EDI Complex Services for BIC | Case Study ⚐ Comarch

About BIC

BIC Group, with its headquarters in the Paris region, has been producing a wide range of stationery products, lighters, razors, promotional products etc. for over 60 years. The company’s mission is to provide simple answers for everyday needs. BIC Group is the global leader in the production of pocket lighters and alternately takes the first and second position in the production of stationery products and razors. BIC is present in 160 countries.

15 000 documents
exchanged monthly
Implementation of 8 message
types (orders, invoic, DESADV, IDTSTA...)
Service desk for project
assistance available in 13 languages

Business Challenge

In 2011, BIC launched a Request For Proposal (RFP) in order to rethink its EDI platform architecture. The company envisaged a more efficient, more secure and more flexible solution, and wished to outsource the management of its EDI exchanges. The RFP also concerned the introduction of an international EDI solution which could be connected to all of BIC’s European business partners (clients, logistics service providers…).

The change of EDI platform was a strategic project for the company. Apart from the IT dimension, it involved commercial and logistical aspects.

Comarch EDI Key Adavnatges

It guaranteed an international implementation (the possibility to connect partners within Europe while respecting local demands)
It offered an international Service Desk (for contacts with business partners, support and assistance)
It provided an efficient platform, able to process all data quickly and safely

Benefits

Integration with bic internal tools (erp, ticketing tool)
Service desk for project assistance available in 13 languages
15,000 documents exchanged monthly
Implementation of 8 message types (orders, invoic, desadv, iftsta)
Management of various standards (edifact, tradacom, xml)
Paperless invoices in france, germany, belgium

More About The Implemented Product

Comarch EDI

System provides efficient and secure exchange of data across the supply chain. Within a few days your business can start communicating electronically with all partners regardless of their technological maturity and geographical area.

Learn more

Implemented Product

The implementation took place in Big Bang mode for all EDI flows and all partners. Such a solution is problematic due to a large number of partners and flows involved.

In order to guarantee the project success, Comarch and BIC teams implemented a migration plan and an
efficient communication strategy, which helped guarantee the stability of everyday operations without interrupting exchanges in the transition period.

COMARCH EDI PLATFORM
Partners on-boarding	Data Validation	Secure transmission
ERP Integration	Mapping & Translation	Project management & SLA
*Comarch EDI* *e-Invoicing* Comarch EDI Archive for documents storage Compliance with EU and local legislation Certified by GS1 France and meets requirements of article 289 bis of the General Tax Code	*Comarch EDI* *Tracking* Visualising the incoming and outgoing flows User-friendly web interface Access to plaintext message recovery Synchronization with BIC ERP system	*Comarch EDI* *e-Market* B2B e-commerce for BIC distributors in Greece Company layout Dedicated product catalogues Easy ordering platform Orders received as EDI files from small clients

Remarks from BIC

By choosing Comarch EDI, we have limited costs, gained flexibility and operational efficiency. Our cooperation is based on smooth and transparent communication between both teams – Comarch’s and ours, and on their full availability. In the future we are planning to make the cooperation more active."