Case Study Online Retail Management System with SAP Integration
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Client
Requirement
Client required a complete retail management system that integrates well with their existing SAP solution. Client projected the web application to list a plethora of products for online sales. It is a portal that enables customers to view the product images and place online orders using the cart system. The system is neatly divided into various parts: Administrators: Looking at the enormous nature of the web application the system required a super admin that provides privileges to rest of the admin’s in the system. Each admin is assigned a section in the application. Supervisors and Agents: These are the two prime roles. Each supervisor role handles and keeps a tab upon a specific no. of agents. Agents can manage customers and their details through application-provided interface. Warehouse: Physical products will be stored in the warehouse. A warehouse manager will update the warehouse interface in the application as per the inventory status. Call Center: Customers can place orders through a phone call. Call center module enables managers to define roles for employees and help them add customer details while placing order for them. Client expected the following functionalities to be added to the system: •
Ability to add multiple images of a single product
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Integration of a payment gateway
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Order management features
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Customer record handling
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Internal communication system-Email console
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Inventory management system
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Integration with existing SAP system
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Translation to other languages
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User-friendly design
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Tweaks to database for high performance
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Call handling features
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Project
Challenges
Team faced the following challenges: •
Developing an active shopping portal capable of handling millions of user requests at the same time without slowing the site down.
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Incorporating web usability principles in the website design to ensure easy navigation for all types of users.
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Creating and calling WCF web services through JQuery and JavaScript for faster page load without repeated page refresh.
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SAP integration into web application to sort and fetch the existing records whenever required.
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Large database was normalized to avoid unnecessary load and fetch only the required data.
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Use of ASP.Net 4.0 capability to get Unique Identification Number for each user.
Technologies Operating System & Server Management
Development Tools & Environments Database
Used Win OS, Multi-Server Architecture with Staging & Production Environment through Version Controlling releases, Server Optimization, Security & SSL Implementation, Scheduler for Back-ups, Alert Monitoring System Integration, Server Performance Tuning at regular intervals, Software Firewall Configuration & Maintenance .Net Framework 4.0, MS Visual Studio, HTML5, CSS3, AJAX, WCF, IIS 7.0, SVN etc. MSSQL R2 Database Server, DB Clustering, DB Optimization, Master Slave Replication, Query Optimization, Scheduler for Backups
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Manpower Project Leader
1
Developers
4
Designers
2
Quality Assurance Testers
2
DBA
1
Planning Keeping in mind the structure of the website and the challenges involved a four-tier development approach was adopted consisting of: •
The Database layer containing MSSQL Server Database, Tables, Stored Procedures and so on.
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The Interface layer and Database Abstraction layer for converting data between incompatible type systems in databases and accessing data from the database respectively.
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The Business Logic layer consisting of all the business logic procedures for modules like User Profiles, Invitations, Forums, Blogs etc.
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The User Interface layer which forms the Graphical User Interface of the website.
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Architecture
Development Highlights The web application was equipped with a robust architecture to offer centralized access to multiple roles under one system. Customizable viewing options were designed to enhance user experience and allow personalization. Considering the enormous structure of application the development and deployment part was divided into four phases. Best techniques and hierarchical development approach was adopted to build a fully-functional system according to the latest standards. For effective performance WCF web services were used. SAP integration was performed to connect with the existing data source and fetch the data and make it compatible with the developed web application. Web usability guidelines were strictly followed during development and the interface was made easily navigable through judicious use of AJAX, CSS3 and HTML5 controls. The site was developed and fully functional within a span of 6 months.
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