The Challenge

Clipper is one of the UK’s leading logistics providers with an unrivalled reputation for always getting the job done, no matter how challenging or complex.  Clipper has the responsibility of ensuring that its customers always deliver on their promises to their customers; when you think about it, that's the same responsibility as we have at ap16.

Clipper already utilised Microsoft BizTalk for messaging between its clients systems and its own warehouse management systems and had been doing so for a number of years.  As a result of the company’s success the demands on the BizTalk platform were becoming more complicated and much larger in scale.

Since Clipper’s initial implementation Microsoft had released a number of version updates that had improved BizTalk Server functionality and there was the desire to migrate the current integrations to the latest platform to optimise and utilise the enhanced functionality.

To reach this point Clipper had undergone an investigation into companies that could help them to achieve this optimisation and ap16 was chosen as the preferred partner based on our skills, attitude and location.

Our Approach

The first task for the Clipper and the ap16 team was to undergo an exploration of the current BizTalk infrastructure to assess the current state and look to its future needs. 

A set of workshops were held to establish a joint understanding and documentation of the current functionality was produced by:

• Evaluating the current BizTalk implementation. 
• Understanding the functionality of the warehouse systems. 
• Considering the benefits of more recent BizTalk versions.
• Mapping out an upgrade path.
• Proposing a future implementation plan and benefits.

The Outcome

The Clipper and ap16 teams now have a fully supportable, up to date BizTalk infrastructure that is much more robust in nature. 

The platform is now easier to support and has been optimised which has allowed Clipper to offer its integrated solutions to more and more of its clients.

The initial project gave us the opportunity to demonstrate to Clipper that we are a trusted and respected partner to each of our clients, not just a ‘supplier’. 

The result of our honest and straightforward approach to project execution is that we have been engaged in further projects, enabling Clipper to provide fully integrated systems for their growing client list with the confidence that they can comfortably scale up as clients demand well into the future.

About Clipper

Founded by Steve Parkin in 1992, Clipper is amongst the leading providers of value-added logistics solutions and e-fulfilment to the retail sector in the United Kingdom, with an expanding business in Germany and employs over 3,500 people.  The Group provides consultancy-led services within the online fashion and non-food sectors to its blue chip client base including ASOS, The John Lewis Partnership, Asda, SuperGroup, Morrisons, New Look and Tesco.