RAILINC Outsourced Data Operations to GE [LinkAGE / General Electric]
by Hope Katz Gibbs
LinkAGE: News about Electronic Commerce
General Electric
Two years ago, RAILINC was racing to keep up with the growth of the data center that it operates for the members of the American Association of Railroads. RAILINC officials knew just what they needed—a technology upgrade to satisfy the demands of the major North American freight companies.
RAILINC also knew where to find that solution—GE Information Services (GEIS). In October 1997, Jim Gardner, who serves as RAILINC’s vice president and general manager, decided to outsource the center’s day-to-day operations to GEIS.
The results so far are impressive. Gardner says that RAILINC expects to save $2 million to $3 million annually by having GE process its more-than-4-million daily transactions, including settlements, bills of lading, ship notices, and equipment tracing.
In May of this year, GE moved all of RAILINC’s computer operations to GE’s Ohio Super Center in Brook Park, Ohio, where it operates, management, technical support, capacity planning, network management, and other support services from its Rockville, Maryland, headquarters.
By the end of 1999, GE will help RAILINC launch a new message switch capability, a state-of-the-art standard that will allow it to respond quickly to new electronic data interchange (EDI) transaction types, as well as to handle future growth.
“W have formed a partnership that goes beyond the vendor-to-client relationship,” says Gardner, describing how GE and RAILINC work together. “Sometimes it is hard to remember which employee works for which company. The relationship is seamless.”
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