Client story Large Beverage Bottler and Distributor Looks to Address Wide-Ranging IT Challenges in Preparation for Tripling in Size
By Insight Editor / 23 Aug 2018 / Topics: Cloud Data center Networking SD-WAN
Facts at a glance
Client industry
Beverage bottling and distribution
Insight provided:
- Detailed assessment of technology and internal skills
- Roadmap with prioritized and sequenced IT investments
- Technology refresh in 8 bottling facilities and 42 sales/distribution centers
- Advanced infrastructure that enables real-time business
Insight services:
- Business and technology assessment
- Architectural design
- Remote network monitoring and management
Outcomes:
Download the client story
- New platform to support business growth
- Progress in addressing skill gaps
- Improved compliance
- New relationship with trusted technology partner
- $600M in revenue in 13 Western U.S. states
- Addressable market of people 127M
- Technology refreshed in 8 bottling facilities and 42 sales/distribution centers
- 36-month roadmap developed
The client
The client, a large beverage bottler and distributor, is a subsidiary of a U.K.-based global conglomerate. It has eight bottling facilities and 42 sales and distribution centers in 13 states in the Western U.S., with revenues in excess of $600 million in vending, fountain and retail sales, and an addressable market of 127 million people.
The challenge: Address current IT needs and create a roadmap to manage rapid growth
This technology-driven company faced a number of IT challenges. They included a lack of logical separation and standardized layers in its network architecture that was allowing network faults to propagate. The result was weekly network events that had a negative impact on operations.
Making the resolution of these events even more urgent was the fact that the company was preparing to triple in size through acquisitions. IT leadership knew that a new platform and advanced technology was needed to enable real-time business and support the rapid growth. The company’s higher revenue was also going to trigger new compliance requirements.
The solution: A comprehensive technology refresh and a roadmap for the future
The Insight team began the engagement by thoroughly assessing and documenting the client’s technology current state and defining the desired future state. With those two points plotted, we created a roadmap for making the transition. That involved prioritizing and sequencing the necessary IT investments.
Once the plan was approved, we worked with the client to update all the IT infrastructure in eight bottling plants and 42 sales/distribution centers with scalable, fault-tolerant systems that can accommodate exponential business growth. As part of that process, the network stability and performance issues were addressed through the implementation of a software-defined wide-area network, and the infrastructure was placed under remote network operations (RNOC) management. Web and email security vulnerabilities were mitigated as well. Finally, we collaborated with the client to identify internal skills gaps and develop a plan for remedying them.
The benefits: Advanced infrastructure that is enabling more effective operations
Today, the client has a new platform with cutting-edge capabilities that support realtime business and position them for future growth. The company is also benefiting from having resolved the lack of centralized network device authentication and related security vulnerabilities, as well as from improved compliance and audit-readiness.
In addition, the risk-mitigated, zero-downtime storage upgrade and efficient data migration have produced a powerful intangible for the client. They now have confidence in our ability to understand and address their unique needs.
What’s more, the client has increased confidence in its ability to respond to business challenges in the future thanks to its new relationship with a trusted technology provider in the Insight team. Its successes on many initiatives have restored IT’s reputation within the company and positioned it as a partner to the business that is no longer a cost center but a business enabler.
