Directing Internet Traffic

Flexfab manufactures silicone-based air- and fluid-handling duct systems for a variety of demanding applications in the automotive, aerospace, and other industries. With aggressive plans for expanding its business into new applications and markets in both the U.S. and abroad, Flexfab is now functioning as a fully networked enterprise, integrating all aspects of design, production and distribution on a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform.

"We chose Cisco because it's the top-of-the-line name in networking and their products enable us to maximize what we're gaining from ERP. Cisco is the company we trust when it comes to networking solutions."

John Morrison
Networking Manager
Flexfab

Challenge
To compete effectively, Flexfab must design and deliver new products to customers around the world at an ever-accelerating pace. This requires close collaboration between dispersed Flexfab employees and tightly interwoven processes, from concept through completed product. The company responded with a major upgrade to its Baan ERP system, which promised to overwhelm Flexfab's shared (Ethernet) network infrastructure and its largely dial-up, wide area links. Flexfab needed to extend high-speed, highly reliable access to all of its key sites in support of the bandwidth-hungry ERP application, with solutions that installed easily and worked reliably, even in the rigors of a manufacturing environment.

Solution
Implementing the latest version of Baan ERP software provided advantages such as easy-to-use graphical user interface (GUI), year-2000 (Y2K) compliance, and new flexibility for adding modules that enhance software function. To optimize and extend the ERP system throughout the organization, Flexfab implemented a range of Cisco network solutions---a Cisco 2500 series router at the center of its wide-area network (WAN), linked to a Frame Relay cloud; Cisco 1600 series routers at all remote sites for WAN connectivity via Frame Relay (one with a direct connection to the Internet); Catalyst 5000 series multilayer switches to provide switched Fast Ethernet service to desktops; and a Cisco PIX Firewall for authenticating users and monitoring Internet traffic.

Results
The new Cisco technology-based network provides a platform for extending ERP access throughout both the headquarters campus and main plant as well as remote manufacturing and sales offices that support Flexfab's growing business. The high-speed desktop access via Cisco switches, combined with the far-reaching Cisco technology-based WAN, enables Flexfab to migrate steadily from universal ERP, to an intranet, and finally, to an extranet, incorporating suppliers and customers into an integrated supply chain.

Background

Flexfab has 300 networked employees at its main headquarters site in Hastings, Michigan, with manufacturing, engineering, and sales teams in a neighboring facility. At these sites and branch locations in the U.S. and Europe, Flexfab designs and manufactures a range of specialty duct systems, engineered to withstand the rigorous operating conditions in automotive and aerospace applications.

"Our main focus is trying to support and extend the rapid sales growth we've been seeing," said John Morrison, Flexfab networking manager. "We recently started operations in the U.K. to better serve the European market, and we're definitely looking beyond U.S. borders and searching for ways to incorporate our products outside the automotive and aerospace industries."

With the success of its products, Flexfab sees a growing demand for strategic information technology solutions ---from broader network access to an upgraded enterprise resource planning (ERP) system that spans an entire operation.

"We're going to be relying more on the ERP system than ever before," Morrison said. "Before it was helping manage manufacturing, parts ordering, and shipping. Now, the upgraded ERP application is going to have much greater responsibility for running the business."

Challenge

The migration to the newer version of the Baan ERP platform addresses several key business and IT issues for Flexfab, according to Doug Drenth, director of information systems.

The new Baan version is fully Y2K compliant, ensuring smooth operation in the year 2000 and beyond. The new version also has an easier-to-use graphical user interface (GUI), which helps minimize training requirements for employees who need to use the system.

The Baan upgrade is also a prerequisite for new modules that Flexfab plans to integrate into its ERP solution. A product data management (PDM) module, for example, will create a universal database for drawings, specifications, and other product information, saving time for engineers and others who need to access and modify that information. Other possible modules could create extranet links to suppliers and customers, transforming the ERP solution into a full-fledged supply chain management system.

Finally, many of Flexfab's largest customers require drawings, inventory data, orders, and other data to be communicated via electronic data interchange (EDI). The new Baan installation brings Flexfab up to speed.

"We wanted to make sure we're into the EDI ballgame---to make business flow into and out of the company hands-free," Drenth said. In a time of rapid supplier rational- ization, complying with the technology standards of its largest trading partners is critical, he said. EDI allows Flexfab to retain its valuable tier-one status---for direct sales to its largest customers---and to collaborate with other suppliers in a tier-two relationship, where Flexfab sales are actually once removed from the final manufacturer.

