S/4HANA on POWER & Linux for 400,000 articles per day
When wholesaler Galexis planned to migrate, modernize and optimize its business processes, it chose SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications on an IBM Power Systems infrastructure to run its business-critical SAP S/4HANA, SAP HANA and SAP Extended Warehouse Management applications. These applications are responsible for the on-time delivery of more than 400,000 items (approximately 130,000 order lines) per day and for optimizing the management and maintenance of workflows.
The challenge
As a leading company in the wholesale sector, Galexis is continuously growing. The company is building on technological innovations in the sector and aims to offer real-time digital services to complement its logistics operations and Alloga's wholesale upstream services.
galexis hana power2
Reto Wyss, Team Leader Core Services at Galexis, explains:
"We ship three times a day to 6,800 customers and deliver more than 400,000 items (approx. 130,000 order items). We can only reliably supply our customers if our ERP and logistics systems are running. A downtime of more than 30 minutes means delays and lost sales."
Galexis needs the flexibility and performance to be able to handle seasonal peaks smoothly alongside its day-to-day business.
Solution
Galexis decided to implement SAP S/4HANA with support from SAP HANA on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) for SAP Applications and IBM Power Systems together with technology partner ITpoint Systems and SAP specialist TeamWork. The company implemented SAP Extended Warehouse Management to standardize and modernize its logistics operations.
"SLES for SAP Applications is the most widely used operating system for running SAP HANA on IBM Power Systems. With SAP software and SLES for SAP Applications, we are now aligning our business and IT operations. With this certified operating system optimized for SAP applications, we can support a growing number of systems more efficiently."
Reto Wyss, Team Leader Core Services at Galexis
Together with ITpoint, Galexis has installed IBM Power Systems E880C and IBM Power Systems E850C servers - for production and sandbox workloads respectively - in conjunction with an IBM SAN Volume Controller solution with IBM Spectrum Virtualize software and connected IBM Flash System 900 all-flash arrays as storage. The team has already set up around 50 systems with SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications.
"We have consolidated our SAP solutions, application servers and databases on SLES for SAP Applications where this was possible based on version dependencies between SAP and SUSE."
Reto Wyss, Team Leader Core Services at Galexis
As a next step, Galexis is considering deploying SUSE Manager to keep a total of about 60 SUSE Linux Enterprise Server instances and up to 180 other Linux systems up to date, standardize system administration and significantly reduce maintenance.
Results
After Galexis had examined its options, IBM Power Systems proved to be an extremely competitive offer.
"Our experience with IBM Power Systems has been very positive. The advanced virtualization helps us to deploy test systems faster and achieve higher productivity. Considering the outstanding reliability of the platform and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications, the solution is cost-effective and provides the performance and stability we need."
Reto Wyss, Team Leader Core Services at Galexis
The company also standardized the operating systems across platforms where different hardware architectures are required for compatibility reasons.
"Our goal is to standardize IT operations. With SLES for SAP Applications, we also benefit from the close integration with SAP software."
Reto Wyss, Team Leader Core Services at Galexis
ITpointand Galexis have also implemented an extended business continuity solution.
"Based on SLES for SAP Applications and a fully automated, performance-optimized configuration for SAP HANA, we want to reduce failover times by more than 50 percent to around 15 minutes. With SLES for SAP Applications, we can optimize cluster management and improve the availability of our business applications."
Reto Wyss, Team Leader Core Services at Galexis
As Galexis' single point of contact, ITpoint manages the infrastructure and coordinates the customization of applications in collaboration with SAP implementation partner TeamWork.
"The advantages of SAP HANA 2.0 with SLES for SAP Applications on IBM Power Systems were new to everyone. We learned a lot together."
Reto Wyss, Team Leader Core Services at Galexis
Galexis relies on the comprehensive Priority Support from SAP, SUSE and IBM to support the reliable operation of its most important systems.
"Thanks to SLES for SAP Applications on IBM Power Systems, we can make optimum use of our SAP S/4HANA application. By standardizing on this platform, we can increase IT efficiency. In addition, the optimization of system administration with SUSE Manager helps us to scale our SAP environment vertically and thus support the digital transformation in the Galenica Group."
Reto Wyss, Team Leader Core Services at Galexis
About Galexis AG
Galexis AG is a leading wholesaler in the healthcare sector in Switzerland and supplies pharmacies, doctors' surgeries, drugstores, nursing homes and hospitals with a wide range of products. The company operates two warehouses for the distribution of over 100,000 products. Headquartered in Niederbipp, Switzerland, Galexis is part of the Galenica Group. The Group's upstream wholesale business is covered by Alloga, which provides supply chain solutions for Galexis and other healthcare suppliers.
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