Linfox

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Fujitsu expertise helps Linfox enhance operational efficiency and cut IT management costs

A comprehensive infrastructure upgrade has enabled Linfox to significantly reduce IT management costs and achieve dramatic improvements in productivity and operational processes.

The solution, designed and implemented by Fujitsu Australia, has allowed the company to leverage new technology to build a corporate portal, develop a content management system and establish a tight workflow system for critical business documents. These innovations have transformed Linfox into a more dynamic and integrated organisation with the ability to quickly respond to opportunities.

Linfox is one of Australia's largest privately owned companies with around 9,000 personnel providing supply chain management solutions to organisations in Australia and South East Asia. It owns large-scale commercial properties, two airports and one of the nation's largest vehicle proving and testing ground. In November 2002, the Melbourne-based company acquired Mayne Logistics and Armaguard in a deal worth $251 million, increasing its annual revenue to more than $1.2 billion.

The size and complexity of the organisation were reflected in its information technology infrastructure. Linfox used multiple hardware and software systems that were not well integrated. Its databases were running on technology that was expensive to support. IT management costs were spiralling as staff struggled to maintain smooth operations. In 2001, Linfox made the decision to overhaul its IT infrastructure.

According to Driss Toukhsati, Technical Infrastructure and Service Delivery Manager, Linfox, the company wanted to use technology in a more strategic manner to achieve business goals. "Installing a reliable, scalable and future-proof infrastructure would ensure Linfox had a solid technology foundation to support subsequent innovations."

Linfox Enterprise Architecture Project

After evaluating several technology options, Linfox chose Microsoft to leverage the full benefits of an integrated software platform. The company started looking for a professional services organisation with a high level of expertise in Microsoft technology. "An infrastructure overhaul is a daunting task, particularly for a large organisation such as Linfox," says Mr Toukhsati. "We wanted to partner with an organisation that we had 100 per cent confidence in - and Fujitsu was that organisation."

He says Fujitsu's extensive experience in designing, implementing and deploying Microsoft-based environments was a key factor in its selection. "Linfox needed a partner that could provide a complete solution - from designing the system and procuring the necessary products to rolling out the solution and providing follow-up service. Fujitsu's strong performance in other projects of similar scale convinced us that it was more than qualified to provide the services we needed."

Fujitsu worked with Linfox and its technology partners to complete the scoping and design work for the upgrade project - called LEAP - in six months. The intricate migration process involved replacing the Novell NetWare operating system with Microsoft Windows 2000 and moving the messaging system from Lotus Notes to Microsoft Exchange 2000.

The Fujitsu Professional Services team developed a migration framework based on Microsoft Active Directory. This enabled the team to manage and share information on network resources and users from a central point, ensuring the deployment process was managed securely.

The Fujitsu Multivendor Systems team procured all the necessary equipment for the upgrade, which included servers, communications devices, desktops and notebooks. Fujitsu also liaised with another technology partner to implement the desktop solution and provided advice on processes to migrate specific applications.

Deployment of the solution began in mid-2002, starting in Linfox's head office in Melbourne and followed by a gradual roll-out to offices nationwide. According to Martin Scott, Senior Account Manager, Fujitsu Australia, maintaining tight control during the rollout phase was critical because of the complexity and scale of the project.

"We went out to 15 Linfox sites and replaced the hardware, rolled out the new operating system onto 20 servers and provided ongoing management for all the different locations. It took less than 12 months to complete the migration process," he says.

Midway through the implementation, Linfox acquired Mayne Logistics and Armaguard. The acquisition more than doubled the size of Linfox overnight, and the need for a robust operating environment became even more crucial. Fujitsu was assigned the task of upgrading Mayne Logistics' technology infrastructure to bring the company in line with the main Linfox organisation as part of the merger process.

According to Mr Toukhsati, a single, consolidated operating system has enabled Linfox to take advantage of economies of scale and reduce management and support costs.

"Fujitsu's comprehensive pre-planning work and tight management during the rollout minimised the risk involved in the LEAP project," says Mr Toukhsati. "The team's professionalism ensured the transition went smoothly and was completed on time and within budget."

One portal, one vision

As part of the infrastructure upgrade, Fujitsu built a corporate portal to improve the efficiency of Linfox's internal and external business processes. The company wanted to reduce the time taken to deliver key business information into the hands of decision-makers and improve access to internal systems for greater information management.

Previously, Linfox was using a number of disparate systems that made information management, sharing and collaboration difficult. Users did not have a single point of contact to connect them to the information they needed. A Web-based portal would provide Linfox staff with an aggregated view and enable them to easily access critical business information.

In collaboration with Linfox, Fujitsu designed and implemented a corporate portal based on Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server 2001. Fujitsu integrated the Linfox corporate directory with Microsoft Active Directory to provide a single view of organisational information. Rather than having to access different lists in different locations, staff now had access to up-to-date contact information in the corporate directory via the portal.

The major component of the portal was the 'site manager workbench'. Previously, it could take up to two weeks for Linfox front line managers to receive key performance indicator (KPI) data. The information was delivered as 30-page paper-based reports that made data analysis difficult.

Fujitsu integrated the portal with Linfox's SAP business systems so managers can view financial, fleet and payroll data and reports in a single screen. They receive a top-line summary and can drill down for closer analysis. "Managers can see what areas they need to focus on with a single glance," says Mr Toukhsati. "It has cut the time taken to receive and act on information from weeks to minutes."

