A global gateway developed by Dimension Data Internet Services has provided BP Lubricants with an international presence while giving its regional sites flexibility in terms of specific product offerings. One of the three largest integrated energy companies in the world, BP operates in 100 countries on six continents. It has well-established operations in Europe, North and South America, Australasia and Africa.
Andrea Abrahams, programme manager of BP Lubricants, says the decision to partner with Dimension Data was based on the company`s innovative, dynamic approach to delivering projects. "DiData`s design and development staff have the necessary knowledge to integrate our Internet vision into the organisation," she says.
BP Lubricant`s objective was to create a world-class web site which communicates its brand correctly and encourages user interaction. Because the product offering differs from region to region, Dimension Data was tasked with developing the global gateway while still providing BP Lubricants with the ability to dynamically create content and regional information.
The result is a content-publishing web site based on an engine that delivers content from databases which are maintained by regional and global administrators. The web site and central database, which provides technical product data, are located in the UK. The interface between the web site and the technical data was written in XML. The transfer of data from three external real-time content providers is done by XML across the web server.
Dimension Data produced the global gateway as well as the regional site within six months, and conducted remote training of BP Lubricants` regional administrators through video conferencing.
Commenting on the benefits of the project, Abrahams says there has been excellent buy-in from the regions. "Our regional administrators are now able to manage their product information more effectively, which amounts to huge cost savings," she says. "Ultimately, we would like to see all product information published electronically rather than through print media."
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Dimension Data
Dimension Data is a leading global network services and i-Commerce solutions provider, focused on enabling enterprises, telecommunications service providers and new economy companies to communicate and transact effectively in an e-enabled environment.
Dimension Data is listed on the London Stock Exchange and operates in over 30 countries on six continents. The Group has achieved a compound annual growth rate in US dollars of 78% in revenue and 38% in basic earnings per share over the past two years.