Choosing HULFT to Send Large-Capacity Files Safely and Reliably

HULFT-WebConnect expanded their interface and their business

KOKUYO Co., Ltd. specializes in the manufacturing, sales, and mail order/online sales of stationary and office furniture. The company is currently offering Denpyo@Tovas, an optional @Tovas sales form generation function, which covers the entire process on the cloud from generation of the form to transmission. Kokuyo adopted HULFT as a new integrated module for Denpyo@Tovas. In addition to conventional transmission using the Internet, the module includes a function linking with HULFT-WebConnect . Denpyo@Tovas is not only of great use internally, but also features expanded functions designed to obtain new business.

USER PROFILE

KOKUYO Co., Ltd. began in 1905 as a paper company producing covers of Japanese-style account books, and proceeded to achieve enormous growth as a paper manufacturer specializing in Japanese-style account books, Western-style account books, and sales slips. Today, Kokuyo is composed of three major areas of business: stationary, based in the manufacture and sales of stationary and office supplies, furniture, based in office space structuring through the manufacture and sales of office furniture, and mail order/online sales/retail, based in office equipment and interior and lifestyle goods. With the corporate mission "Enrich the world through our products & services," Kokuyo provides products and services that enhance the world's intellectual life.

Mr. Atsushi Yamazaki
Senior Specialist of Net Solution at Business
Development Center
KOKUYO Co., Ltd.

Ms. Fumie Oohashi
System・Support Team Leader of @Tovas
Promotion Group
Net Solution at Business Development Center
KOKUYO Co., Ltd.

Background: Starting a project to consolidate internal services

In addition to stationary, office supplies, and office furniture, KOKUYO Co., Ltd., manufactures and sells a variety of office equipment and interior and lifestyle goods. Kokuyo provides the cloud service @Tovas to send PDF and CSV form data, and safely deliver the necessary sales forms to their customers and suppliers in multiple formats: by fax, file transfer, or shipping agent. They are currently offering a service called Denpyo@Tovas, which adds a sales form generation option to @Tovas. In the past, they offered a separate service for use in specific internal and external areas, which was based on the same concept but utilized a different system. Thus a project was created to integrate the two services into Denpyo@Tovas, which became the impetus for introducing HULFT, explains Mr. Atsushi Yamazaki, Senior Specialist of Net Solution at Business Development Center.

Implementation: Choosing HULFT for its ability to safely and surely deliver large-capacity files

The challenge discovered in consolidating the two systems into Denpyo@Tovas was how to transmit large-capacity files. "Among the customers who were using the former service and system, there were customers who sent large-capacity form data, or files over 500 MB, every day, and customers who sent as much as 3,000 pages of invoice forms on a regular basis. When handling large files with Denpyo@Tovas, it's difficult to upload them via the web, and further problems were caused by the size limit on the program's automatic transfer function. "It was a difficult situation," recalls Ms. Fumie Oohashi, System・Support Team Leader of @Tovas Promotion Group, Net Solution at Business Development Center.

What drew their attention then was the widely-adopted file transfer middleware HULFT. A good number of the companies using the service with the other system were financial institutions, and among them HULFT was widely used to safely send large-capacity files. Kokuyo determined that the optimal solution would be to introduce HULFT as a new interface integrated into Denpyo@Tovas. "We needed something for sending large-capacity files where we could visually track its progress throughout sending, and where the connection quality would be guaranteed. Since HULFT comes with those features standard, for us it was an easy choice," explains Mr. Yamazaki.

For the communication component they chose HULFT-WebConnect , which, like Denpyo@Tovas, is capable of secure transfer via the Internet. With the additional consideration that forms @Tovas could be marketed to the widespread users of HULFT, Kokuyo resolved to incorporate HULFT as a new interface.

Results: HULFT proves beneficial for both service providers and customers

The way Denpyo@Tovas works fundamentally is to construct an integrated module for Denpyo@Tovas within the company, and create forms by sending the data to Denpyo@Tovas via the Internet with SSL. Now the data-receiving interface is also compatible with HULFT, and data can be sent to Denpyo@Tovas via HULFT-WebConnect. This allows customers who already use HULFT to send form data to Denpyo@Tovas by simply adding a send destination on HULFT, and effortlessly use the multi-output function of Denpyo@Tovas to send via fax, file transfer, or shipping agent. "From our perspective as the service provider, we can enjoy all the benefits of HULFT's safe and reliable file transfer features, such as compressed file transfer and resending data, while our customers can use a system they are familiar with. It's a mutually beneficial setup," lauds Mr. Yamazaki. The status of HULFT is checked by the communication component, and then sent as a notification in post-processing by Denpyo@Tovas.

Since the system is designed to use the existing framework for HULFT-WebConnect within Denpyo@Tovas, the integration work was simple. "All you have to do is instruct HULFT on how to handle the data that it receives and call the subsequent processing. After we participated in the two-hour training course, we were able to configure the environment settings all by ourselves. The actual work took only a few days, and then we were able to support HULFT as a new interface," says Ms. Oohashi, still unable to hide her surprise. She reflects that even though they were dealing with HULFT for the first time, before they knew it, integration was complete. "Even if multiple large-capacity files are sent, they can be properly managed with HULFT's generation management function. HULFT comes standard with functions that handle processing we ordinarily would be forced to have processed on the side of the receiving program. That's extremely helpful," Ms. Oohashi praises the software.

Mr. Yamazaki also commended the reduction in maintenance cost achieved by integration of the two systems, stating that they were able to reallocate the saved funds to a brush-up of Denpyo@Tovas functions. Ms. Oohashi related that in actual operation, HULFT-WebConnect could be used without paying it any special attention. "That you can use it without really noticing is the highest praise one could hope for when it comes to middleware," she remarked. She also had words of praise for Saison Information Systems' technical support service. "Their answers to all of our questions were spot-on, and we could really sense the history and extensive experience in the field that backs up their skills. We know we're in safe hands."

Mr. Yamazaki expressed his ambitions for the future centered on actively incorporating elements to make their products even easier to use for their customers. This includes expanding compatibility with HULFT to the form-sending software @Tovas itself, while continuing to market Denpyo@Tovas to HULFT users. "If there is customer demand for it, we would love to also incorporate DataMagic, which can change the order that data is received in and carry out conversion," he remarked in regard to the future.

Learn More About HULFT-WebConnect

Notes:

• HULFT and other products related to HULFT are registered trademarks or trademarks of Saison Information Systems Co., Ltd
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