Logistics Process Optimization with Office 365

Aug 17, 2016

Summary

Hansa Express Logistics uses Microsoft cloud platforms Office 365 and Azure for processing of their business in the field of dangerous goods transportation. The cloud services enable efficient collaboration between different locations and the headquarter. Axtrion transferred the legacy software application for the management of logistics data to Azure. Also, the cloud infrastructure ensures mobile access to data and protection against system downtime as well as data loss. Furthermore, it translates into reduction of maintenance costs for hard and software.

Office 365 and Azure

Office 365

Office 365 and Azure

Azure Remote App

Office 365 and Azure

Azure File Storage

Field of Business

Hansa Express Logistics is specialised in worldwide transportation of highly-explosive dangerous goods. With suitably equipped warehouses and trucks Hansa Express Logistics offers a comprehensive set of services for a door to door safe transport of such goods by means of trucks, ships and planes.

Office 365 and Azure

Motivation

Hansa Express Logistics works closely with its external warehouses. Due to long transport hours on the way mobile or remote access to current data was an issue. Therefore, the motivation was to optimize and to simplify the access to applications and data from the warehouses and from mobile devices. Most of all, the headquarter wanted to have constant access to and overview of the current inventory data. In addition, Hansa Express was seeking cost reduction regarding IT operation and maintenance as well as hardware.

Project Realisation

Axtrion introduced Microsoft Office 365 and replaced the old in-house email server by Exchange Online. Communication between the headquarter and external warehouses was improved by centralizing the data and IT infrastructure. For location independent access Axtrion connected the mobile devices to Office 365. Most noteworthy is the transfer of the corporate data from the local file server to Azure file storage system. Due to this cloud network drives are available to the team according to their roles and access rights.

Furthermore, Hansa Express Logistics used an industry software for managing the logistics data. Axtrion has transferred this legacy application to Microsoft Azure cloud. As a result the software is now available through Microsoft Azure RemoteApp and is also reachable via mobile devices. Hence, users can use the old legacy application from their notebooks, tablets and smartphones from anywhere.

In addition, the usage of Microsoft Azure Storage also provided continuous data backups in Azure for disaster recovery and business continuity.

Benefits

By using Microsoft cloud platforms Office 365 and Azure Hansa Express Logistics has achieved the following benefits:

  • Increased efficiency through process and technology optimisation
  • Corporate Identity by homogeneous tools and processes
  • Location independent access to centralised company data from anywhere
  • Secure mobile access to applications and data via apps and web browser
  • Modernisation of the logistics industry software by availability over Azure cloud services
  • Collaboration vis network drives using azure file storage
  • Complete disaster recovery and business continuity in the cloud
  • 99.99% availability of applications and data
  • Significant savings in IT operational and maintenance costs
As an international dangerous goods transporter we place high priority on the reliable and secure implementation of our services. Therefore we need to rely on IT and in particular on high availability of applications and data from anywhere. Axtrion introduced Microsoft cloud platforms for our business processes and helped us throughout the implementation of and transformation to these modern technologies.
Andree Niehaus

Owner & Managing Director, hansa-express logistics GmbH

Office 365 and Azure