Manufacturing Conglomerate to Slash
ICT Maintenance Costs by 15% through
Global Consolidation
Challenge
• high cost and complexity of
managing globally fragmented
environment with many varied
business units and geographies run independently
• no visibility of ICT global installed base, causing higher risk of downtime and no proactive capabilities
Read more ...
Solution
Result
• multi-vendor Uptime Maintenance
contract covering 75% of the global
installed base
• on target to reduce support and
maintenance costs by 15% across the
global estate currently on contract
• global Service Delivery Manager as
single point of contact
• single point of contact and
accountability through global Service Delivery Manager streamlines global management
• Technology Lifecycle Management
Assessment to assess lifecycle status
and related risks for all devices in the estate
• IT Support Assessment to optimise
and right-size maintenance and
support services
Read more ...
• complete visibility of installed
base assists in managing risks and
reducing downtime through proactive
maintenance activities
Read more ...
A single, full and
accurate ICT asset
inventory gives
the business the
ability to identify
and pre-empt any
equipment-related
problems in terms
of their end-of-life
status.
case study | manufacturing conglomerate
Challenge
Dispersed, fragmented operations
Ever-expanding relationship
Until quite recently, both the management and back-end business support strategy of a wellknown Japanese manufacturing conglomerate had been fractured and disparate around the
world. These strategies were geared towards the specific geography in which a particular
department operated, as well as to that business unit’s specific needs. This was largely owing to the many, varied businesses contained within the global conglomerate all functioning under
one brand.
Before the move towards consolidation, the organisation had an existing Uptime services contract
with Dimension Data that was limited to its Japan offices – but representing about 50% of
the installed base – and that covered multiple technologies over a number of years. Dimension
Data also served the organisation in various other geographies via individual contracts governed
and managed at a local level. This included a few European and Asian countries, and a Cisco
Smart Services re-sale agreement in the US. Dimension Data’s history of delivering these services
consistently and reliably in these geographies helped to bolster the organisation’s confidence in
considering Dimension Data as a potential global partner. Overall, there was no consistent global
model in place that determined how the organisation procured ICT maintenance and support, and
it needed a partner that could develop this on an international level.
These businesses were run mostly independently, both geographically and operationally. It was
complicated and expensive to manage, at a global level, all the many in-country business support
systems and processes for each of the business units within the group due to a lack of central
visibility and governance. This was also true for ICT and related services contracts. Therefore,
the top management team, based in Japan, wanted to consolidate and streamline its business
processes and procedures through a broader, internally branded and promoted programme
with scale, cost and efficiency benefits as its objectives. A cost-effective and efficiently managed
international business would be more competitive in terms of all of the services and products the
group provided to its various customers around the world, which would strengthen confidence in the brand.
Back to summary ...
Solution
Better global reach
The organisation’s senior management team issued a global request for proposal to consolidate its
ICT maintenance and support services. It wanted an ICT partner with which it could work closely
at its headquarters in Japan, and which matched its footprint globally. Its incumbent maintenance
and support partner in Japan couldn’t provide the international coverage it required, which
opened the way for Dimension Data to step up to the plate.
In presenting its offering to the organisation, Dimension Data also positioned itself as a potential
long-term global business partner – not just a simple break-fix maintenance service provider –
with which the business could embark on an extended journey towards more innovation, more
proactive monitoring and management, and greater business value delivered through technology.
Consolidated contracts
Dimension Data proposed bringing together all of the organisation’s disparate ICT maintenance
and support environments into one, global Uptime contract – Dimension Data’s recently upgraded
multi-vendor, multi-technology maintenance service, delivered consistently around the world in all
the relevant territories.
A key aspect of the solution was a global Service Delivery Manager who would be responsible for
providing global visibility of service performance and adherence to service level agreements through
regular review and assessment meetings with the organisation’s head of global infrastructure.
Globally, the organisation lacked an accurate inventory of all its ICT assets, which caused difficulty
in creating a global maintenance service that would be the right fit. So, Dimension Data also
conducted a Technology Lifecycle Management Assessment to discover and assess the lifecycle
status of the organisation’s existing equipment and gauge any potential end-of-life risks or
unnecessary duplications. An IT Support Assessment then helped to optimise the management
and cost of maintenance and support.
Back to summary ...
case study | manufacturing conglomerate
Results
More visibility, lower costs, less risk
With the services of a dedicated Service Delivery Manager, the business now enjoys a single point
of contact and accountability for its ICT maintenance and support environment, which in turn
streamlines and simplifies management processes and provides greater global visibility.
A single, full and accurate ICT asset inventory gives the business the ability to identify and
pre-empt any equipment-related problems in terms of their end-of-life status. This helps the
organisation’s support environment by drastically reducing the number of incidents and events
that would need to be resolved on a daily basis. Also, the risk of expensive network downtime is
reduced, improving the organisation’s operations as a whole.
With one ICT partner globally, there are fewer contracts to manage at a regional and country level,
and resources can be optimised by moving them from commoditised routine services to areas and
functions that have a higher value for the business.
Overall, the business is well on its way to reaching its target of saving up to 15% on maintenance
and support costs. These target savings were based on figures Dimension Data achieved in Japan,
and in territories where it already used Uptime and in which the asset inventories were accurate.
Thus far, Dimension Data has captured approximately 75% of the global installed base on Uptime,
and the goal is to bring the rest – mainly based in smaller manufacturing countries that operate
independently – into the fold for even greater efficiency and savings in the near future.
Back to summary ...
Services overview
• Uptime Maintenance for 75% of the global installed base
• global Service Delivery Manager
• Technology Lifecycle Management Assessment
• IT Support Assessment
CS / AAA-000 / 03/13 © Copyright Dimension Data 2013
For further information visit: http://www.dimensiondata.com/Global/Services/Support-Services