Delivering an Efficient and Sustainable Supply Chain Program for a Social Media Giant

Situation 

As social media continues to play a big role in the way we interact with one another, companies that want to remain competitive in this space must continue to innovate and attract new users— which is how a social media giant found itself ahead of its largest quarter ever.   

But to keep up with the increased demand and growth in its user base, the social media platform needed to quickly scale its infrastructure capacity. Knowing that it wouldn't be able to refactor its applications in the cloud to meet performance needs, it made the decision to expand its on-premises data center to ensure that it could still deliver the functionalities and seamless experience its users expected.  

While the technology decision was already made, the social media platform's current implementation process needed to be revised as its data centers were already congested due to the shipments being delivered, broken down, built and integrated onsite, taking up unnecessary space that could be used to deploy new technologies. 

With goals of installing more servers than ever purchased, at a faster rate than ever deployed, and wanting to incorporate sustainable efficiencies into its supply chain process to cut down the amount of packaging waste from incoming shipments, the social media platform looked to WWT to build a program that would meet both objectives.  

Solution 

Given a six-month timeframe to implement an efficient and sustainable supply chain program that would enable our client's on-premises infrastructure to scale and adapt to market and customer demands, we provided: 

• A single point of contact that streamlined logistics operations.
• Racking service: One custom-built transit case replaced three pallets consisting of hardware, cardboard, foam and debris.
• Logistics efficiency: One truckload of transit cases replaced three truckloads of pallets.
• Inventory management: About 3,000 pallets of servers needed to be deployed by the end of the quarter.
• Project management expertise to oversee the communication and success of deliveries.

Outcomes and benefits 

Scaled to demand: Using our integration centers allowed the client to implement a just-in-time delivery process that scaled and streamlined shipments based on demand, eliminating bottleneck congestion at the data centers. 

Significantly improved install cycle time: By shifting the design, build, testing and packaging responsibilities to our team, the client was able to cut its hardware install time from days down to 30 minutes as pre-configured and pre-tested hardware was delivered onsite rather than piece by piece. 

Incorporated sustainability into their logistics operations: In addition to the custom-built transit cases that limited the number of pallets and truckloads needed for delivery, the pallets and materials associated with unpacking the hardware were reused, reducing the large amounts of debris that needed to be disposed to zero.  

Smarter allocation of data center resources: The client's data center team can now focus on the deployment of new technologies rather than managing the congestion and waste from incoming shipments. 

How we did it 

Between our people, processes and global integration centers, our supply chain capabilities differentiate us from our competitors. How? Because we're able to reduce the risk, cost and complexity of IT deployments by providing a controlled environment to test, configure and repackage technologies so that they're ready to be installed right out of the box for our clients.  

Here's how we did it for the social media platform:  

We simplified the supply chain.

As organizations continue to invest in strategic focus areas that leave them reliant on multiple vendors, each with its own supply chain, managing those relationships and processes can quickly get complex. We simplified the supply chain by acting as the client's single point of contact as we're able to handle supply chain logistics with more than 250 original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) with whom we've built strategic partnerships over the years.   

We listened to deliver the right shipping solution. 

The client had envisioned a custom-built transit case solution that would transport large amounts of hardware to its data centers at once, with the objectives of reducing packaging waste and achieving time and cost savings; however, the client wasn't sure how to execute this idea. Knowing the server size specifications needed to fit the client's infrastructure footprint, we worked with a third-party architect who designed, built and tested the customized transit case solution to ensure that it could transport hardware without damage, bringing the client's vision to fruition.     

We kept them informed every step of the way. 

To avoid surprises and optimize operations, we created a custom report that provided the client with a full-picture dashboard of where hardware was, where it was going and when it would get there, giving them real-time data and increased visibility and predictability into their infrastructure rollout plans.  

How can we help you?  

As today's supply chains are increasingly complex and interdependent, streamlined supply chain solutions become critical to enabling business success. 

WWT simplifies the supply chain by acting as your single point of contact for designing, building, testing and deploying fully integrated systems — on time and on budget. 

• Accelerate time to market to boost competitive advantage, capture new business and delight customers with accelerated product delivery.
• Increase predictability and visibility of large, multisite rollouts to gain real-time insights and flexibility to level load demand when plans change.
• Scale and streamline shipments of pre-configured, multi-vendor solutions.
• Optimize costs and transform the supply chain into a revenue-generating part of the business.