7-Eleven moves its supply chain to the web

Convenience store chain 7-Eleven Inc. is taking its supply chain to the web. 7-Eleven announced today that it has selected webMethods Inc.’s integration platform to automate its supply chain in an effort to bring its many small suppliers into an electronic supply chain. 7-Eleven will buy IT services from EDS to help implement the procedure.

7-Eleven does business with 1,700 suppliers who provide merchandise to 5,300 7-Eleven stores in the U.S.

7-Eleven says one of the key reasons it selected the webMethods integration platform was the robust and scalable architecture. Once the integration backbone is deployed, 7-Eleven will be able to streamline other key business processes by leveraging the webMethods integration platform, the company says.

"We view the webMethods integration platform as a primary infrastructure piece for 7-Eleven," said Keith Morrow, vice president of information systems for 7-Eleven. "It is central to our strategy to improve business processes, provide real-time analytics and integrate disparate IT systems. We believe that webMethods` robust technology and their firm commitment to our success will be a winning combination for 7-Eleven."

WebMethods says suppliers will benefit from the system by bypassing EDI upgrades and translation costs.