When Ansell’s IT department determined to simplify and speed access to critical manufacturing data for Microsoft Power BI reporting, they turned to Hitachi Solutions. Read how we were able to help them gain the knowledge and skills to modernize their data platform and implement new data export technology to ensure timely and accurate business intelligence and better support their global expansion.
Introduction
Ansell is a world leader in providing superior health and safety protection solutions that enhance human well-being. The world’s need for better protection never stops, so Ansell is constantly researching, developing, and investing to manufacture and distribute cutting-edge product innovation and technology, marketed under well-known brands that customers trust. Operating in two main business segments, industrial and healthcare, Ansell is the market leader that continues to grow, employing 14,000 people worldwide. With operations in North America, Latin America/Caribbean, EMEA, and Asia Pacific, customers in more than 100 countries around the world trust Ansell and its protection solutions. For more information about Ansell visit www.ansell.com.
Challenge
Manufacturing ERP Unification
Because the world’s need for better health protection never stops, especially during a global pandemic, Ansell’s seven manufacturing plants (located in India, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, China, and Sri Lanka) run 24/7. However, the plants’ legacy on-prem ERP system lacked interoperability, process standardization, and cloud functionality — all of which were critical to meeting increasing production demands. To unify plant operations and break down the silos that were hindering growth and data access, Ansell engaged Hitachi Solutions to migrate their manufacturing ERP solution to the Microsoft Dynamics 365 cloud. With the new cloud-based platform, they were able to automate and streamline processes; connect and standardize operations for improved efficiency, collaboration, and data collection; and better serve users and customers.
Reporting Delays
But as plants went live on Dynamics 365, Ansell’s IT department began noticing a troubling trend. While data was now centralized and available, there were lengthy delays in updates to Microsoft Power BI, causing slow access to reporting and hindering the ability to scale. “Our manufacturing plants work 24 hours a day, and there are three shifts. Business users’ minimum ask is to see output reports at the end of every shift,” explained Roslan Abrahim, administrative associate director, Information Technology at Ansell. “The data delays were hindering our ability to provide timely reporting.” Ansell is determined to modernize their data architecture and enhance business intelligence. Not only would this speed and simplify data access for reporting, but it would optimize the benefits of Dynamics 365, better meet management expectations, and ensure scalability for future growth.
Solutions
Ansell requested advisory services, training, and hands-on help re-architecting their data and business intelligence platform with new Microsoft Synapse technology and analytics capabilities. Because of Hitachi Solutions’ work on the Dynamics 365 migration, our strong relationship with Microsoft, and our global data and analytics practice, Ansell decided to trust us with this important modernization project.
Integration POC
Ansell wanted to start with a proof of concept (POC) to develop a custom integration for exporting data from Microsoft Dynamics 365 to Data Lake. This new Microsoft capability automated, streamlined, and accelerated the existing data export process. The POC reduced Ansell’s integration time from hours to
minutes, and within weeks they were able to access data and analytics from Dynamics 365 in near real-time from their Power BI dashboards. The POC also helped transfer valuable knowledge to the Ansell development team. “The POC was a success, and we were happy with the results. Hitachi Solutions helped us develop our skill and knowledge around Synapse, which made us decide to go ahead and use it to modernize our data platform,” said Mr. Abrahim.
Mentoring Framework
To help Ansell bring the POC into production, migrate to Synapse, and operationalize the new data architecture, we then conducted an in-depth mentoring and guidance engagement. This included workshops, training, embedded human resources, build automation and DevOps support.
We worked collaboratively with the Ansell team throughout the engagement to help them develop and
implement a sleek new data platform they can use across all their manufacturing plants. “Working with Hitachi Solutions was a very positive experience,” said Sasank Alla, senior analyst, IT Development at Ansell. “We forged a strong relationship, and they really extended our capabilities as a team. Hitachi
Solutions was always there when we needed them, open to us asking advice and questions, and even helping us develop and implement if we had an issue.” Once the engagement was complete, Ansell decided to augment their staff with two full-time Hitachi Solutions resources to help them continue to design, develop, expand, and improve the solution.
Benefits
Our experts helped Ansell build the entire solution from the ground up, learn and implement new technology, and ensure all data can now be consumed by Power BI for timely and efficient reporting.
“Teamwork was key to the success of this project. Everyone played a role and worked very hard to ensure the project delivered as expected by business stakeholders,” said Mr. Abrahim. “Together, we were able to achieve results in a very short amount of time. What normally should have taken eight or nine months, we did in less than four months.”
For Ansell, the biggest benefit is time savings. They are now able to get their Dynamics 365 plant data in near real-time, so everyone who needs it has visibility into the performance of each shift. Transferring and loading data is much more efficient, resulting in the process being faster and the data cleaner. Other benefits include:
- Modernized data architecture and business intelligence that provides the ability to monitor manufacturing capacity and inventory data in near real-time, making it more actionable
- Automated and streamlined processes and integrations minimize errors, maximize productivity, and enhance operational efficiency
- Unified reporting promotes standardization and global connectivity
- Scalability helps meet future growth as major plants are onboarded to Dynamics 365
“We can’t thank Hitachi Solutions enough for their help on this project. Because of the training and expertise they shared with us, our people have a much better understanding of Synapse and modern data platforms,” said Mr. Abrahim.
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