Founded in 1979, Vinal has been a pioneer in developing and providing international logistics package software. The company's TOSS series has been highly acclaimed by a wide range of companies involved in trade, including major trading companies, manufacturers, and freight forwarders (freight forwarding companies), and has been adopted by a total of 8,000 companies, making it the company with the most implementation record *.
Recently, a forwarding company decided to newly introduce "TOSS-LOGIPORT," mission-critical system, core system for ocean forwarders, and "TOSS-CUSTOM/D," a calculation system for import/export declaration prices for customs brokers. One of the essential requirements was the automatic conversion and import of HBL (House B/L) provided by overseas agents. What was required was not only a system that could handle the specified format, but also a system that could flexibly handle different formats. Therefore, DataMagic was adopted for the data conversion portion, which not only met the requirements but also enabled development in a short period of time while minimizing the burden on engineers. This successful experience has paved the way for the company to propose similar functions to other customers.
- As of the end of March 2023, according to a survey conducted by Tokyo Shoko Research
Customer Issues
We want to achieve short-term development without placing a burden on engineers by using a system that can flexibly handle a variety of formats.
Benefits of implementation
HBL Data
Conversion and import,
Until the A/N is issued
automation
It usually takes three man-months,
Implementation in just one man-month
Completed until
In different formats
Flexible response
Scalability Also realized
A project with a tight schedule: How to meet data conversion requirements
Vinal specializes in international logistics and offers the "TOSS Series" import/export trading system and customs clearance system. With a strong expertise in trade operations from engineers to salespeople, they create systems that match the operations of each company. In recent years, they have provided the cloud service "TOSS-CLOUD+," and have also seen an increase in use by overseas companies and support for global EDI integration. They are increasing their presence in international logistics projects, which are becoming increasingly difficult.
Mr. Masanori Ito
"This project was quite large-scale, even for our company, and covered a wide range of areas, with many requirements," said Ito. One of those requirements was HBL conversion. It is the forwarder's job to issue an A/N (Arrival Notice) to the importer based on the HBL data required when importing cargo, but rather than manually entering the HBL documents into the system, they wanted to link the data and automate the process up to the issuance of the A/N. "Not only was the schedule tight, but there were other highly challenging requirements as well. We wanted to use a tool that would help shorten the development period, in order to reduce the burden on our engineers and programmers," said Ito.
To realize a system that can support different formats in the future
The first phase's requirements were to support two formats: CSV and UN/EDIFACT. "The client processes around 100 items per day, so the system before the migration was also capable of automatically importing these two formats. If we had only needed to support two formats, we might have had the option of developing it from scratch. However, we were also asked to add the scalability and flexibility to support a variety of formats in the future," says Yamashiro. HBL's format is determined by an organization involved in international logistics, and in Japan, the format used is primarily that of JIFFA (Japan International Freight Forwarders Association, a general incorporated association). However, formats used vary from country to country, and it is necessary to support the data used by the other party each time. "Designing and implementing a system that takes into account the flexible import of multiple formats increases the difficulty. We were looking for something that could be accommodated through software settings, etc."
Mr. Toshihiro Yamashiro
When they consulted Hitachi Systems, with whom they have had a long-standing relationship and who provide them with the infrastructure for their cloud services, they were introduced to DataMagic. It is a tool focused on data processing, and the cost is relatively reasonable and fits within their budget. "Above all, if it was something recommended by Hitachi Systems, there would be no problem, so we decided to introduce it," says Yamashiro.
DataMagic smoothly realizes the necessary mechanisms and significantly shortens development time
For DataMagic, Hitachi Systems was commissioned to do everything from building the environment to setting it up. "We provided them with the specifications we had created, and they worked on it until we were able to call it from TOSS. There were no issues, and it was a smooth implementation (Yamashiro)." Furthermore, while developing the data conversion process in-house would have taken three man-months, the implementation was completed in one man-month. Of course, they are working to create a system that can flexibly accommodate different formats in the future.
"Naturally, in the international logistics system we handle, we need to collaborate with overseas parties. This time, we had many overseas partners, including group companies and third-party organizations, so even a simple inquiry about specifications took time, and we had difficulties communicating our intentions as we wanted. By adopting DataMagic, we were able to significantly reduce our concerns about implementation," said Ito.
We will utilize this successful experience to propose solutions for other data conversion needs.
DataMagic was introduced in December 2023, with cutover in February 2024. The overall project release period was short given the scale of the project, but by using DataMagic as a base and relying on knowledge and templates from existing projects, the project was able to proceed on schedule. "It was also a great benefit to learn that if there is a need for data conversion in other projects, we will likely be able to handle it with DataMagic as well," says Yamashiro. There is a high need for data conversion, and the company hopes that it will be able to propose this to existing customers as well, not just for new implementations.
There is a strong demand for the TOSS series to be linked to mission-critical system, core system, and TOSS-CLOUD+ now offers data transfer using HULFT as part of its menu. "Many companies are already using HULFT in their mission-critical system, core system, so just being able to propose HULFT builds trust. We hope to continue to meet our customers' needs in the future by making use of tools such as DataMagic and HULFT," says Ito.
Vinyl Co., Ltd.
We develop and provide the "TOSS Series" international logistics system for trading companies, manufacturers, forwarders, and customs brokers. In addition to developing a package that covers all the information and functions necessary for trade operations, we also provide cloud services and flexibly accommodate customization for each company. Our strength is our comprehensive proposals for international logistics based on our extensive know-how and track record.
Sales partner: Hitachi Systems, Ltd.
- The content of this case study is current as of the time of the interview. The content of this case study may change without notice.