About the Company
This medical technology company focuses on delivering clinical medical device solutions that address critical healthcare needs. It develops, manufactures and markets devices in various countries all over the world.
Business Challenge
For business reasons, the company split into two separate entities, and, as a result, each entity needed to migrate over to its own SAP instance. If the companies did not meet the switchover deadline, they would be subject to lease fees in excess of $2 million per month for sharing access to the SAP system.
Migrating to a new SAP system can take years. However, the medical device manufacturer did not have that luxury. Initially, the company hired multiple vendors to manage the procurement and deployment of rugged mobile computers and the automatic identification and data capture (AIDC) systems implementation needed to support the transition. Unfortunately, these disparate resources were not meeting expectations, and the deadline loomed. Another challenge developed, too: The manufacturer also needed to migrate its older legacy Windows rugged mobile computers over to Zebra MC9300s running Android OS.
The Solution
The medical device manufacturer needed to find a robust, fast and reliable solution to support its SAP extended warehouse management (EWM) and IT infrastructure. With a well-established relationship already in place, the company reached out to Peak Technologies to support the migration. Peak quickly mobilized resources, ramped up operations and delivered an aggressive timeline to help the manufacturer meet its target date.
The SAP EWM implementation required a series of phases for each facility — including integrating printers and labels, along with WiFi access points. Peak was involved in the printer and label selection based on the individual facility requirements. Peak also provided the manufacturer with a variety of rugged mobile computers to sample and determined which was the right fit for the company’s operations.
Peak staged and configured the devices with unique network settings for six plants, along with loading the Ivanti Wavelink Velocity (Android) licenses prior to shipping. Zebra MC9300s were deployed with the Android OS, along with the Zebra ZT410s.
Peak’s managed services team worked with the company’s Medical IT director to configure the WiFi settings for each of the six sites where the MC9300s were deployed and conduct site visits to ensure successful user acceptance testing (UAT). During implementation of the WiFi access points, Peak provided an on-site system engineer to troubleshoot the WiFi installation and guarantee there were no dead spots that required remediation. The manufacturer also tapped Peak to provide on-site support during the go-live phase at its plant in Mexico. Despite the tight turn time, Peak successfully completed the project ahead of schedule while meeting all business requirements.
“Our experience and knowledge of Android OS migration from legacy Windows OS along with the knowledge of WiFi networks utilizing mobile computers brought added value to this project,” said Pat Shriane, Vice President, Service Sales, Peak Technologies. “Having a person from our professional services team on-site during the SAP go-live to support the company’s IT team also brought much needed experience for this type of deployment.”
Benefits and Results
The medical device manufacturer has realized significant cost savings by running on its own separate instance of SAP. As a trusted partner, Peak Technologies continues to provide proactive recommendations and can deploy additional rugged mobile computers when needed, with a 24-hour turnaround time.
“Peak was able to step up and deliver what the medical device manufacturer needed, even when faced with an extremely challenging timeframe. By helping our customer choose the right rugged mobile computer and WiFi instrastructure, we were able to provide a deeper level of service. Our aim was to be the least stressful part of their transition to manage, ” added Shriane.
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Industry:
- Medical Device Development & Manufacturing
Business Challenge:
- Rapid implementation of SAP® extended warehouse management (EWM) and IT infrastructure combined with mobile data capture, printing, and WiFi connectivity
- Swift completion needed to meet the implementation deadline and ensure significant operating expenses were not incurred
Featured Solution:
- Rugged mobile computer device consulting
- Selection and procurement
- WiFi site surveys and infrastructure installation
- Mobile device staging
- Mobile device management (MDM) services
- Lifecycle support services
Key Benefits:
- Meeting a tight deadline and exceeding client expectations with a turnkey solution that was delivered on time and on budget
“Peak was able to step up and deliver what the medical device manufacturer needed, even when faced with an extremely challenging timeframe.”
- Pat Shriane, Vice President, Service Sales, Peak Technologies
