The Challenge

Operating in an increasingly competitive global steel marketplace, the Brazilian company determined that an e-business platform would help streamline transactions and communications with customers and suppliers, as well as within its own organization.

The Solution

Working with CSN, we defined the vision, goals and alternatives for e-business; helped the team identify optimal Internet-business solutions; and prioritized online initiatives. These included creation of a digital marketplace; development and launch of a corporate portal for customers, partners, suppliers and employees; and prototyping of online capabilities that offered faster return on investment and smooth implementation.

During the second phase of the project, we defined CSN’s key e-business opportunities with a focus on the company’s supply chain and determined that Web-enabling the supply chain offered significant, immediate benefits. By employing BearingPoint’s supply chain diagnostic tool, we evaluated CSN’s current supply chain situation quickly, defined the areas that needed immediate attention and recommended a course of action.

We then developed a business case and created an implementation plan that met CSN’s business requirements and incorporated many industry-leading technologies. CSN elected to use an application service provider to host its purchasing, sales and corporate portals and chose Oracle 9iAS and Oracle Exchange for the application platform. During the implementation, BearingPoint applied its Program Management Office methodology and Web-based tool to support the more than 30 team members from BearingPoint, CSN, partners and subcontractors.

The Benefits

Within five months of the launch of the e-business initiative, CSN was able to go live with its e-purchasing, e-sales and corporate portals. The purchasing portal allows processing of all national or international procurement requirements through emerging electronic commerce tools such as purchases via catalogue, quotation requests, reverse auction, online purchase orders and contract management.

Capabilities such as requests for information, systems integration and vendor management of inventory enhance overall supply chain efficiency, reducing inventory requirements throughout the entire chain. Using the sales portal, CSN customers can conveniently and quickly place and track their orders. Internally, CSN benefits from improved workflow and content management, as well as single sign-on capabilities.