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T-Systems redefines Komatsu's local warehouse operations in just eight weeks


Johannesburg, 15 Nov 2017

* Komatsu needed to simultaneously move warehouse locations and integrate into the global warehouse management system (KWMS).
* T-Systems completed set-up and integration in an incredible eight weeks.
* Lead-time for parts sorting was cut by 80%, millions were saved in annual costs, and real-time operational visibility became possible.

About Komatsu

Fact sheet
Solution: T-Systems' Dynamic Services Platform
Industry: Earth-moving, construction equipment
Provider: T-Systems
User: Komatsu

Komatsu is a global Japanese industrial giant that has enjoyed a presence in southern Africa for over 50 years. It provides earth-moving and construction equipment to mining operations, plant hire, construction sites, quarries, agricultural and forestry and more.

From its quiet beginnings on the continent, Komatsu Africa Holdings has grown dramatically, with numerous acquisitions and an ever-expanding product line - all of which are directly marketed, serviced and supported throughout the sub-Saharan region.

Head of Manufacturing & Automotive at T-Systems SA, Dereshin Pillay.
Head of Manufacturing & Automotive at T-Systems SA, Dereshin Pillay.


Guided by its vision to become the leading earth-moving equipment company in southern Africa, Komatsu endeavours to provide the highest level of product support and added value to its customers.

Moving time

Komatsu SA's primary Parts Distribution Centre required a larger space, and hence needed to move to a new location (in Germiston, east of Johannesburg). Considering that the distribution facility provides parts to a broad network across the southern African region, the migration to the new facility needed to go smoothly - without any downtime. Any delays would impair service delivery to Komatsu's customers.

Simultaneously, Komatsu's head office in Tokyo selected the SA office as one of the first regions to be brought onto the firm's new global warehouse management system: KWMS. This required the local office to integrate its existing SAP-based ERP solution into the KWMS global system, hosted in Tokyo, Japan.

At the Parts Distribution Centre, the team was constrained by inefficiencies and struggled to process and fulfil orders as quickly as they would have liked. With an inventory valued at more than R2 billion on-hand at any one time, the lead-time to process large sea freight shipments was in the region of 10 days.

Some significant 0.5% of shipments contained errors, proving to be problematic for the teams as they had to unravel the orders and resend them - all at Komatsu's expense.

Unprecedented speed

Komatsu and T-Systems had already completed a recent project to migrate the firm's SAP environment into the cloud (on T-Systems' Dynamic Services Platform). Komatsu's SA CIO Joe Ferreira explains: "SAP is the platform for all our business transactions and reporting requirements. Users are now able to transact at a higher volume and efficiency level."

In order to meet the tight deadlines laid down by Head Office, Ferreira says T-Systems was required to complete the set-up of the new site, as well as the full integration into KWMS. This needed to be completed within just eight weeks, as set out by its parent company.

"Completing a project of this scale, in such a short space of time, is virtually unprecedented in the local ICT industry," notes Head of Manufacturing & Automotive at T-Systems SA, Dereshin Pillay. "The project encompassed many different technology sets - from infrastructure, connectivity, and warehouse processing to integration of systems and the training of people."

"The team immediately mobilised, to design a project plan that made the eight-week time-frame a possibility. Very quickly, we moved to understand all the integration touch-points, and eradicate risks on the project as much as possible."

Ferreira praises Pillay's team, noting their "extensive knowledge, professionalism and performance under extreme pressure". He adds that it was only through disciplined and professional project management that such a complex programme of work could be completed, that so many elements could be brought together.

Business benefits

With the integration into KWMS now complete, Ferreira points to a number of clear benefits that Komatsu has already started to see, including these highlights:

* Single record of assets and inventory management (reported on at a local or global level);
* Real-time insights into inventory for the southern African region;
* Increased control and accuracy over stock ("scan as you pick" using WiFi-enabled bar code scanning and WiFi printers at despatch);
* Reduced outsourcing headcount costs;
* We plan to reduce lead time to sort parts from 10 days to two days;
* Improved employee experience and job satisfaction through the use of new handheld devices;
* New skills development opportunities for warehouse staff; and
* Compliance with all legislation.

Now that the distribution centre is fully connected, the foundation has been laid for further automation and Internet of things (IOT) innovations in the near future. In this way, Komatsu ensures its local operations are both scalable and future-proofed.

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Deutsche Telekom

Deutsche Telekom is one of the world's leading integrated telecommunications companies with around 151 million mobile customers, 30 million fixed-network lines and more than 17 million broadband lines (as of 31 December 2014). The group provides fixed network, mobile communications, Internet and IPTV products and services for consumers and ICT solutions for business customers and corporate customers. Deutsche Telekom is present in more than 50 countries and has approximately 228 000 employees worldwide. The group generated revenues of EUR 62.7 billion in the 2014 financial year - more than 60% of it outside Germany.

T-Systems

Deutsche Telekom considers the European business customer segment a strategic growth area. Deutsche Telekom offers small, medium-sized and multinational companies ICT solutions for an increasingly complex digital world. In addition to services from the cloud, the range of services is centred on M2M and security solutions, complementary mobile communications and fixed network products, and solutions for virtual collaboration and IT platforms, all of which forms the basis for our customers' digital business models.

With approximately 47 800 employees worldwide, T-Systems generated revenue of around EUR 8.6 billion in the 2014 financial year.

Since the inception of T-Systems in South Africa in 1997, the company has cemented its position as one of the most successful T-Systems companies outside of Europe. A leading ICT outsourcing service provider locally, T-Systems offers end-to-end ICT solutions in both the ICT operations and systems integration markets. Its extensive portfolio of services covers the vertical, horizontal, IT and TC space. T-Systems South Africa's head office is located in Midrand with another major office in Cape Town, and 20 further representative offices in locations throughout southern Africa.

Editorial contacts

Lee Wanless
Evolution PR
lee@evolutionpr.co.za