LGI Logistics Group International GmbH (LGI) has been using the cloud services of LIS Logistische Informationssysteme AG (LIS) since the beginning of August. After years of successful transport management with WinSped, the logistics service provider has now placed the administration of the software in the hands of the IT experts from Greven. For this purpose, the Transport Management System (TMS) was reorganized from Oracle to SQL servers, which are hosted in LIS’ own data center in Greven in the region of Münster. The employees of the logistics provider can access WinSped from any computer via web client and enter or edit data. With 80 users, LGI is currently one of the largest LIS customers using the computer center.
“With the LIS-Cloud we offer our customers further flexibility and service”, says Rolf Hansmann, member of the board of LIS Logistische Informationssysteme AG. Instead of installing it on the user’s hardware, the TMS provider provides the entire WinSped software environment on its own servers in this case. The so-called Application Service Providing (ASP) allows accessing the programs via browser at any time, regardless of location. LIS technicians centrally carry out all administrative tasks such as performance control, updates, data backup and maintenance. “This eliminates high maintenance costs for the hardware and customers do not need to ensure that the system works themselves,” adds Hansmann.
LGI has been a customer of LIS for over six years. The logistics service provider uses WinSped to handle transports in the automotive sector. The added flexibility prompted the company to host the system directly with the TMS provider. In order to have as little impact on the transport processes as possible, LIS carried out the switchover of the program to the Greven data center over night from a Saturday to a Sunday. The next day, 80 employees had password-protected access to WinSped via internet and could use the software as if it was still permanently installed on their workstations. An integration of further persons or business areas is possible at any time.
LIS has more than 15 years of experience in providing cloud solutions. “It was a good decision to offer WinSped cloud-based as well and to invest in a larger, modern and fail-safe data center”, says Hansmann. Modern logistics require IT structures that function completely or partially via the Internet. “The high demand for ASP is therefore not surprising and we are glad that we still have free capacity,” says Hansmann. The data center is designed for 5,000 to 6,000 users.