Two years ago, a tool manufacturer based in Skokie, Illinois, wanted to tackle some development work that would improve communications with its distributor base. Several LANSA products later, Klein Tools, Inc. has developed various projects including an intranet for their employees, an extranet for their distributors and a Web catalog. Visual LANSA, LANSA for the Web, LANSA Commerce Edition and LANSA AS2 Direct have all played a part in the rollout of these plans.Tom Hupp, vice president of Information Technology for Klein Tools, said, “In the Summer 2002, we purchased Visual LANSA and LANSA for the Web as strategic tools for new Internet capable applications development. One of our first projects was to build a front-end security and menu applicationto be layered over our entire portfolio of applications, whether they ran on theIBM eServer®iSeriesor on Windows2000 servers. This application gives our employees a page with links to whatever applications for which they are authorized. That fall, we wanted to add a customer and employee extranet.After assessing whether to buy an off-the-shelf solution or build it from scratch,we chose to purchase LANSA Commerce Edition, which Silveredge modified and implemented. One of our custom developments was an application that enables our distributors to establish their own hierarchy of users assigned to different regions and branches. Now, they may set up and maintain their own user community, place orders, make order inquiries, look up account information and obtain new pricing information — all in realtime.”Sue Boers, president of LANSA Business PartnerSilveredge Consulting, in Westchester, Illinois, worked closely with Hupp to get these projects under way. “Tom was concerned that the entire Web functionality and design phase could be time-consuming for their user community and visualizing all the possible functionality would be difficult for the project team to do quickly. LANSA Commerce Edition’s rapid deployment gave Klein Tools an out-of-the-box solution that their designers and user community could work with and modify according to the company’s special requirements, such as providing up-to-date sales information for remote representatives calling on the distributor base.We also made some database extensions from LANSA Commerce Edition to link Klein’s ERP system (PRMS), the warehouse management system (BOSS) and their custom LANSA Catalog Content Management System to the Web application.”In 2003, Silveredge usedthe LANSA toolset to develop Klein Tools’new Web product catalog for internal and external use. To support this new Web-facing application, Silveredge built the product content repository with LANSA for the Web. Inquiries access PRMS for the core data and LANSA for the Web provides additional fields and attributes sent to the Web catalog.Silveredge and Klein Tools have partnered on other projects using Visual LANSA and LANSA for the Web to rapidly and cost effectively create applications providing significant productivityenhancements for a broad range of applicationsas extensions to core ERP and HR application packages. These applications have given Klein Tools a consistent means to view and process transaction data and information objects, such as engineering drawings and product specifications.In addition, Klein Tools uses LANSA AS2 Direct to communicate transactions with the Industry Data Exchange Association (IDEA). “We use LANSA AS2 Direct to communicate product catalog information with our valued electrical industry customers who are members of IDEA’s Industry Data Warehouse, or IDW. Communications with the IDW relies on EDI-INT and AS2 technology via the IDEA’s value-added network(Industry Data Exchange, or IDX2).We needed a solution compatible with IDEA’s systemthat enabled tight integration to our other systems,” saidHupp.“Klein Tools invested in LANSA technology to ‘round out’ their application solutions to address strategic business opportunities,” saidBill Hood, vice president ofmarketing for LANSA. “Developing the edge of the enterprise to enhance relationships with customersand suppliers is clearly a future for growth and the basis for a strong return on Klein Tools’ investment in LANSA.” In all, roughly a dozen projects were implemented using LANSA products to take advantage of both Web and Windows functions accessing the iSeries and Windows Server based-applications. “The strategic value of LANSA’s tool set,Silveredge’s PRMS and LANSA expertise let us develop feature-rich applications that are tightly integrated and cost-effective to maintain. We are well positioned to continue to build upon these successes,” concluded Hupp.About Klein Tools, Inc.A family-owned business, Klein Tools, Inc., began manufacturing pliers in 1857, but has since broadened its product line to include virtually every major type of hand tool used in construction, electronics, mining, and general industry in addition to the electrical and telecommunications fields. Klein Tools also manufacturers a line of occupational protective equipment. Klein's products are available around the world through a well-established network of agents and distributors who stock the products that are required for their particular markets. For more information visit www.kleintools.comAbout Silveredge Consulting, Inc.Silveredge is a technical services company located in Chicago’s western suburbs. In business since 1987, their consulting practice is centric to the iSeries customer base. The focus of Silveredge’s business has been ERP implementations and customizations including all of the major software vendors in that marketplace. In recent years, Silveredge added web, wireless, and Windows based application services that have been facilitated by the partnership with LANSA. Silveredge’s customer base includes health care, tool companies like Klein as well as a wide range of manufacturing and distribution companies. For more information visit www.silveredgeconsulting.comAbout LANSALANSA is a software company that helps customers enhance their business performance through the effective use of leading-edge technologies, services and solutions. LANSA’s products provide offerings in the areas of application development, e-business solutions, technology integration and data access. LANSA has evolved into a powerful family of products and solutions that support IBM iSeries, AS/400, Windows, UNIX and Linux platforms. Founded in 1987, LANSA has over 6,700 installations in more than 67 countries including e-business solutions for world-leading companies like Visa, Hershey Foods, General Electric Appliances and Dean Foods. For more information visit www.lansa.com
BLOG COMMENTS POWERED BY DISQUS
This book provides an amazingly comprehensive introduction to the concepts while at the same time delivering enough technical detail to make you productive very quickly.
