Unilever`s soap powder division - the FMCG manufacturer`s most crucial production facility - has refurbished the infrastructure that integrates its factory information systems with its ERP and distribution solutions.
The new infrastructure connects the business, processing, manufacturing and distribution software to form a single open, scalable, industrial-strength messaging backbone.
The R2.5 million upgrade at the Boksburg plant was necessary because the existing interface had not kept pace with the development of mission-critical systems such as process control on the factory floor, upgrades to the SAP ERP system and the implementation of distribution software.
"While upgrades to the individual processes met individual mission-critical requirements, they did not perform satisfactorily as a unified whole," says Trevor Mitchell, application manager technology at Unilever Business Systems.
He says that with the plant producing one pallet of soap powder every 20 seconds, there is no room for failure along the supply chain. This makes communication between individual systems essential as the failure of one element can bring the entire production line to a halt. However, while any interruption to the production line was regarded as intolerable, it was not feasible to keep ploughing resources into the existing system.
Dimension Data KZN, Unilever`s technology partner, was charged with developing a solution that would replace the patchy infrastructure and keep the factory running as close as possible to 100% uptime. Development took place in Durban and only when it had been perfected was it shipped to the plant in Boksburg for implementation.
Mark Stuart, application services delivery manager for Unilever Africa, Middle East and Turkey (AMET), says the Boksburg solution which includes integration to office automation facilities, will also be rolled out to other plants around the country.
"We are looking at the infrastructure as part of a long-term strategy and expect to migrate all our systems that interface with Microsoft SQL to the new configuration. It benefits us because the automated process works unattended in the background and offers high availability," he says.
Being scalable, the solution fits in well with Unilever`s Global Infrastructure Organisation (GIO), which oversees the group`s IT needs.
Andre Beley, account manager at Dimension Data KZN, says implementation of the infrastructure had to be accomplished within 24 hours during a planned factory shut down.
"We completed an initial proof of concept in Durban and a second proof of concept at the Boksburg factory before implementation took place. This included installing two clustered HP Proliant servers, a HP StorageWorks SAN and a third off-site HP Proliant server providing hot standby functionality."
Peter Spies, business unit manager, Enterprise Systems at Dimension Data KZN, says a key aspect of the Unilever infrastructure is the high availability features provided by Microsoft SQL 2000 Enterprise server and the HP cluster and SAN architecture.
"IBM`s WebSphere MQ business integration software was configured on the HP Proliant servers to interface with Microsoft SQL Server.
"The advantage of this is that it minimises time taken to integrate key resources and applications held in Unilever`s disparate systems," Spies concludes.
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Dimension Data Holdings plc (LSE: DDT) is a leading global technology company. The group provides solutions and services that optimise and manage the performance of IT infrastructures to enable business to build competitive advantage. To achieve this, the group delivers solutions using its proprietary `Application Network` architectural framework and its expertise in networking, application integration and managed services.
Dimension Data, founded in 1983, had revenues of $2.1 billion in 2002 and operates in 30+ countries with over 9 000 employees.
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