Document management functionality was built into the portal to migrate Linfox's policies and procedures from the legacy Lotus Notes environment. Staff made limited use of these documents because they were difficult to locate or they were unaware they existed. Once these documents were linked to the portal, staff began regularly referring to policies and procedures information. To further enhance information management, the portal included online forms for business functions such as travel requests.

Linfox also wanted to personalise the portal experience for its users based on their specific role. Fujitsu linked Microsoft Active Directory information to Linfox-defined business units, so staff only view content relevant to their jobs. "Presenting tailored information minimises the amount of time staff spend looking for what they need. Instantaneous access to information also helps them make well-informed decisions," says Mr Toukhsati.

The portal gave Linfox's geographically dispersed teams a single view of business projects for the first time. For example, after the company acquired Mayne Logistics, a portal was set up to provide the transition team with a consolidated view of all projects related to the merger.

"Fujitsu designed the corporate portal in such a way that it could be easily and quickly replicated for any part of our business," says Mr Toukhsati. "This means Linfox can continue to leverage its initial investment into the future."

Team members from around the country could access the merger portal to share information and keep up to date with new developments. "It was a tremendous help in ensuring the integration of the two companies went smoothly," says Mr Toukhsati.

The portal was later extended to provide an extranet for select customers. Linfox clients use the system to access information such as rates, billing, account status, goods in transit, inventory levels and proof of delivery.

Mr Toukhsati says that sharing information openly has facilitated a culture of collaboration within Linfox. "People are using shared information to enhance their personal knowledge. This made them more proactive in their approach to work. As more and more people realised the capabilities of the system, the more they demanded of it."

Taking the portal forward

In August 2003, Linfox upgraded to Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server 2003 to take advantage of its improved workflow capabilities. The company was particularly keen to reduce the amount of time taken to approve contracts.

Prior to the upgrade, the company circulated a physical document among five to ten individuals in different departments and geographical areas. Visibility was limited, making it difficult for individuals to track the exact location of a particular contract as it made its way through the approval process.

"The manual process meant that it sometimes took up to eight weeks for approval to be finalised," says Mr Toukhsati. "This was causing massive delays in our ability to deliver services to customers. Simplifying the contract approval process was imperative."

As a member of Microsoft's Rapid Adoption Program, Linfox was able to take advantage of new features offered in Microsoft Office System. The new workflow system was piloted in the legal department, with Microsoft Office InfoPath 2003 selected as a cornerstone technology. Linfox also upgraded its server software to Microsoft Windows Server 2003 and Microsoft Exchange Server 2003.

Fujitsu handled all design and validation work on the project. This involved the creation of custom .NET Web services implemented in C# to generate summary reports on document status. The result was much tighter management of the approval process.

Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server 2003 and Active Directory were integrated to ensure people could only see and act on documents within their range of responsibilities. Staff using Microsoft Office System can interact with SharePoint directly from Word, while all relevant documents can still be accessed using the Web-based portal interface.

The new system allows users to immediately see the status of a contract, including the ability to drill down and examine the route of a document. "Because we identify groups of people rather than specific users, it is easier to redirect the document if a particular reviewer is absent," explains Mr Toukhsati. Where appropriate, the approval process can now be performed in parallel rather than in strict sequence.

The improved workflow system is expected to reduce the time taken to approve contracts. Mr Toukhsati says that, depending on each reviewer's availability and the absence of further negotiation, approvals could be finalised in just two or three days. "This means staff can focus on high-level work rather than waste time chasing paperwork," he says.

Dynamic publishing capabilities

Linfox maintained a website hosted on LotusNotes that it moved into a Microsoft environment following the infrastructure upgrade. The key aim of this project was to provide a dynamic and efficient content publishing capability for the company.

The challenge for Linfox, as for many other organisations, is to remove content management duties from the IT department or a third party service provider and place it back into the hands of the content owners.

"Although we already maintained a website, we were not putting up new content as often as we would have liked," says Mr Toukhsati. "The company was outsourcing site maintenance to a third party, which was not only costly, but prevented us from adding or changing content quickly."

Fujitsu recommended that Linfox develop a content management system based on Microsoft Content Management Server 2002. The team worked with the Linfox marketing department (the primary content owners) to design the templates for the new site design. The content management platform was implemented in three weeks.

Self-administration of its website has lowered maintenance costs for Linfox. While the savings have been welcome, Mr Toukhsati adds that the ability to use the website as an active resource is equally as important. "Being able to control what and when content is published means the website has become an inexpensive but valuable communication vehicle," he says.

Future plans

Fujitsu will continue to work with Linfox on further integration of its SAP environment using Microsoft BizTalk. Linfox plans to convert its existing corporate portal to Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server 2003 so it can handle all document workflows within the company. Projects for the airports and occupational health and safety groups are also planned.

Linfox is also considering using Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server 2003 as a replacement for an existing QMX document management system. This would enable the company to store all of its business critical documents in a single repository. The legal department has begun scanning existing contracts so they can be accessed from within the portal.

Mr Toukhsati says Fujitsu will continue to play a major role in future projects. "The work that Fujitsu has completed for us has been exceptional. The expert knowledge and proficiency of the Fujitsu Professional Services team has helped us complete projects in record time and with minimum fuss," he says.

"Just as important is the strategic advice Fujitsu provided, which alerted us to new possibilities and ensured our technology decisions bring maximum benefit to our business. I look forward to a long and productive partnership."

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More information:

Fujitsu's Microsoft Solutions