Download PDF
Edwards drives growth, cuts costs and boosts computing power by 70 percent with SAP and IBM
Technology Category
- Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) - Cloud Computing
- Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Data Management Platforms
Applicable Functions
- Discrete Manufacturing
- Business Operation
Use Cases
- Manufacturing System Automation
- Predictive Maintenance
Services
- Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services
- System Integration
The Challenge
Anticipating continued growth for its flourishing global business, Edwards needed to extend its SAP environment. The company sought a flexible hosting solution with the scalability to accommodate current and future expansion, as well as rapid provisioning capabilities to support quickly changing business demands. And, with operations in 30 countries worldwide, it was critical that Edwards teamed with a hosting provider offering global resources and an extensive international reach.
About The Customer
Headquartered in Crawley, England, Edwards is a leading developer of innovative vacuum technologies used in manufacturing, industrial and scientific environments. The company was founded in 1919 and has more than 3,200 employees worldwide who design, manufacture and support its products. It is a 94-year-old company serving a USD 6 billion marketplace, has a turnover of USD 1 billion a year, and has recently been acquired by Atlas Copco.
The Solution
IBM Global Technology Services developed an IBM Cloud Managed Services and IBM Cloud Managed Services for SAP Applications hosting infrastructure designed to meet the company’s requirements. Configured for data replication between the IBM data center in Ehningen, Germany, and the IBM recovery center in Greenford, England, the solution architecture includes 25 virtual machines and offers robust disaster recovery capabilities. The Edwards scope includes both SAP and non-SAP components which are seamlessly delivered as an integrated global service. The application landscape comprises ERP, Business Warehouse, Supply Chain Management, CRM, Webshop and associated periphery systems.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
Related Case Studies.
Case Study
Remote Monitoring & Predictive Maintenance App for a Solar Energy System
The maintenance & tracking of various modules was an overhead for the customer due to the huge labor costs involved. Being an advanced solar solutions provider, they wanted to ensure early detection of issues and provide the best-in-class customer experience. Hence they wanted to automate the whole process.
Case Study
Predictive Maintenance for Industrial Chillers
For global leaders in the industrial chiller manufacturing, reliability of the entire production process is of the utmost importance. Chillers are refrigeration systems that produce ice water to provide cooling for a process or industrial application. One of those leaders sought a way to respond to asset performance issues, even before they occur. The intelligence to guarantee maximum reliability of cooling devices is embedded (pre-alarming). A pre-alarming phase means that the cooling device still works, but symptoms may appear, telling manufacturers that a failure is likely to occur in the near future. Chillers who are not internet connected at that moment, provide little insight in this pre-alarming phase.
Case Study
Plastic Spoons Case study: Injection Moulding
In order to meet customer expectations by supplying a wide variety of packaging units, from 36 to 1000 spoons per package, a new production and packaging line needed to be built. DeSter wanted to achieve higher production capacity, lower cycle time and a high degree of operator friendliness with this new production line.
Case Study
Robot Saves Money and Time for US Custom Molding Company
Injection Technology (Itech) is a custom molder for a variety of clients that require precision plastic parts for such products as electric meter covers, dental appliance cases and spools. With 95 employees operating 23 molding machines in a 30,000 square foot plant, Itech wanted to reduce man hours and increase efficiency.
Case Study
Aircraft Predictive Maintenance and Workflow Optimization
First, aircraft manufacturer have trouble monitoring the health of aircraft systems with health prognostics and deliver predictive maintenance insights. Second, aircraft manufacturer wants a solution that can provide an in-context advisory and align job assignments to match technician experience and expertise.
Case Study
Integral Plant Maintenance
Mercedes-Benz and his partner GAZ chose Siemens to be its maintenance partner at a new engine plant in Yaroslavl, Russia. The new plant offers a capacity to manufacture diesel engines for the Russian market, for locally produced Sprinter Classic. In addition to engines for the local market, the Yaroslavl plant will also produce spare parts. Mercedes-Benz Russia and his partner needed a service partner in order to ensure the operation of these lines in a maintenance partnership arrangement. The challenges included coordinating the entire maintenance management operation, in particular inspections, corrective and predictive maintenance activities, and the optimizing spare parts management. Siemens developed a customized maintenance solution that includes all electronic and mechanical maintenance activities (Integral Plant Maintenance).
