Software AG announced earlier this week that Americold, a global leader in temperature-controlled warehousing and supply chain solutions to the food industry, has significantly enhanced its supply chain capabilities by giving its customers unprecedented visibility.

Americold customers have access to their orders at every stage of the order lifecycle, from time of customer creation to final delivery, through its proprietary i-3PL supply chain control system in conjunction with Software AG’s webMethods portfolio. webMethods is used to capture and integrate data from Americold’s B2B, warehouse, transportation, and ERP systems to produce advanced intelligence for its customers.

“The webMethods product integrates information from multiple sources enabling Americold management, partners, and customers access to live, accurate data, reports and alerts enabling them to take action, reshape demand, and make critical decisions more confidently,” said Thomas Musgrave, executive vice president and chief information officer of Americold. “We want to provide our customers with breakthrough improvements comprising the ability to easily find, review and change active orders, as well as offer them order confirmations and alerts from any stage of the order and delivery process.”

Americold customers will be able to view information through a single portal even when an order has transited through a number of different networks and system architectures, and the multitude of programmed business logic that is required to deploy B2B communications. “We’ve expanded capabilities to include ongoing updates to the customer on the virtual activities of an order too, ultimately exceeding customer expectations and garnering further trust,” said Musgrave.

Americold manages over 90,000 temperature-controlled truck moves annually and over 175 warehouses with a billion cubic feet of storage around the world.

At the core of Americold’s digital transformation is Software AG’s webMethods Integration Server, which connects the company’s Warehouse Management System to its B2B Gateway. Software AG’s Optimize provides the monitoring of customer orders and shipment processes to ensure that any issues are noted and appropriate alerts are generated. Software AG’s MashZone serves as the user interface from where information is gathered.

“Americold has embraced digital first thinking to create a competitive advantage for the company,” said Kevin Niblock, COO, Software AG North America. “It is already experiencing positive customer satisfaction from the new systems.”