Pernod Ricard improves error management on its BizTalk platform

With Euvic’s assistance the wine and spirits giant Pernod Ricard has improved the integration error notification and handling process on its BizTalk-based BRIDGE platform by replacing the existing solution (based on Microsoft InfoPath and e-mails) with a custom Azure-based tool called iTrack. This has allowed Pernod Ricard to have real statistics on the BRIDGE platform using Microsoft Power BI, thus changing the way the company’s support team works and making its life much easier.

Client

Pernod Ricard is the world’s co-leader in wines and spirits. Since its creation in 1975, Pernod Ricard has undergone steady development, founded on both organic growth and successive acquisitions. Pernod Ricard’s brand portfolio includes: ABSOLUT vodka; Ricard pastis, Ballantine’s, Chivas Regal, and the Glenlivet Scotch whiskies; Jameson Irish whiskey; Martell cognac, Havana Club rum, Beefeater gin, Kahlúa, and Malibu liqueurs; and Mumm and Perrier-Jouët champagnes, as well as Jacob’s Creek and Brancott Estate wines. The company also markets its products under local brands, including Clan Campbell, Imperial, Passport, Something special, 100 Pipers, Blender’s Pride, Wisers, Royal Stag, Amaro Ramazzoti, Suze, Becherovka, Ruavieja, Pastis 51, Seagram’s, Wyborowa, Montilla, Olmeca and Ararat. Pernod Ricard is headquartered in Paris, France. It employs a workforce of around 18,900 and operates through a decentralized organization.

Initial situation

Euvic has been supporting and developing Pernod Ricard’s BizTalk-based BRIDGE solution (BizTalk Realtime Integration Data Global Exchange), enabling document exchange between its branches and external parties worldwide. This solution was created in 2012 when Euvic’s consultants extended the functionality of BizTalk installed on servers at one of Pernod Ricard French locations by adding to it a pan-European data exchange module, codenamed BRIDGE. Pernod Ricard’s other global locations were connected to the system in the following years. Ever since, Euvic has been providing Pernod Ricard with comprehensive BizTalk-related IT support services, based on a Service Level Agreement.

The IT services provided by Euvic include two lines of support, maintenance and development that handle common problems related to Bridge (first line support); manage complex administrative tasks and resolve more serious issues (second line support); and perform tasks related to the implementation of new technologies as well as deal with the ongoing development and maintenance of the supported system (Maintenance and Development). One of the solutions provided by Euvic was related to integration error notifications and the reprocessing of erroneous flows. It was based on Microsoft InfoPath forms sent via e-mails. As the number of messages increased the solution became inefficient and did not offer all the features Pernod Ricard needed.

Challenge

• Replace the inefficient BRIDGE-related error management system based on Microsoft InfoPath and e-mails with a custom solution to provide more accurate data on errors and more flexible approach to notifying and handling them.
• Provide more information on errors and a self-service enabling approach to notifications and their handling.
• Provide visibility over all the flows being run on Bridge.

Solution

iTrack, a new tool designed together with Pernod Ricard and developed by Euvic, has allowed better error management by providing the following features:

• a list of errors with search by given criteria;
• quick access to error details (rendering XMLs in several predefined form formats) and associated messages;
• ability to reprocess a failed message (by resubmitting the message to a Web service on BRIDGE);
• ability to add a new error via a Web service or API;
• a user role management system;
• a notification system with a recipients list configurable by given predefined criteria;
• full visibility and traceability over what flows are running on Bridge.

iTrack has become the focal point for integration tracking and error handling for regular users and provides valuable detailed information about flow executions to the integration teams that can use it for validation and debugging.

iTrack Architecture

Used Technologies

• Technologies:
  • .NET Framework 4.7
  • ASP .NET MVC 5.2
  • Entity Framework 6.2
  • Spa
  • REST API
• Azure components:
  • Azure WebJobs
  • Azure Storage
  • Azure App Service
  • Azure KeyVault
  • SQL Server Elastic Pool

Development and Testing

• CI / CD Development Approach
  • Azure DevOps
  • GIT repository
  • Multi branch build
  • Multi branch deployment (DEV / UAT / PROD)
• The solution has been tested based on detailed test scenarios and using a variety of test types.
  • Manual tests
  • Automatic Web application tests using Selenium;
  • REST API performance tests using JMeter.

Business Benefits

Better error, flows and messages management

iTrack has provided Pernod Ricard with statistics they previously didn’t have related to errors, correct flows and messages.

Faster error resolution

Better error management has led to reducing the time that the support team needs to resolve an error on the platform. It has decreased by more than 50 percent.

Better performance of the BRIDGE platform

The error handling improvement contributed largely to the better performance of the BRIDGE platform, which is a critical solution for Pernod Ricard.

Credentials

iTrack not only provides us with real statistics of the BRIDGE platform, it also gives us real-time flow tracking information that proves very valuable to our integration teams. It has transformed our ways of working and made our lives much easier. Through all these years of cooperation Euvic has proven to be a very reliable and competent IT partner for us.

Tomaz Praprotnik, Head of Technology & Architecture at Pernod Ricard EMEA-LATAM HQ