, CBP/CHB, and other associated systems. Leveraging industry-standard file formats (ANSI X12, EDIFACT, XML, flatfile) and transport methods (API, AS2, SFTP, VAN), as well as customized solutions fine-tuned to support specialized business requirements, ACS has developed a best-in-class messaging and translation layer to fulfill the complex, time-sensitive IT demands of today’s ever-evolving global supply chain.

Working closely with our Customer Solutions, Service Delivery, and Origin/Destination Operations teams, thorough implementation procedures within our ACS Customer Gateway have been created to facilitate development, testing, and deployment of all integration projects.

Figure 1: Critical project milestones and tasks performed during customer implementations and system enhancement initiatives.

This includes extensive deep dives and regular meetings with our customers IT and business contacts; aligning on scope, confirming file connectivity and formatting details, identifying gaps, coordinating timelines, and documenting mapping logic for programming.

Consultative services are also provided to ensure that new opportunities and initiatives are realized with a focus on driving data accuracy, process efficiency, and systemic stability.

Figure 2: Sample representation of inbound/outbound transactional process flows; standard message sets are displayed but additional trading partners, communication pipes, and datasets can be added to meet project demands.

With a commitment to delivering integration processes tailored to the individual needs of our customers and business partners, the ACS IS&S team continues to implement agile back-end solutions for front-end challenges and opportunities.