STEF: Soon & Connect
Digital transformation and BUS architecture for temperature-controlled logistics.
A European cold chain leader, STEF called on Adservio to structure a nearshore FR/PT SSC, deliver the Soon & Connect platform and build an interoperable BUS architecture.
Project Context
STEF operates a critical temperature-controlled logistics fleet at European scale, with particularly strict quality and traceability constraints (cold chain, sensitive goods).
The legacy IS struggled to keep up with the pace of growth and the diversity of geographies (France, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Belgium). The IT teams centralised in France could no longer absorb every business need.
The challenge: structure a nearshore FR/PT Shared Services Centre, deliver the Soon & Connect platform through Design Thinking, and build an interoperable BUS architecture for the real-time IoT tracking of the European cold chain.
Strategic Objectives
Shared Services Centre
Structure a Shared Services Centre (SSC) with a nearshore France/Portugal organisation, able to take charge of the development and application maintenance of the STEF logistics ecosystem.
Business Design Thinking
Apply a Design Thinking approach to redefine the user journeys of the Soon & Connect platforms, starting from field needs (drivers, handlers, supervisors).
BUS architecture
Design an interoperable Service-Oriented (BUS) architecture covering the 3 temperature zones (-25 °C, +2 °C, +12 °C) and the real-time IoT tracking flows across the entire European fleet.
Solutions Delivered by Adservio
Adservio deployed a cross-functional FR/PT team (Tech Lead, BUS Architects, UX Designers, IoT specialists) over 36 months.
Nearshore SSC FR/PT
Creation of a Shared Services Centre in Paris and Lisbon, with shared governance, a common Agile methodology and the ability to scale teams according to the release needs of the STEF group.
Design Thinking workshops
Facilitation of Design Thinking workshops with field users (refrigerated truck drivers, handlers, warehouse supervisors), formalising personas and target user journeys.
Soon & Connect platform
Development of the Soon & Connect platform: driver interface (mobile), supervisor interface (desktop), BUS orchestration API, IoT tracking modules and cold chain alerting.
BUS architecture
Service-Oriented (BUS) architecture with centralised orchestration, decoupled business services (orders, fleet, temperature, alerts), and native interoperability with the group's ERP and WMS systems.
CI/CD time-to-market
Industrialised CI/CD pipelines with continuous deployments, blocking quality gates and automatic rollback: the ability to ship several times a day on high business-value modules.
240 vehicles, 3 temperature zones,
a cold chain monitored continuously.
Soon & Connect platform connected to onboard IoT sensors, BUS architecture for the orders, fleet, temperature and alerts flows, and immediate cold chain alerting on any temperature deviation.
Results
Fleet vehicles tracked in real time through onboard IoT tracking.
Zones (-25 °C, +2 °C, +12 °C) covered by cold chain monitoring.
Time-to-market of changes divided by 4 on critical business modules.
Shared Services Centre spread across France and Portugal.
France, Portugal, Spain, Italy and Belgium covered by the platform.
Programme duration, from the SSC to the Soon & Connect platform in production.
Impact
Operational SSC
FR/PT Shared Services Centre in production, with shared governance and the capacity to absorb the release needs of the STEF group: pooled resources and increased flexibility.
Soon & Connect in service
Platform deployed across the entire European fleet, with driver and supervisor interfaces adopted by field teams and recognised for their usability.
Durable BUS architecture
Service-Oriented architecture that supports the group's growth and makes it easier to integrate new countries, new types of transport and new business modules.
Cold chain monitoring
Real-time IoT tracking on 240 fleet vehicles, with immediate cold chain alerting on temperature deviation: protecting product quality from transport to storage.
Accelerated time-to-market
The ability to ship several times a day thanks to industrialised CI/CD, with the time-to-market of changes divided by 4 on critical business modules.
Proven nearshore
Validated FR/PT nearshore model: delivery quality equivalent to on-site, controlled costs and smooth organisation thanks to the shared French-speaking culture of the Adservio Portugal teams.
More Client Work
Augmented CIO: GenAI in the data software factory
Augmented CIO: a sovereign AI foundation across the SDLC
INES programme: AI-augmented depositary control
Interbank flows & SAP S/4HANA modernisation
360° Performance & Observability
Dentaline: deep learning on panoramic X-rays
AI FastPass & Mobile Order
EBIOS RM risk analysis & GDPR
Application Performance Centre
DevOps automation for life insurance
Building an educational nonprofit information system
Cinké Évolution : data visualisation steering
EBIOS RM risk analysis on Azure
SIAG modernisation via SAP Fiori
DevOps & DataOps: Azure cloud migration
Redesign & digital maintenance: web performance
Fabrik Digitale: cloud-native on Azure
TIV Test & Reporting: rail maintenance
GOC 2.0 project: critical architecture audit
SpeedBooking: a platform shipped for 600+ hotels
A time-management rules engine rebuilt with no regression
A Workday migration mapping accelerated by AI
Real-time fraud detection and faster KYC
Transform your logistics with a nearshore SSC and real-time IoT
Let's discuss your Design Thinking, BUS architecture and cold chain monitoring challenges. An Adservio expert gets back to you within 24h.