Case Study

How Bison Transport Modernized Its Architecture for Growth With SnapLogic

Backstory

Founded in 1969 and headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Bison Transport is a Canadian transport company. With a network throughout Canada, the U.S., and Mexico, Bison is a leading asset-based freight solutions provider. Bison Transport operates one of the largest, safest, and most modern fleets on the road today. 

Hal Hallsson, Principal Enterprise Architect, explained Bison’s business model, which involves transporting goods across Canada, the U.S., and Mexico through various methods, including truckload, less than truckload, and rail systems. He emphasized the company’s shift towards logistics by utilizing available carriers and partners, while still leveraging its own assets. 

Hallson highlighted the importance of data accuracy and velocity in optimizing operations and preparing for AI adoption. He also noted that IT plays a crucial role in supporting these initiatives by improving data management and ensuring the right information reaches decision-makers.

The Challenge

Decoupling legacy systems and enabling growth without disruption

Bison Transport embarked on a critical technology modernization strategy. Shifting from a tightly-coupled, on-premise Transportation Management System (TMS) to a modern cloud-based solution. This is where Hallson faced immediate obstacles. The existing system architecture was:

• Tightly coupled: In-house applications were rigidly integrated with the legacy TMS, leading to high complexity, difficult maintenance, and high architectural dependency. 
• Data fragmentation: Information was siloed across the environment, leading to poor data visibility and accuracy. This hindered the business’s ability to plan routes and optimize logistics operations efficiently.
• Incapable of supporting growth: The legacy infrastructure was not flexible or scalable enough to support Bison’s aggressive 3-5 year growth goals, including the strategic pivot toward becoming a logistics-plus-asset-based carrier.

The core challenge was to decouple systems, establish a modern enterprise architecture practice, and synchronize data between the old and new TMS environments during a phased, multi-year migration. And to do it all without disrupting current operations.

The Solution

A best-of-breed, data-centric integration platform

Hallsson led the deployment of an integration platform designed to be the central nervous system for all data movement. SnapLogic was chosen to handle the complex ETL/ELT, transformation, and cleansing processes, acting as the critical link between the API and Event layers and the backend systems.

Key initiatives included:

• Master Data Store (MDS): Bison made a net-new strategic investment to create a centralized Master Data Store (MDS) containing the “true amount of information” for critical domains (customer, order, truckload). This MDS is fed and maintained by the SnapLogic-powered integration layer.
• Hybrid migration support: The platform facilitates real-time, event-driven synchronization between the legacy on-prem TMS and the new cloud TMS, enabling a secure, piecemeal migration of operational functionality starting with Canadian operations.
• AI-readiness: By focusing on high velocity and accuracy, the new structure prepares the underlying data for future AI initiatives, such as AI-powered routing optimization.

Business Results

Accelerated time-to-value and architectural decoupling

The adoption of the modern integration platform delivered immediate and quantifiable results, including:

• Rapid deployment: The entire integration layer, including POC, development, and initial deployment, was completed in only eight months. Hallsson called this schedule a “feat” for a traditional enterprise.
• Pipeline development velocity: The time required to build and deploy new data pipelines and integrations was drastically reduced. Projects that previously took 6 to 7 months can now potentially be deployed in 1 month or less once the MDS is fully built out.
• Successful TMS launch: The new TMS integrations were launched on schedule, a significant achievement that provided organizational confidence and demonstrated the success of the modernization efforts.
• Operational efficiency: The new system streamlines operations, allowing stakeholders in customer service and operations to access complete customer and order information without having to “go to 4 or 5 different systems on 2 or 3 screens,” Hallsson said.
• Empowered development: The low-code/no-code visual nature of SnapLogic made the platform intuitive, facilitating an easy transfer of knowledge to the internal team as they shadowed third-party experts.

A Foundation for the Future

Bison Transport overcame the challenges of its aging architecture by strategically implementing a best-of-breed integration platform. This modern infrastructure has achieved its primary goals: decoupling systems, establishing a central source of master data, and enabling a secure, phased migration to the cloud TMS.

More importantly, this architectural shift gives the organization the data velocity, accuracy, and agility to support aggressive growth and quickly move forward with high-impact, future-focused projects, including AI adoption.