Case Study: DFDS Seaways achieves streamlined operations and major cost savings with Software AG's webMethods

DFDS Seaways increases efficiency with SOA and BPM

DFDS Seaways, a major European ferry and logistics operator moving millions of passengers and freight annually, was hampered by Cosmos — a homegrown, 1990s-era client/server ERP with more than 200 poorly integrated sub‑applications. The monolithic system led to divergent user interfaces, frequent redundant data entry, hard‑to‑maintain business logic, and occasional web front‑end performance problems, forcing the company to choose between risky reconstruction or a new approach.

DFDS broke Cosmos into logical functional chunks and replaced about 80% of its functionality with standard packages integrated via a Service‑Oriented Architecture using the webMethods suite (ESB/Broker, BPMS, Trading Networks) and an Integration Competence Center for governance. The result: higher productivity, elimination of redundant data entry, easier maintenance and faster feature delivery, resolved performance issues and lower operational costs — for example, optimized terminal trailer handling that reduced fuel use and sped boarding.

DFDS Seaways

Johan Krijgsman

IT Architect