SABI-Africa accomplishes several networking world firsts with IMPACT Encore

Nile Breweries Limited, a subsidiary of South African Breweries International (SABI) Africa, has accomplished several world firsts through its IMPACT Encore implementation.

The company is based in Jinja, at the source of the Nile River. A network connecting the brewery at Jinja with its depot in Kampala (a distance of about 80 kilometres) has been set up over a 128kb data line. It uses ISDN technology running on the GSM cellular network.

Derek Kemp, IT Manager of SABI-Africa, says this is the first time that two NT servers have been set up to connect across this type of data link in a common network domain. "The network will also carry all e-mail and Internet connections between the two locations, with the Kampala depot providing an additional onward link to the Internet Service Provider," he says.

SABI-Africa has standardised on the IMPACT ERP system from local developer Syspro for all its African operations. The company contracted Brian McMahon of BMD Consulting to set up the NT servers and implement IMPACT Encore at Nile Breweries Limited.

To date, SABI-Africa has implemented IMPACT at 16 sites in 12 African countries and has more than 250 IMPACT users as well as an average of 12 modules per site. The countries involved in this network include Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Ghana, Botswana, Lesotho, Angola and Swaziland.

In Jinja, IMPACT Encore is used across the data link to allow the Kampala depot to access and process customer invoices and stock information in real time.

"This is also the first such IMPACT Encore link in the world," Kemp says. "Due to the nature of the link, the Encore users perceive the link to be connected all the time. A user can log on to Encore, which will activate and connect the link and start a transaction, then pause to attend to other work, at which time the link will disconnect. When the Encore user continues the interrupted transaction, the link will automatically reconnect with only a slight pause, allowing the Encore user to complete the transaction."

Two Microsoft NT Servers, one at each end of the link, have been used. The servers synchronise with each other via frame-activated routers connected to the ISDN line. The line is set to connect automatically when any communication is needed, and to disconnect after two minutes of inactivity. The routers are configured to remain idle until a TCP/IP packet is determined as requiring a remote connection.

On receipt of a remote data link request, the router activates the dial-up connection and dials the remote router, logging on and connecting in about 500 milliseconds. After two minutes of inactivity (no remote data requests or traffic), the line is dropped and the call ended. This provides a link which behaves as a continuous connection but results in significantly lower costs when traffic volumes are low.

The ISDN line itself is a Basic Rate (BRI) service, providing two 64 kbit/sec channels, each of which can be used independently or multiplexed to give a single 128 kbit/sec connection. The routers are set to multiplex, so that this link is always at 128 kbits/sec. The ISDN connection is provided by the cellular phone provider using the latest digital GSM system.

IMPACT Encore is an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system designed by leading local software house Syspro. A 21-year-old company with a track record of supporting its customers` business objectives, Syspro`s accounting, manufacturing and distribution products are used in more than 45 countries. IMPACT Encore enables a company to exercise complete control over the planning, forecasting, management and distribution facets of the business. It is a comprehensive solution which is simple to maintain, thereby maximising time for business management and profit generation.