HERMAN MILLER INC USING HP, BaaN AND i2Challenges
Solution
Results
"HP provided a high quality reliable solution with a lot of flexibility for both configuration and expansion. Our primary focus is manufacturing reliability, and since the implementation of HP, BaaN and i2, we've seen some dramatic improvements." -- Richard Russell, Director of Business Systems, Herman Miller Providing 100% ServiceFor more than 75 years, Herman Miller Inc has built its business by valuing people and building work environments where people and businesses thrive. As a leading multinational provider of office, healthcare and residential furniture, and furniture management services, Herman Miller's products are the result of a research, design and development process that focuses on identifying, meeting and exceeding its customers' needs. Over the years, the company relied on an IBM mainframe that ran a variety of custom-developed applications. In 1997, the company began an effort to reengineer and streamline its entire value chain and improve the performance of its systems. Herman Miller's goal was to provide its customers with high manufacturing reliability (i.e. meet promised deliveries 100% of the time) and to reduce the lead times for the manufacturing process. Herman Miller uses an internal performance and operations measurement and compensation system called "Economic Value Added (EVA)." Using this internal measurement system, the company can shift its focus from budget performance to short- and long-term continuous improvements that create economic value. In its search for leading-edge solutions that could meet its goals, Herman Miller found a new economic value and a partner in Hewlett-Packard Company. Herman Miller gets 'RHYTHM' from i2Richard Russell, director of business systems at Herman Miller, recalled, "During 1996-1998, we implemented i2. It generally is regarded as a premier software suite in the advanced planning/scheduling environment. Given the fact that we have multiple plants to synchronize as well as distribution and our mass customization environment, i2 was a good fit. So, we're using it exclusively as a our planning engine." Initially, i2 RHYTHM Factory Planner modules were connected directly into the mainframe order management applications with custom coded interfaces to pass the new orders into the planning system for manufacturing. Later the i2 Master Planner module was also interfaced into the order management for automated due date quoting. This solution not only provides decision-making across the enterprise; it also optimizes and integrates key business processes. "With the implementation of i2 we have become much more sophisticated at determining the ship-date for our products. For each new order the Master Planner module calculates a ship-date based on the availability of materials and production capacity," explained Russell. "We started realizing the benefits of this application immediately and then improved our performance as we came down the learning curve." BaaN IVc3: A Transaction BackboneRussell continued, "We've custom-built bar-coding applications that collect production statistics. Every product that comes off the production line is scanned. We realized that we wanted to get more real-time information to feed back to the i2 application for planning. That's when we decided we needed an ERP (enterprise resource planning) application and chose BaaN." Today, Herman Miller uses BaaN as its transaction backbone. It not only performs all manufacturing functions, it also is connected into financial functions. Specifically, the company uses BaaN IVc3 Manufacturing modules for shop floor control, inventory management and purchasing modules. Herman Miller also uses BaaN IVc3 Finance to meet the stringent financial management and reporting requirements of a multinational business. HP Adds Power, Performance and Storage CapabilityWhile BaaN and i2 provided Herman Miller with new planning and ERP solutions to meet its goals, it was recognized that there was a need for increased server performance capabilities to power these solutions. Herman Miller has implemented the i2 and BaaN solution at three plants in the United States, each with their own manufacturing database that feeds into the company's single financial database. Six more sites are scheduled for implementation. Initially, the BaaN application modules ran on three HP 9000 KClass Enterprise Servers. However, this system was recently upgraded to three HP 9000 N4000 Servers for dramatically increased performance. The i2 modules also run on another HP9000 N4000. Additionally, the company upgraded its main BaaN database server from an HP 9000 V2200 Enterprise Server to a V2500. "HP provided a high quality solution with a lot of flexibility for both configuration and expansion," commented Russell. "The N4000 has great performance and it is able to scale well to meet our growth requirements. We were very pleased when we upgraded the operating system our existing K-Class servers to HP-UX version 11 and found that the process was painless and the new version improved the servers' performance." Because all these applications are regarded as mission-critical, the systems are clustered together in a high availability environment using HP's MC/ServiceGuard middleware. Russell explained, "Each site accesses the application servers that are clustered here in the data center. The servers are configured to failover to one another. Even the V-Class, which holds all the BaaN databases for each site and the financial database, has a backup - another V-Class for failover. Plus we have backed this configuration up with a mission-critical level of support contract, Business Continuity Support, from HP." With its new found planning and management capabilities, Herman Miller also found its systems lacking in storage. To meets its current and future storage requirements, in conjunction with its server upgrades, Herman Miller added the HP SureStore E Disk Array XP256 to supplement its existing EMC storage. "A huge benefit of the XP256 is its ability to be networked, via a storage area network (SAN), to both our HP 9000 and NT Microsoft Windows servers simultaneously," added Russell. J D EdwardsFor one of the smaller, high-growth areas of Herman Miller's business, it uses JD Edwards manufacturing software. "JD Edwards is more suited to this one specific area of our business where we do not have the complexity of a mass customization environment," said Russell. "So, we run it on the HP 9000 KClass Enterprise Servers." New Portal AccessCurrently, Herman Miller's e-business is primary targeted at portal access for the small- or home-office buyer and it runs on an HP 9000 N4000. However, the company also has supplier links. Russell elaborated, "We send our suppliers delivery schedules and pricing changes, and they can provide us with feedback. We also have a portal to allow them to look into our system with Top Tier software." He continued, "We're leading up to a point were we will offer our suppliers a very automated, self-serve process. It is more efficient for them and easier to search around and answer their own questions. The reaction from our suppliers who are using the Top Tier portal is extremely positive" Moving into the 21st CenturyHeadquartered in Michigan since its founding in 1923, Herman Miller now spans over 40 countries and serves customers worldwide. Since its implementation of the i2/BaaN solution and HP 9000 N4000, the company has seen dramatic improvements. "Our primary focus is manufacturing reliability. When we give our customers a due date, we want them to count on us to deliver on that date," said Russell. "Since the implementation of the first sites, we have achieved greater than 20 - 30% improvement in meeting our delivery dates as we pursue our goal of 100% on time shipments. We anticipate that these results will continue to provide us with increased economic value as we move into the 21st century." At-a-Glance:
Name: Herman Miller Products/Services:Herman Miller is an international firm that primarily manufactures and sells furniture, furniture systems, produces and services principally for offices, health-care facilities and residential environments. Technology Highlights
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