Today, it's all about input and output. Getting data into the IBM i from non-traditional sources and then displaying it back out again in varied formats. But where can you go to learn all that you need to know about this critical skill?
Too valuable to be classified as merely excellent certification material, this book should also rightly take its place on DB2 DBA bookshelves as a solid day-to-day DB2 reference.
Whether you want to obtain an IBM certified DB2 professional certification or simply become well-rounded in the fundamental concepts of DB2 and general database theory, this is your book.
Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application. You can find Part 1 here. In Part 2 of our free Node.js Webinar Series, Brian May teaches you the different tooling options available for writing code, debugging, and using Git for version control. Brian will briefly discuss the different tools available, and demonstrate his preferred setup for Node development on IBM i or any platform. Attend this webinar to learn:
More than ever, there is a demand for IT to deliver innovation. Your IBM i has been an essential part of your business operations for years. However, your organization may struggle to maintain the current system and implement new projects. The thousands of customers we've worked with and surveyed state that expectations regarding the digital footprint and vision of the company are not aligned with the current IT environment.
IBM announced the E1080 servers using the latest Power10 processor in September 2021. The most powerful processor from IBM to date, Power10 is designed to handle the demands of doing business in today’s high-tech atmosphere, including running cloud applications, supporting big data, and managing AI workloads. But what does Power10 mean for your data center? In this recorded webinar, IBMers Dan Sundt and Dylan Boday join IBM Power Champion Tom Huntington for a discussion on why Power10 technology is the right strategic investment if you run IBM i, AIX, or Linux. In this action-packed hour, Tom will share trends from the IBM i and AIX user communities while Dan and Dylan dive into the tech specs for key hardware, including:
TRY the one package that solves all your document design and printing challenges on all your platforms. Produce bar code labels, electronic forms, ad hoc reports, and RFID tags – without programming! MarkMagic is the only document design and print solution that combines report writing, WYSIWYG label and forms design, and conditional printing in one integrated product. Make sure your data survives when catastrophe hits. Request your trial now! Request Now.
Forms of ransomware has been around for over 30 years, and with more and more organizations suffering attacks each year, it continues to endure. What has made ransomware such a durable threat and what is the best way to combat it? In order to prevent ransomware, organizations must first understand how it works.
IT security is a top priority for businesses around the world, but most IBM i pros don’t know where to begin—and most cybersecurity experts don’t know IBM i. In this session, Robin Tatam explores the business impact of lax IBM i security, the top vulnerabilities putting IBM i at risk, and the steps you can take to protect your organization. If you’re looking to avoid unexpected downtime or corrupted data, you don’t want to miss this session.
Can you trust all of your users all of the time? A typical end user receives 16 malicious emails each month, but only 17 percent of these phishing campaigns are reported to IT. Once an attack is underway, most organizations won’t discover the breach until six months later. A staggering amount of damage can occur in that time. Despite these risks, 93 percent of organizations are leaving their IBM i systems vulnerable to cybercrime. In this on-demand webinar, IBM i security experts Robin Tatam and Sandi Moore will reveal:
Disaster protection is vital to every business. Yet, it often consists of patched together procedures that are prone to error. From automatic backups to data encryption to media management, Robot automates the routine (yet often complex) tasks of iSeries backup and recovery, saving you time and money and making the process safer and more reliable. Automate your backups with the Robot Backup and Recovery Solution. Key features include:
Managing messages on your IBM i can be more than a full-time job if you have to do it manually. Messages need a response and resources must be monitored—often over multiple systems and across platforms. How can you be sure you won’t miss important system events? Automate your message center with the Robot Message Management Solution. Key features include:
The thought of printing, distributing, and storing iSeries reports manually may reduce you to tears. Paper and labor costs associated with report generation can spiral out of control. Mountains of paper threaten to swamp your files. Robot automates report bursting, distribution, bundling, and archiving, and offers secure, selective online report viewing. Manage your reports with the Robot Report Management Solution. Key features include:
For over 30 years, Robot has been a leader in systems management for IBM i. With batch job creation and scheduling at its core, the Robot Job Scheduling Solution reduces the opportunity for human error and helps you maintain service levels, automating even the biggest, most complex runbooks. Manage your job schedule with the Robot Job Scheduling Solution. Key features include:
Business users want new applications now. Market and regulatory pressures require faster application updates and delivery into production. Your IBM i developers may be approaching retirement, and you see no sure way to fill their positions with experienced developers. In addition, you may be caught between maintaining your existing applications and the uncertainty of moving to something new.
