Precisely > Case Studies > Autoliv Implements Assure iTERA HA to Enhance High Availability and Meet Delivery Requirements

Autoliv Implements Assure iTERA HA to Enhance High Availability and Meet Delivery Requirements

Customer Company Size

Large Corporate

Region

Europe
America
Asia

Country

Sweden
United States

Product

Assure iTERA HA
IBM System i
JD Edwards ERP

Tech Stack

Remote Journaling
Role-Swap Process

Implementation Scale

Enterprise-wide Deployment

Impact Metrics

Customer Satisfaction
Productivity Improvements

Technology Category

Functional Applications - Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP)
Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Data Exchange & Integration

Applicable Industries

Automotive

Applicable Functions

Business Operation
Logistics & Transportation

Use Cases

Predictive Maintenance
Remote Asset Management

Services

System Integration
Software Design & Engineering Services

About The Customer

Autoliv is a global leader in automotive safety, headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden. The company employs approximately 42,000 people and is renowned for its pioneering work in developing seatbelts and airbags. Autoliv's product portfolio extends to anti-whiplash systems, safety electronics, rollover protection systems, steering wheels with airbags, and child seats. The company serves all major automobile manufacturers worldwide, operating through 80 subsidiaries and joint ventures across 28 countries. Autoliv's commitment to safety and innovation is evident in its extensive testing capabilities, with 20 crash test tracks located in 12 countries. The company is dedicated to adhering to stringent on-time delivery requirements, as its contracts with automakers often include penalties for late shipments. Autoliv's global presence and reputation for quality make it a key player in the automotive safety industry.

The Challenge

Autoliv, a global leader in automotive safety, faces significant challenges in maintaining stringent on-time delivery requirements for its products, which include seatbelts, airbags, and other safety systems. The company operates in a highly competitive environment where downtime can lead to missed delivery deadlines and measurable revenue losses. Contracts with automakers often include penalties for late shipments, making it crucial for Autoliv to minimize both planned and unplanned downtime. The company's reliance on JD Edwards ERP applications for critical functions such as financial management, inventory, customer service, and purchasing further underscores the need for a reliable high availability (HA) solution. With operations spanning 13 manufacturing facilities worldwide and processing up to 70 million daily transactions, Autoliv's IT infrastructure must be robust and resilient to ensure continuous operations and meet customer expectations.

The Solution

To address its high availability needs, Autoliv's ERP team explored various HA solutions and ultimately selected Assure iTERA HA from Precisely. The decision was influenced by the product's ability to minimize latency, even at high transaction levels, through the use of remote journaling. Additionally, the role-swap process offered by Assure iTERA HA was found to be simple and effective, providing a seamless transition in the event of a system failure. The cost-effectiveness of the solution further solidified Autoliv's choice. Following the installation of Assure iTERA HA, Autoliv experienced immediate benefits, including a significant reduction in apply-latency issues and decreased time required for system monitoring and management. The true test of the solution's effectiveness came just six weeks after installation when Autoliv's production System i experienced a critical failure due to a backplane issue. Despite logistical challenges caused by wildfires in San Diego, Autoliv's IT team successfully initiated a failover to the mirrored backup machine, ensuring uninterrupted operations. With guidance from Precisely's 24/7 support team, the failover process was completed swiftly, allowing all business-critical applications to remain fully functional. As a result, Autoliv maintained its commitment to on-time deliveries, with no customer shipments delayed and no transactions lost.

Operational Impact

The implementation of Assure iTERA HA led to a significant reduction in both planned and unplanned downtime, ensuring that Autoliv could meet its stringent on-time delivery requirements.
The monitoring and management of the high availability system were streamlined, reducing the time and effort required by Autoliv's IT team.
During a critical system failure, the failover process was executed smoothly, allowing Autoliv to maintain full functionality of its business-critical applications on the backup machine.
The seamless transition to the backup system ensured that no customer shipments were delayed, and all transactions were preserved, highlighting the reliability of the high availability solution.

Quantitative Benefit