Freeway Commerce, an arm of business software company Inovis, has powered the EDI system of Guoman and Thistle Hotels so that it can electronically exchange purchase orders, invoices and other documents with its suppliers.
Guoman and Thistle has 38 hotels across the country, including nine in central London. It has implemented Freeway’s Spectrum Enterprise to send and receive invoices and purchase orders from suppliers using standard EDI messages. Suppliers without EDI capability can transact with the hotels through a web portal.
Spectrum Enterprise, an e-commerce platform, communicates through EDI Vans, FTP, HTTP, AS1, AS2 and AS3. It integrates with the client’s purchase ordering systems, and delivers electronic orders in any format. It can support any other connection, including email, SMS, or LAN or WAN support.
At Guoman and Thistle, Spectrum Enterprise will be fully integrated with the organisation’s SAP back-office system and MyMarket, a separate 24-hour food and drink ordering service. This provides the hotel visibility of supply-chain transactions round-the-clock.
Frances Carr, project manager at Guoman and Thistle Hotels, said: “Managing the supply chain process can be a complex task, requiring a system that can deliver real-time visibility of e-invoices and other data. We are confident that Spectrum Enterprise will allow us to improve the accuracy of our data, in addition to providing us with advanced functionality.”
Earlier this year, Irwin’s Bakery has deployed Spectrum Enterprise to manage supply chain communications with grocery retailers across England and Northern Ireland. Tesco has been using Freeway’s technology to implement electronic Advanced Shipping Notes (ASN).
