An installation of component-based business software is set to
yield TNT Post Group up to £10m in cost savings by the end of 2001.
TNT Post Group (TPG), the express delivery and logistics service
which operates in more than 200 countries worldwide, has developed
100 component-based products for its customers to use over the
Internet or from their local PCs.
Unlike traditional software products, component-based
development (CBD) software is broken down into smaller standalone
elements, which can be re-used in other business models.
The CBD software - currently used by over 100,000 customers
worldwide - includes a track and trace facility and a pricing
module. It has slashed the cost of deploying and upgrading software
to customers and reduced the number of software queries to TPG call
centres, according to Warwickshire-based TPG Information
Systems.
TPG estimates that the component-based software will reduce its
software deployment costs by 5% across its call centres worldwide,
by the end of the year.
And this cost saving will rise to 30% as more customers take
advantage of the CBD-based products and services. Most of the
services are free for customers using TPG.
The cost of rolling out and upgrading the CBD software in its
I.Solutions product range will also fall by 90% by the end of
nextyear, TPG have predicted. The overall cost savings are expected
to be around £10m by the end of next year.
The CBD software - based on three main product ranges - is
stored on a central library, which sits on a TPG server and
repository. The components are sent to the customers through an
IP-based network.
The initial £100,000 CBD investment was developed over eight
weeks in 1998 by an in-house department within TPG Information
Systems. The TPG team used software tools by Princeton Softech.
TNT: services
- TNT.Com site: Customers register with the site to
receive customised services including shipping, pricing and
tracking. Access though browser.
- I.Connections: Set of components. Allows users to create their
own interface to integrate the services with their supply
chain.
- I.Solutions: Wide range of components installed on the client's
PC on a CD-Rom.