The journey to develop a global ERP template started in 2005 and was based on SAP ERP applications, including Financials, Controlling, Materials Management, Sales and Distribution and Warehouse Management. SAP NetWeaver Business Warehouse will provide company-wide reporting and analytics capabilities, while SAP Business Objects Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) is being used to protect assets and information. The company also worked with IBM Global Technology Services to deploy IBM Power 570 and IBM Power 550 servers, running IBM AIX and a suite of IBM Tivoli software. Visit http://bit.ly/KWh5Dx to 'Follow' the official Twitter handle of IBM India Smarter Computing.

1. we know
they know
DKSH expands its business with a highly
scalable solution from SAP and IBM
Overview
 The Challenge capabilities, while SAP Business numbers and stock levels – enables
After its merger in 2002, DKSH found Objects Governance, Risk and DKSH to improve processes internally,
that its heterogeneous, unconnected Compliance (GRC) is being used and also feed this information back to
IT systems were preventing it from to protect assets and information. clients as a value-added service, a key
capitalizing on economies of scale The company also worked with IBM competitive advantage.
and causing inconsistent levels of IT Global Technology Services to deploy
performance at different locations. IBM Power 570 and IBM Power 550  Key Solution Components
Employees were spending too servers, running IBM AIX and a suite Industry: Wholesale Distribution &
much time and effort consolidating of IBM Tivoli software. Services
information across the fragmented Applications: SAP® ERP with modules
Enterprise Resource Planning  The Benefits including Financials, Controlling,
(ERP) systems. These were DKSH has gained an integrated, Materials Management, Sales
inhibiting reliable company-wide consistent ERP system based on SAP and Distribution and Warehouse
reporting and monitoring, making it ERP, enabling it to exploit economies Management, SAP NetWeaver®
difficult to identify potential process of scale to make significant efficiency Business Warehouse, SAP NetWeaver
improvements. Disaster recovery gains. IT employees at DKSH spend Business Warehouse Accelerator, SAP
capabilities did not meet the less time managing ERP systems, BusinessObjects Governance, Risk,
company’s aggressive growth needs. and the highly reliable IBM Power and Compliance (GRC)
servers reduce time spent resolving Hardware: IBM ® Power 570 and 550
performance issues, boosting servers, IBM System Storage® DS8700,
productivity. Using the global ERP DS4800 and DS4500, IBM System
template based on SAP ERP, DKSH Storage 3584 Tape Library
 The Solution can rapidly and effectively integrate Software: IBM AIX®, IBM Tivoli® Storage
The journey to develop a global ERP new acquisitions into the company, Manager, IBM Tivoli Monitoring,
template started in 2005 and was allowing it to move into new markets IBM Tivoli Workload Scheduler, IBM
based on SAP ERP applications, faster and at lower cost. Total Tivoli Netcool/OMNIbus, IBM Tivoli
including Financials, Controlling, recovery from disaster, which used Composite Application Manager.
Materials Management, Sales to take at least 24 hours, can now be Services: IBM Global Technology
and Distribution and Warehouse achieved within two to four hours, Services – deployment services
Management. SAP NetWeaver increasing responsiveness and
Business Warehouse will provide improving client service. Monitoring
company-wide reporting and analytics of performance – for example sales

2. “Since implementing Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland, to enhancements and changes. With
but with a strong Asian presence for reporting and monitoring conducted
the IBM Power servers
more than 140 years, DKSH focuses on a location by location basis, gaining
and DS storage, we on providing market expansion an overall view of operations was
have experienced 100 services for their business partners. highly problematic, preventing DKSH
percent uptime in terms It specializes in helping companies from becoming the agile, responsive
of server operation. The bring products and services to market. and efficient company it wanted to be.
Operating in 35 countries, DKSH
performance, reliability
has 540 locations in the Asia-Pacific Under the project name ‘Pegasus’,
and stability of our region, and 20 in Europe and the DKSH initiated a total transformation
hardware platform are Americas. The organization consists of IT systems in 2005. Implementing
better than ever before, of four business units: Consumer SAP ERP and creating a SAP
and we can easily grow Goods, Healthcare, Performance ERP based global template have
Materials and Technology; and within given DKSH the tools to optimize
the system to keep up
these, covers the five main areas processes across the company, while
with the pace of the of sourcing, research and analysis, accelerating expansion. Implementing
dynamic growth of marketing and sales, distribution and software to facilitate better business
DKSH.” logistics, and after-sales services. intelligence and analytics improved
Employing 22,000 people, DKSH transparency for internal users,
Matthias Legler, Vice President of IT at
achieved sales of CHF 8,576 million in partners and clients who wanted to
DKSH
2009 (approximately 8,270 million US track their performance. With reliable,
dollars). scalable hardware supporting these
applications, DKSH cut operational
Following its merger in 2002, costs, minimized risk and ultimately
DKSH found itself with numerous, gained an essential competitive edge.
unconnected ERP systems at different
locations, forcing the company to Lacking consolidation and scalability
take an inefficient, ad hoc approach DKSH conducted a review of internal
processes and identified a need for
consolidation and standardization.
Growing by acquisition had led to
multiple enterprise resource planning
(ERP) applications in use across
DKSH, including different versions
of SAP ERP, and solutions from JD
Edwards, Scala and others. Disparate
ERP systems rendered it almost
impossible to undertake reliable
company-wide monitoring or internal
and external reporting.
Matthias Legler, Vice President of IT
at DKSH comments, “Often, we found
employees from different locations
‘re-inventing the wheel’ in cases where
changes or enhancements needed
to be made to the applications, when