Migrating to the new, GUI-based ERP system, however, created numerous challenges for the network, which previously shared Ethernet infrastructure with hard-wired terminals connected to communication servers on the plant floor.

"Using a GUI interface for ERP is the trend in the industry," said Drenth. "It's more user friendly, but it becomes a situation of pushing more and more resources over the network. In our benchmarking of the new software, we noticed degradation at the hubs and on the network."

Solution

Flexfab has constructed a high-performance, manageable foundation for its ambitious business and IT goals, using a range of Cisco solutions optimized for the needs of growing manufacturing businesses. The WAN offers high-speed, secure links to unite employees and resources at remote sites, while the upgraded local-area networks (LANs) support the demands of the new GUI for its ERP solution.

At the center of the network is a Cisco 2500 series router, with a link to a Frame Relay cloud. Cisco 1601 routers at the headquarters and several remote locations also connect to the Frame Relay cloud, while Internet connectivity channels through a Cisco 1601 router at the headquarters data center.

Within the two buildings at the main campus in Hastings, Cisco Catalyst 5000 series multilayer switches have been installed. One Catalyst 5000 switch primarily acts as a front end for the UNIX hosts running the ERP software.

"Now we have a completely dedicated network," Morrison said. "Each user has a 100-megabit-per-second pipe."

A Cisco PIX Firewall provides security for incoming and outgoing sessions over both the Internet and the company's remote access servers.

"We found the Cisco Firewall to be the best solution for our needs, with all the utilities we wanted---a solution that would authenticate users and protect us from intruders over the Internet."

The new system was designed and managed with help from Panurgy Mid-Michigan, which has worked closely with Flexfab through all stages of network planning, design, implementation and testing.

"Panurgy Mid-Michigan has been our reseller of choice for a few years now," Morrison said, "they've always been there for us with any service and support we've needed."

As for the future, Morrison acknowledges that the Internet is becoming increasingly important to the business. Sales and marketing personnel can conduct research, keep tabs on the industry and competitors, and pursue new customers, while Flexfab customers can visit the company's Web page for parts specifications and general company information.

The upgraded network also will support the company's effort to streamline product and process design through the PDM module for the new Baan system. For Flexfab, PDM is the foothold for a company-wide intranet that will provide universal access to a range of business-critical knowledge, from product information through inventory and order flow. The intranet solution will also increase productivity, save time, and lower costs by empowering employees to track down and access the information they need to do their jobs.

While the EDI customer links are initially conducted via dialup modem, Flexfab may soon leverage the virtual private network (VPN) capability of its Cisco infrastructure. A VPN provides remote offices and individuals with secure connections to central information resources over the Internet, using local calls, rather than with more costly long-distance dialup connections.

Results

For Flexfab employees, the new ERP system means quicker, easier access to information from across the business-from concept through completion of finished goods and billing. With ERP becoming so fundamental to Flexfab, the company wanted a network infrastructure that delivers the best possible reliability, performance, and scalability.

"We chose Cisco because it's the top-of-the-line name in networking, and their products enable us to maximize what we're gaining from ERP," Morrison noted. "The Cisco software tools make it easier to manage and easy to maneuver through the operating system. Cisco is the company we trust when it comes to networking solutions."

Network-enabled ERP and the new EDI capability allow Flexfab to coordinate supply with its customers and respond more quickly to quality issues.

"We can check where our products are in their workflow and identify any defective products quickly," Morrison said.

The closer integration with customers through EDI also will help Flexfab keep pace with customer demands for minimized, just-in-time inventory and sophisticated supply chain management.

"We are a just-in-time shop," Morrison said. "Our inventory is at minimum levels at all times." Gaining control over all aspects of supply and demand through ERP can help prevent back orders-and lost business.

In its first implementation, the ERP solution covers Flexfab's operations from design through final shipment. The next phase will provide new modules that extend access to customers, partners and suppliers, for true supply chain integration.

"Our network is enabling us to leverage PDM and EDI, incorporate more modules into our ERP platform, and create an extranet with our customers and suppliers," Morrison said.

"The impact on the business has been significant," he added, noting that employees have been telling him "how much more efficient it is to access information off the network instantaneously."

"Flexfab is seeing a 30 percent to 40 percent increase in productivity with the new equipment," said Rob Dobson, Account Manager at Panurgy Mid-Michigan. "It has dramatically changed the behavior of IT managers, who were typically away from their desks six to seven hours a day troubleshooting network and desktop problems," he said. In fact, according to Morrison, the upgrade is "paying for itself right now."