Business Situation
Although Mercado Eletronico already offered a solution for companies that wanted to join a B2B marketplace, the costs to integrate customers and suppliers with Mercado Eletronico were relatively high. Customers required various user-interfaces and reports for their businesses, making it necessary for Mercado Eletronico to customize its solution according to each customers needs. This made the B2B integration almost unfeasible for small and mid-size businesses.

Solution
Avanade designed and implemented a solution based on Microsoft Excel XP and Outlook XP as the user interfaces, XML to transmit data, and BizTalk Server in the backend.

Results 

• Flexibility because customers can customize their own interface without having to ask for assistance from Mercado Eletronico
• Quick and easy-to-use interface through Web queries and Smart Tags that display and automatically fill information in the spreadsheet
• Lower costs because there is less customization involved
• Customer reassurance and satisfaction