3. a similar procedure had already been The operations and business support “DKSH prides itself on
undertaken successfully elsewhere teams at the IT headquarters in Kuala
its ability to penetrate
in DKSH. We wanted to adopt a more Lumpur planned to develop a global
effective approach, spreading best template based on SAP ERP, to be rolled
new markets rapidly,
practices throughout the organization, out to DKSH locations. These locations with limited risk and
accelerating progress and saving time could use the template to easily and without incurring high
and expense; so we began looking to quickly deploy a pre-configured, costs – SAP ERP is a
standardize on the ERP system that standardized ERP system, which is
key enabler to achieve
best met our needs. integrated with the central hub in Kuala
Lumpur. Local IT teams were then able
this core business goal.”
“Also, we were finding it very difficult to tailor this to suit their needs, making
Matthias Legler, Vice President of IT at
to consolidate information from the adjustments to suit the location’s market DKSH
multiple ERP applications. This was and operations.
holding us back from analyzing the
company’s performance as a whole: “Our business is highly diverse, and
for example, gathering important therefore each DKSH business unit
information needed for corporate-level needs specific functionalities of the SAP
decision-making was a highly complex applications,” says Legler. “On the other
and time-consuming process.” hand a lot of ‘me too’ processes are
common and can be harmonized. By
The company faced a similar creating a global ERP template based
challenge with its underlying IT on SAP ERP, we are able to reap the
infrastructure, as different locations benefits of a standardized and quick
had a mixture of IBM, HP, Sun roll-out without neglecting the specific
Microsystems and Intel servers, some needs of different business areas.”
running Microsoft Windows operating TECHNICAL LANDSCAPE
systems, others supporting UNIX Supporting business expansion Servers: IBM Power 570 and Power
landscapes. The mixed landscape The global template would also be used 550 servers replacing Sun
was highly complex to manage and with every new acquisition, enabling Microsystems and HP hardware, IBM
maintain. DKSH to replicate its business model System Storage DS8700, DS4800 and
rapidly and efficiently at new locations. DS4500, IBM System Storage 3584
Furthermore, the legacy hardware Tape Library.
lacked flexibility and scalability, Legler explains, “Our global SAP Software: IBM Tivoli Storage Manager,
presenting significant barriers to environment gives us a significant IBM Tivoli Monitoring, IBM Tivoli
growth. competitive edge by accelerating Workload Scheduler, IBM Tivoli
growth into new markets without Netcool/OMNIbus, IBM Tivoli
Pegasus takes flight sacrificing the standard of our Composite Application Manager
DKSH initiated project ‘Pegasus’ in operations. We are able to ‘dock in’ (ITCAM). SAP ERP, SAP NetWeaver
2005, with goals including the increase new business much faster, and since Business Warehouse, SAP NetWeaver
of efficiency through centralization the template delivers the ERP solution Business Warehouse Accelerator, SAP
and the development of a platform to fully integrated with our headquarters BusinessObjects Governance, Risk,
facilitate growth and enhancement operations and our global data centre, and Compliance (GRC).
of IT management. The company we avoid the risk of ending up with the Users: SAP ERP: more than 5,000
selected SAP ERP, with modules for dispersed systems we had before. internal users. SAP NetWeaver
Financials, Controlling, Materials Business Warehouse: 1,500 external
Management, Sales and Distribution “DKSH prides itself on its ability to users.
and Warehouse Management. penetrate new markets rapidly, with

