Software AG > Case Studies > Business-Critical Inventory System Re-Hosted to Linux

Business-Critical Inventory System Re-Hosted to Linux

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Customer Company Size
Large Corporate
Region
  • Europe
Country
  • Germany
Product
  • Adabas & Natural Application Modernization Platform
  • webMethods Integration Platform
  • Global Consulting Services
Tech Stack
  • Linux
  • VMware
Implementation Scale
  • Enterprise-wide Deployment
Impact Metrics
  • Cost Savings
  • Productivity Improvements
Technology Category
  • Platform as a Service (PaaS) - Application Development Platforms
Applicable Industries
  • Pharmaceuticals
Applicable Functions
  • Logistics & Transportation
  • Warehouse & Inventory Management
Use Cases
  • Inventory Management
  • Supply Chain Visibility
Services
  • Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services
  • System Integration
About The Customer
Alliance Healthcare Deutschland AG, formerly known as Andreae-Noris Zahn AG (ANZAG), is one of Germany’s leading pharmaceutical wholesalers. The company has a group revenue of more than €4 billion. With 25 subsidiaries, Alliance Healthcare has the largest delivery network in the industry. The company is also active in the healthcare logistics and information services industries through its subsidiaries and partnerships. Alliance Healthcare holds a leading position in Germany’s wholesale pharmaceutical market with its micrologistics system for distributing pharmaceuticals. The company's custom-designed inventory system, Wapha, has logged more than 20 years of reliable operations.
The Challenge
Alliance Healthcare, a leading pharmaceutical wholesaler in Germany, was facing high competitive pressure and a need to improve performance. The company's inventory system, Wapha, developed with Adabas & Natural, needed to be moved from the expensive mainframe environment to a more cost-effective Linux platform. The company also wanted to align its systems with IT optimizations and protect its long-term investments in its inventory system. The company's IT landscape was diverse and heterogeneous, making the rapid implementation of new requirements time- and cost-intensive. This was not acceptable in a market that is highly rebate- and sales-oriented and subject to frequent legal changes in Germany’s regulated health system.
The Solution
Alliance Healthcare launched a major optimization effort for the company’s enterprise-wide IT landscape. The project involved a diverse range of tasks: cleaning up superfluous IT processes; transitioning all operations to reduce two outsourcers to one using a virtual VMware® environment; optimizing ITIL®-compliant service processes; introducing new systems for project management, quality assurance and testing; and re-hosting the Wapha system with its multiple different instances one-to-one on Linux. Software AG’s Global Consulting Services supported the re-hosting process throughout. The re-hosting project was successfully completed according to plan and ahead of schedule; this encompassed all subsidiaries as well as the main office.
Operational Impact
  • Applications enterprise-wide successfully re-hosted, far ahead of schedule
  • No business impact to high-volume daily operations, in excess of 10,000 order positions during peaks
  • Improved platform performance and stability
  • Significantly reduced operating costs
  • Existing system future-proofed by using webMethods integration with various infrastructure and process scenarios
Quantitative Benefit
  • Significant cost savings without compromising on stability and performance
  • During peaks, Wapha processes more than 150,000 database requests per second

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