Streamlining Manufacturing with AWS
Overview
In the fast-paced world of automotive manufacturing, maintaining operational efficiency is crucial for staying competitive. As a leading manufacturer of automotive components, our customer faced significant challenges with their legacy Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. With a focus on innovation and efficiency, the company needed a modern solution to support their evolving processes and drive growth. At VE3, we partnered with them to migrate their complex ERP system to AWS, enabling enhanced flexibility, reduced costs, and improved data integration.
About the Customer
We partnered with a leading global manufacturer of automotive components, supplying parts to major car manufacturers worldwide. Their commitment to innovation and efficiency in manufacturing processes is key to maintaining their competitive edge in a rapidly evolving industry. However, their legacy ERP system was becoming a bottleneck, limiting their ability to adapt and optimize operations.
Challenges
The customer’s legacy ERP system, hosted on-premises, had become a bottleneck in their manufacturing operations. Key challenges included
Lack of Flexibility
The on-premises ERP system was rigid and could not adapt to the company’s dynamic manufacturing processes. This inflexibility led to inefficiencies in responding to market demands and implementing new processes.
High Maintenance Costs
Maintaining and upgrading legacy hardware was both costly and time-consuming. Frequent downtimes due to hardware failures further impacted the company’s operational efficiency, leading to delays in production and increased operational costs.
Data Silos
The existing ERP system did not integrate seamlessly with other business systems, resulting in isolated data pools. This lack of integration hindered cross-departmental collaboration and limited the ability to make data-driven decisions.
Without addressing these challenges, the company risked not only inefficiencies in its operations but also a potential loss of market competitiveness due to its inability to respond swiftly to changing market conditions.
VE3 Professional Services Approach
VE3 developed a strategic approach to migrate and modernize the ERP system on AWS:
Initial Assessment and Strategy Development
Conducted a detailed analysis of theexisting ERP system to identify critical areas and developed a phased migration strategywith comprehensive testing and a rollback plan.
Detailed Analysis
We conducted a thorough analysis of the existing ERP system, including hardware dependencies, software configurations, and data flow across the organization. This assessment allowed us to identify critical areas that required attention during the migration process.
Migration Strategy
Based on the analysis, we developed a tailored migration strategy focused on minimizing disruption to the business. This strategy included phased migration, comprehensive testing, and a detailed rollback plan to ensure business continuity.
AWS Landing Zone Setup
Established a secure, multi-account AWS environment withstandardized structures and built-in security controls to ensure compliance andcentralized governance
Cloud Infrastructure Setup
Designed a cloud infrastructure with scalable, secure, andefficient components, including Amazon EC2, ELB, Amazon RDS, and Amazon S3,tailored to the customer’s needs.
VE3’s Solution
Refactoring the Legacy ERP System to AWS with AWS Landing Zone
We provided a comprehensive solution to migrate the customer’s ERP system to AWS, ensuringa seamless transition and modernization of their operations. Our approach included: Weprovided a comprehensive solution to migrate the customer’s ERP system to AWS, ensuring aseamless transition and modernization of their operations. Our approach included:
AWS Landing Zone Setup
Multi-Account Architecture
We implemented an AWS Landing Zone to establish asecure, multi-account environment. Following a standardized account structure toensure consistency and security across the environment.
Security and Compliance
The Landing Zone included built-in security controls, such asAWS Identity and Access Management (IAM), AWS Organizations, and AWS CloudTrail.These controls ensured compliance with industry standards and provided centralizedgovernance over all AWS accounts.
Cloud Infrastructure Setup
Amazon RDS (Relational Database Service)
Hosted ERP databases, offering automated database management, backup, recovery, and multi-AZ deployment for enhanced availability and resilience.
Amazon EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud)
The ERP application layer was migrated to Amazon EC2 instances within Auto Scaling groups. These groups dynamically adjusted the number of instances based on real-time demand, ensuring optimal performance and cost efficiency.
Elastic Load Balancing (ELB)
ELB was deployed to distribute incoming traffic across multiple EC2 instances, ensuring high availability and fault tolerance. We implemented Application Load Balancers (ALBs) to efficiently route HTTPS traffic
AWS Glue
Integrated data from various business systems into the ERP modules, creating a unified data environment and enabling seamless data transformation.
Amazon Redshift
Implemented as the data warehousing solution, supporting complex queries and large-scale data analysis. It facilitated quick and efficient querying of large datasets.
AWS Lambda
S3 was used for scalable object storage, enabling secure and efficient management of ERP data backups, logs, and other critical files. S3 lifecycle policies were established to automate data archiving and deletion, optimizing storage costs.
Amazon QuickSight
Amazon QuickSight was used for business intelligence and analytics, interactive dashboards and visualizations to help users gain insights from the data stored in Amazon Redshift. QuickSight enabled the creation of customizable reports and real-time data analysis, empowering stakeholders with actionable insights to drive business decisions and optimize operational efficiency.
Migration and Modernization
Post-migration, VE3 provided continuous monitoring and support to ensure optimal performance of the ERP modules. We implemented optimizations as needed and kept the system up to date with the latest AWS features.
VE3 conducted training sessions for the customer’s IT team to ensure they were equipped to manage and optimize the new ERP environment effectively.
AWS DataSync was utilized to securely and efficiently migrate on-premises data to AWS S3 and Amazon RDS. DataSync automated the transfer of large volumes of ERP-related files, databases, and backups from on-premises storage systems to S3, ensuring data integrity and reducing manual intervention. For database migration, DataSync was configured to sync the on-premises database with Amazon RDS, minimizing downtime and ensuring data consistency during the transition.
Results and Benefits
The migration of the ERP system to AWS resulted in several significant improvements
Improved Operational Efficiency
The new cloud-based ERP system reduced downtime by 60%, enabling smoother and more efficient manufacturing processes. This improvement in uptime translated directly into higher productivity and reduced delays in production schedules.
Cost Reduction
The migration to AWS reduced maintenance costs by 40%, as the company no longer needed to invest in expensive hardware upgrades or endure the high costs associated with legacy system maintenance. These savings were reinvested into innovation and process improvements.
Scalability and Flexibility
The new environment allowed the company to scale resources up or down based on demand, providing the flexibility needed to adapt to market changes quickly and efficiently.
Enhanced Data Integration
By integrating data from various business systems, the customer achieved a unified view of their operations. This holistic data environment improved decision-making, planning, and forecasting, leading to better business outcomes.
Conclusion
VE3’s strategic partnership with the global automotive parts manufacturer resulted in a successful migration and modernization of their ERP system. By refactoring the legacy ERP into a Postmodern ERP on AWS Cloud, the company not only overcame the challenges of flexibility, cost, and data integration but also positioned itself for future growth and innovation. The new ERP system has empowered the customer to maintain its competitive edge in the automotive industry, ensuring continued success and operational excellence.
About VE3
VE3 is a leading provider of cloud migration and modernization services. Specializing in AWSsolutions, VE3 helps businesses across industries enhance their operational efficiency, reducecosts, and drive innovation through expert cloud strategy and implementation. With a focus onseamless transitions and future-proof solutions, VE3 empowers customers to achieve theirbusiness goals and maintain a competitive edge in their respective markets.