When it comes to creating your business applications, there are hundreds of coding platforms and programming languages to choose from. These options range from very complex traditional programming languages to Low-Code platforms where sometimes no traditional coding experience is needed. Download our whitepaper, The Power of Writing Code in a Low-Code Solution, and:
Supply Chain is becoming increasingly complex and unpredictable. From raw materials for manufacturing to food supply chains, the journey from source to production to delivery to consumers is marred with inefficiencies, manual processes, shortages, recalls, counterfeits, and scandals. In this webinar, we discuss how:
The MC Resource Centers bring you the widest selection of white papers, trial software, and on-demand webcasts for you to choose from.
>> Review the list of White Papers, Trial Software or On-Demand Webcast at the MC Press Resource Center. >> Add the items to yru Cart and complet he checkout process and submit
Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application.
IT managers hoping to find new IBM i talent are discovering that the pool of experienced RPG programmers and operators or administrators with intimate knowledge of the operating system and the applications that run on it is small. This begs the question: How will you manage the platform that supports such a big part of your business? This guide offers strategies and software suggestions to help you plan IT staffing and resources and smooth the transition after your AS/400 talent retires. Read on to learn:
Have you been wondering about Node.js? Our free Node.js Webinar Series takes you from total beginner to creating a fully-functional IBM i Node.js business application. You can find Part 1 here. In Part 2 of our free Node.js Webinar Series, Brian May teaches you the different tooling options available for writing code, debugging, and using Git for version control. Brian will briefly discuss the different tools available, and demonstrate his preferred setup for Node development on IBM i or any platform. Attend this webinar to learn:
More than ever, there is a demand for IT to deliver innovation. Your IBM i has been an essential part of your business operations for years. However, your organization may struggle to maintain the current system and implement new projects. The thousands of customers we've worked with and surveyed state that expectations regarding the digital footprint and vision of the company are not aligned with the current IT environment.
IBM announced the E1080 servers using the latest Power10 processor in September 2021. The most powerful processor from IBM to date, Power10 is designed to handle the demands of doing business in today’s high-tech atmosphere, including running cloud applications, supporting big data, and managing AI workloads. But what does Power10 mean for your data center? In this recorded webinar, IBMers Dan Sundt and Dylan Boday join IBM Power Champion Tom Huntington for a discussion on why Power10 technology is the right strategic investment if you run IBM i, AIX, or Linux. In this action-packed hour, Tom will share trends from the IBM i and AIX user communities while Dan and Dylan dive into the tech specs for key hardware, including:
TRY the one package that solves all your document design and printing challenges on all your platforms. Produce bar code labels, electronic forms, ad hoc reports, and RFID tags – without programming! MarkMagic is the only document design and print solution that combines report writing, WYSIWYG label and forms design, and conditional printing in one integrated product. Make sure your data survives when catastrophe hits. Request your trial now! Request Now.
Forms of ransomware has been around for over 30 years, and with more and more organizations suffering attacks each year, it continues to endure. What has made ransomware such a durable threat and what is the best way to combat it? In order to prevent ransomware, organizations must first understand how it works.
Disaster protection is vital to every business. Yet, it often consists of patched together procedures that are prone to error. From automatic backups to data encryption to media management, Robot automates the routine (yet often complex) tasks of iSeries backup and recovery, saving you time and money and making the process safer and more reliable. Automate your backups with the Robot Backup and Recovery Solution. Key features include:
Business users want new applications now. Market and regulatory pressures require faster application updates and delivery into production. Your IBM i developers may be approaching retirement, and you see no sure way to fill their positions with experienced developers. In addition, you may be caught between maintaining your existing applications and the uncertainty of moving to something new.
IT managers hoping to find new IBM i talent are discovering that the pool of experienced RPG programmers and operators or administrators with intimate knowledge of the operating system and the applications that run on it is small. This begs the question: How will you manage the platform that supports such a big part of your business? This guide offers strategies and software suggestions to help you plan IT staffing and resources and smooth the transition after your AS/400 talent retires. Read on to learn:
LATEST COMMENTS
MC Press Online