Amplifying a Consumer Goods Company's Global Network to Drive Continued Growth

Situation

Being able to access data and stay connected across the enterprise is vital for employee productivity and business success. And when a leading consumer goods company must ensure 99.999 percent uptime to maximize their operational efforts without interruptions, they need to have the infrastructure in place that will support those imperatives and help drive continued growth.

Looking to maintain their competitive advantage in the marketplace, this consumer goods company decided to invest significantly in their core network infrastructure by bringing it in-house, focusing on migrating most of their users and devices to wireless where possible. This investment would not only give them complete control and visibility over operational technology (OT) and IT networks, but it would also give them a modernized infrastructure that would improve network performance, speed, security and end-user experience.

To accomplish this massive network transformation initiative, the company partnered with WWT to build a solution that would meet their requirements and deploy the solution at scale with minimal disruption and downtime to their operations.

Solution

The company needed a network infrastructure design that would prioritize critical applications and real-time visibility and control without compromising performance and security.

To achieve these goals, WWT provided:

Assessments and hands-on engineering support for core network infrastructure and wireless networking, specifically SD-WAN.
End-to-end strategy and execution planning services.
Architect guidance on network designs based on each individual site's needs.
Lab services for testing and validation of network designs prior to deployment.
Original equipment manufacturing (OEM) partnerships that create efficiencies in decision-making, testing and troubleshooting.
Program governance and project management expertise to oversee the success of global deliveries.
Supply chain and integration capabilities to deploy the network transformation program at a global scale.

By the numbers

Outcomes and benefits

Increased network stability and uptime: With the new network infrastructure, the company can ensure 99.999 percent uptime with minimal interruptions. Their network is now also equipped with valid warranties and enterprise agreements with multiple OEMs.

Improved network coverage and performance: End users no longer need to worry about poor connectivity as they're now equipped with faster download and upload capabilities, improving employee productivity and output.

Better allocation of IT resources: Remotely analyzing network traffic in real time eliminates the need for costly onsite visits and allows IT staff to focus on higher business priorities.

Standardization of network infrastructure: As a result of this network transformation, all of the company's sites now follow a standard model for network and hardware architecture, making it easier for future upgrades and maintenance.

Massive cost savings: Rather than outsourcing networking resources and relying on an outside party for coverage, performance and troubleshooting, designing a network infrastructure in-house will save the company millions of dollars annually.

Areas of expertise

Transformation isn't simply a technology decision. Such undertakings demand the right mix of technology, people, capabilities and areas of expertise. Here's what this initiative required:

Portfolio and program governance
Project management services
Network assessments
Briefings and workshops
Wired and wireless network infrastructure
Enterprise architecture consulting services
Infrastructure services
Lab services
Supply chain and integration services

How we did it

Our deep domain expertise cuts across business and technology. And our ability to extensively test solutions and deploy them at scale allows us to both advise and execute to create new realities for our customers.

We helped accelerate alignment, execution and delivery.

Leading the network transformation was our program delivery team, who provided robust governance and project management expertise by managing work order tracking and regular reporting; overseeing all project managers and remote-based and onsite staff; and reviewing and identifying the interdependencies of concurrent projects to optimize how programs and projects were delivered.

We delivered an end-to-end solution.

Before any planning could take place, we met with the company's stakeholders to understand their goals, business needs and site configurations. We also had to learn their unique set of technical standards, as they differed from the industry. From beginning to end, we collaborated with their team on site surveys, design and testing, and hardware shipment and deployment through our integration centers to ensure the solutions were delivered on time, installed correctly and met customer expectations.

We provided the assurance they needed before deployment.

When it came to choosing the technologies that would be deployed as part of the network transformation, engineers worked with our OEM partners to architect a solution that not only met the company's business needs but could be configured to fit the structure and standards of each office and production facility. To ensure the network design would be successful at each location, we leveraged our Advanced Technology Center (ATC) to set up labs that allowed the teams to run tests and acceptance before each deployment.

How can we help you?

As your organization navigates through the complexities of new technologies, evolving market demands and global supply chain issues, it's important to have a trusted advisor who has the expertise to position your business for success.

From idea to outcome, you won't find another partner who:

Combines strategic consulting expertise with the ability to seamlessly execute complex IT deployments worldwide.
Can cut your testing and migration time from months to weeks, if not days, by leveraging our lab services, OEM partnerships and certified experts.
Acts as the single point of contact for designing, building, and deploying fully integrated systems on time and on budget.