4. limited risk and without incurring high service level agreements (SLAs) in “If our systems fail –
costs – SAP ERP is a key enabler to a demanding environment. The IBM
which they haven’t
achieve this core business goal.” servers and storage systems offer
outstanding scalability, enabling DKSH
yet, thanks to IBM
Selecting IBM hardware to make the most of opportunities for Tivoli Monitoring – the
To support the SAP ERP growth. combination of Tivoli
implementation, DKSH wanted to Storage Manager and
overhaul its existing IT infrastructure, “Since implementing the IBM Power
IBM hardware will
which was suffering performance servers and DS storage, we have
issues. It also wished to standardize experienced 100 percent uptime in
enable us to be back
its hardware, replacing the mixed terms of server operation,” comments online in all within two
infrastructure supporting its business- Legler. “The performance, reliability to four hours. This is a
critical applications with technology and stability of our hardware platform huge improvement that
from a single vendor. This would are better than ever before, and we can
will translate into a key
make management and support for easily grow the system to keep pace
the solution easier, and enable DKSH with the dynamic growth of DKSH.”
competitive advantage.”
to take a more efficient approach to
Matthias Legler, Vice President of IT at
licensing. Rapid recovery from disaster and effective DKSH
operational management
Working with IBM Global Technology With variable levels of disaster recovery
Services, the company deployed at different locations, DKSH wishes to
IBM Power servers running IBM put into place a consistent, effective
AIX, replacing the mixed landscape strategy across the company. To
including servers from Intel, HP and meet this requirement, the company
Sun Microsystems. selected IBM Tivoli Storage Manager
to provide online database backup for
“We conducted a comprehensive SAP applications, Microsoft SQL Server
review of available offerings, and and IBM Lotus Domino, and LAN Free
selected the IBM solution when we Backup to automate data backup.
discovered it offered the lowest total
cost of ownership,” says Legler. “Also, The team from IBM Global Technology
IBM presented us with a very clear Services also helped DKSH implement
roadmap for the future, showing that a third-party solution. Overall, the
there is a long-term strategy in place company’s response has dramatically
for the Power Architecture, which made improved with the time to recovery
us feel comfortable we were making a reduced from a period that varied from
wise investment for years to come.” 24 hours to a few days, to within two to
four hours.
For storage, DKSH selected the IBM
System Storage DS series, including “If our systems fail – which they haven’t
DS8700 and DS4800 disk systems, yet, thanks to IBM Tivoli Monitoring – the
and an IBM System Storage 3584 Tape combination of Tivoli Storage Manager
Library. and IBM hardware will enable us to
be back online in all within two to four
The IBM solution has given DKSH hours. This is a huge improvement that
superb reliability and availability, will translate into a key competitive
helping the company meet client advantage.”

5. IBM Tivoli Monitoring provides DKSH SAP NetWeaver Business Warehouse “With the robust
employees with the ability to keep an Accelerator and SAP BusinessObjects
IBM infrastructure
eye on infrastructure and application for reporting and analytics purposes.
performance and availability with
architecture supporting
minimum effort. IBM Tivoli Monitoring New reporting capabilities are our SAP applications,
is used to manage all components provided by SAP NetWeaver Business DKSH has improved
including SAP applications, Warehouse, which presents a ‘single data security and
helping DKSH identify and resolve version of truth’, enhancing corporate
business continuity,
bottlenecks and work proactively to decision-making capabilities. Since
ensure availability of business critical deploying SAP NetWeaver Business
unmatched by any
applications. Warehouse Accelerator, DKSH has other company
seen performance of month-to- operating as a service
Legler adds, “With Tivoli Monitoring, we date queries, such as sales figures provider in our market.”
are alerted to potential issues before for individual products, improve
they become a problem, improving significantly – in some cases by 90 Matthias Legler, Vice President of IT at
DKSH
our responsiveness and enabling us to percent.
pre-empt disaster. We are directed to
exactly where a problem might arise, The DKSH teams have developed
helping us respond much faster and a number of in-house applications
avoid any downtime.” giving certain customers access to
information such as sales data and
To handle and manage the different stock numbers for certain products.
workloads and jobs across the SAP
landscapes, DKSH uses IBM Tivoli Enjoying the benefits
Workload Scheduler. TWS allows a DKSH has gained an integrated,
central control over all workloads, robust enterprise resource planning
providing transparency of SAP system based on SAP ERP running
workloads and extends automation to on IBM infrastructure. The global ERP
SAP environments. template has enabled it to capitalize
on opportunities for growth, and with
Protecting infrastructure assets a highly scalable infrastructure, DKSH
SAP BusinessObjects Governance, can be confident it has the IT solution to
Risk, and Compliance (GRC) was sustain continued success.
deployed to control access to key
infrastructure assets and information, Legler summarizes: “With the robust
guarding against fraud and mistakes. IBM infrastructure architecture
supporting our SAP applications,
“SAP BusinessObjects GRC allows us DKSH has improved data security and
to put strict access control safeguards business continuity, unmatched by any
in place, so that we can be confident other company operating as a service
we are embedding compliance and provider in our market. The solution
maximizing transparency in all our has given us the capabilities to drive
business processes,” explains Legler. efficiencies and increase operational
effectiveness, leading to better service
Accurate, company-wide reporting for our clients. Today we have a reliable,
DKSH chose to implement SAP scalable high-end solution in place to
NetWeaver Business Warehouse, support our company growth.”

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