Case Studies: Manufacturing
Click below to learn more about how Modis has helped companies in the manufacturing industry:
- Wholesale Supply Web Site
- Leading Apparel Manufacturer
- Major Tire Manufacturer
- Leading Medical Devices Company
- Leading Global Supplier of Enterprise Technology
Client Overview: Wholesale Supply Web Site
A wholesale supply Web site was challenged by a major increase in traffic and customer interest. Specifically, the company determined that they needed a stable and robust Web site to handle the amount of customers it was encountering.
The Modis Solution:
In order to accomplish the objectives, Modis was brought in to design a new customer Web site, order processing system, and data warehouse. The design process was managed in such a way that the company had full control over the look and feel of the new site as well as its functionality. Modis decided that the company's need for reporting/decision making was a great fit for a data warehousing solution and designed it appropriately as well. The company wished to continue using a hosted approach for computer operations.
As of the time that this profile was published, later phases of this project are on-going per the clients request. By providing a more robust Web site, customer checkout problems were greatly reduced. The successful completion of this project made navigation of the sites 1700+ products much easier. Maintenance of products was also much easier. Other benefits included the fact that back office work to process and ship orders was greatly reduced, paper invoices were eliminated, and the elimination of manual re-keying of orders into a UPS computer system.
Client Overview: Leading Apparel Manufacturer
Based on 100 years of growth fueled by offering consumers' high-quality, high-value branded apparel, this company has become the world's largest apparel manufacturer. Its leading brands in jeanswear, intimate apparel, knitwear, and specialty apparel span virtually every channel of distribution.
Recently this firm acquired five companies. The acquired companies had different computer systems (Legacy, AS400, client/server) which made inventory management, order entry, and financial/tax applications difficult and confusing for both customers and internal staff (customer service personnel). Also, the current systems were not scalable or robust enough to handle increased volume and/or future growth (acquisitions). It was decided that the systems needed to be merged, quickly and efficiently, and that outside help would be retained to ensure that the proper technical expertise was on hand.
The Modis Solution:
Modis provided a team of 3 high-level, Java developers to merge the systems of the acquired companies into a common system. The project was called "COM's" (Common Order Management System) and affected the migration of each of the acquired companies' systems in phases from mainframe to client/server.
The result was significant cost savings through improved inventory management (including decreased order to process time) and more efficient order entry and financial systems. The new system allows the firm to better plan for the future. The scalability of the system facilitates adding new customers and the attendant increase in orders. In addition, the system will continue to operate efficiently when future business groups are added. It also has resulted in increased satisfaction amongst customer service personnel as well as lower employee turnover (use of new technology improves employee retention).
Client Overview: Major Tire Manufacturer
This major tire manufacturer, founded in the early 1900s, specializes in the manufacturing and marketing of rubber products for consumers. Products include automobile, lorry and motorcycle tires, inner tubes, NVH control systems, automotive sealing, and fluid delivery systems.
This client markets its products nationally and internationally through well-established channels of distribution. Among its customers are automotive manufacturing companies, independent tire dealers, wholesale distributors, and large retail chains.
At one of its largest manufacturing facilities, the client had a three dimensional problem: decouple the payroll system from the Unisys mainframe, modify payroll from 3 eight-hour shifts 5 days per week to 2 twelve-hour shifts 7 days per week for the majority of its 1,700 employees, and process some "except" employees by the old standard. Stringent contract rules also had to be implemented along with a firm implementation deadline.
The Modis Solution:
Based on Modis' extensive experience on similar projects, Modis was retained to manage and execute the migration of all payroll programs to the Windows NT environment. Modis utilised its proven project methodology and experienced migration team to complete the migration. After the programs were migrated and tested, the programs were then modified to process the majority of the payroll under the new constraints without impacting the normal processing of employees that remained under the old rules. All deadlines were met to the satisfaction of the client.
Client Overview: Leading Medical Devices Company
This world leader in insulin pump therapy and continuous glucose monitoring needed skilled technical support help in the evenings and weekends to rollout Windows 2000 to more than 1,600 users in various locations, including the California headquarters. Despite a large IT staff within the IT department, it decided to seek outside assistance to get the project done on time and within budget.
The Modis Solution:
Based on Modis' history of successfully assisting on two other rollout projects in addition to staffing contract and full-time positions, this client chose Modis to assist. Modis provided a team of 5 consultants as second-level support technicians to work on the project in the evenings. Modis also assigned 4 consultants to the client during the day to help facilitate progress for the night and weekend crew. Consultants also advised on project strategy, for example, suggesting a shift in the hours to make it easier to attract staff to the effort. The project proceeded along schedule and Modis was able to staff the project and to add value in other areas.
Client Overview: Leading Medical Devices Company
This leading global provider of enterprise technology and solutions designs, develops, manufactures and markets hardware, software, solutions, and services. Some key products include industry-leading enterprise storage and computing solutions, fault-tolerant business-critical solutions, communication products, and desktop and portable personal computers sold in more than 200 countries.
As in any PC new product development environment, this company is faced with integrating new hardware and software into its extensive product line.
The Modis Solution:
In order to assist in the integration and testing challenges, Modis provided a solution team consisting of module integration testers who test and troubleshoot hardware/software compatibility issues. They also handle network connectivity issues in a client/server environment and troubleshoot those workstations and server issues on the company's Intel-based hardware. Module integration testers install, configure, and build network servers running on MS Windows NT, MS-Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows 95/98, Novell, and Linux platforms.
Modis was one of three providers given the opportunity to assume this task. Modis, an industry leader and a long time partner with the client, performed well in comparison to other providers as measured by the client.
As a result, Modis is routinely called upon to supply staffing on both small and large-scale projects and has always successfully integrated its services with the client's needs.