1. we know
they know
Albaad wipes away international business
management challenges with SAP and IBM
Overview
 The Challenge  The Solution  Key Solution Components
Fast-growing company Albaad, Albaad refreshed its server Industry: Manufacturing,
which specializes in cosmetic, infrastructure, selecting IBM Healthcare
hygienic and medical wipes, System x including x3650 M2, Applications: SAP® ERP
needed to control costs x3550 M3, x3550 and x3400 components, including financials,
and understand business servers, powered by Intel Xeon controlling, materials management,
performance as the company Processor 5000 series processors, purchasing management,
expanded internationally. Central IBM System Storage disk and tape production planning, and sales and
infrastructure, though, was not data storage. The infrastructure distribution
keeping pace with business needs. runs SAP ERP solutions, including Hardware: IBM ® System x®
Users suffered from long wait financials, controlling, materials including x3650 M2, x3550 M3,
times to produce reports, and in management, purchasing x3550, x3400, x346, x335, and
some cases application failures. management, production planning, x336 servers powered by Intel®
Little by little, the advantages of and sales and distribution Xeon® Processor 5000 series
a centralized ERP solution were components, hosted, maintained processors, IBM System Storage®
being lost as users resorted to and managed by IBM Global DS3400 and IBM System Storage
locally created databases and Technology Services under a five- TS3100 tape server
spreadsheet-based analysis. year contract. Software: Microsoft® Windows®
For example, without accurate Server, Microsoft SQL Server
inventory data, manufacturing  The Benefits Services: IBM Global Technology
planning was no longer meeting Technical performance, reliability Services
sales expectations, and production and scalability issues have been
efficiency was impacted. solved, boosting staff productivity
and ensuring the availability of
precious company information.
New corporate acquisitions can be
migrated easily and swiftly to the
standardized SAP application and
infrastructure landscape, ensuring
integrated business information is
available for improved business
control and management.

2. “We compared tender Albaad, headquartered in Israel, capacity. The company needed to solve
produces a wide range of wipes, for these technical problems, which were
offers from several
cosmetic, health, personal hygiene, impacting business users.
hosting providers, and professional healthcare and related
the IBM proposal shone markets. Principal manufacturing The central infrastructure was not
out in terms of strength operations are based in Israel, keeping pace with business needs.
in depth and quality of Germany and the USA, and the Little by little, the advantages of a
company has market presence in centralized ERP solution were being
capability.”
more than 20 countries. lost as users resorted to locally
Rafi Shamir, Operational and IT Manager, created databases and spreadsheet-
Albaad Albaad manufactures own-label wipes based analysis. For example, without
for customers such as supermarket accurate inventory data, manufacturing
groups and pharmaceutical brand planning was no longer meeting sales
owners. A combination of innovation, expectations, and production efficiency
quality and cost-efficiency has helped was impacted.
Albaad to become a global leader in
its market space. Rafi Shamir, Operational and IT
Manager, explains, “Productivity was
Having used SAP ERP applications affected, and valuable insight on
for some years, the number of users, company performance was potentially
total data volumes and transaction being lost. Users were sometimes
workload had gradually increased. losing their connection to the SAP
As a result, Albaad’s users were applications, and the ability to extract
suffering from long wait times to useful business information was
produce reports and slow system severely constrained.”
response. After five years, the existing
IT infrastructure had reached the end Rethinking the IT strategy
of its effective life, and had reached Albaad had chosen to outsource its
IT infrastructure, maintenance and
application support for its SAP ERP
solutions, in a five-year contract. At
renewal, the company was able to
reconsider its IT strategy, hardware
platform and SAP applications.
Rafi Shamir says, “We originally
selected the outsourcing route because
maintaining an SAP ERP landscape and
the supporting infrastructure requires
a great deal of expertise. For example,
training and retaining SAP BASIS
personnel is an expensive occupation.
We prefer the outsourcing strategy
because for Albaad it is a cheaper, more
secure option than trying to become
SAP application and infrastructure
experts ourselves.”

3. Albaad controls its enterprise-wide Xeon processor series delivers “By outsourcing our
operations with a wide range of SAP a quantum leap in enterprise
server infrastructure
ERP applications, including financials, computing performance. The Intel
controlling, materials management, Xeon processor 5000 series with a
and application
purchasing management, production Nehalem Microarchitecture, helps maintenance to IBM
planning, and sales and distribution. achieve near-native performance Global Technology
Some 180 people access the SAP and near-linear scalability for SAP Services’ outsourcing
solutions, creating a total of around ERP, to help lower IT costs and
services... We are able
1.7 TB of production data, and general increase agility without compromising
business applications such as email, performance. With automated
to exploit the benefits of
Microsoft Active Directory and file energy-efficiency features, the Intel the SAP applications to
services are supported by the same Xeon processor 5000 series also the maximum, looking
infrastructure. scales energy usage to workload for ways to optimize
requirements, delivering optimal
processes, reduce costs
At the outsourcing contract renewal performance/watt.
date, Albaad took the opportunity
and develop new
to refresh the server infrastructure For data storage, backup and markets.”
in readiness for an upgrade to the archive, Albaad selected IBM System
Rafi Shamir, Operational and IT Manager,
latest editions of its SAP software, Storage DS3400 and IBM System Albaad
and make the transition to 64-bit Storage TS3100 disk and tape
operating systems. This would allow servers supporting a total of 5 TB of
the company to significantly increase production data.
the workload capacity of the individual
servers, with a smaller number of Boosting business performance
processors supporting a larger total The refreshed IT infrastructure
transaction throughput, offering provides a stable, high-performance
potential software license fee savings, system landscape that has
improved data center efficiency and immediately addressed Albaad’s
reduced system management costs. productivity issues. SAP application
dialog response delays have been
For the core SAP applications, Albaad cured. Reports that had taken several
chose the IBM System x platform, hours to produce are now returned TECHNICAL LANDSCAPE
implementing x3650 M2 servers, within, typically, 30 minutes. Servers: IBM System x including x3650
hosted by IBM Global Technology M2, x3550 M3, x3550, x3400, x346,
Services. For line-of-business Choosing to outsource to IBM x335, and x336 servers powered by
applications, Albaad deployed IBM At a strategic level, the IT Intel Xeon Processor 5000 series
x3550 M3, x3550, x3650, x3400, infrastructure now acts as an processors, IBM System Storage
x346, x335, and x336 servers, enabling service that serves the DS3400 and IBM System Storage
powered by Intel Xeon Processor 5000 company’s business ambitions. For TS3100 tape server.
series processors in-house. example, when Albaad acquired Software: SAP ERP components,
a new business, the new data and including financials, controlling,
Servers powered by the highly processes were able to be was materials management, purchasing
intelligent and massively scalable migrated to the shared infrastructure management, production planning,
Intel Xeon processor series offer a from the previous in-house systems to and sales and distribution. Microsoft
dramatic increase in performance and the SAP landscape rapidly and easily, Windows Server, Microsoft SQL
efficiency. Built to handle demanding without requiring system upgrade or Server.
applications and workload, the Intel change.

4. “Before we committed to the “With integrated SAP
agreement with IBM, we examined
solutions hosted on
the business case for both in-house
IBM technologies and
and hosted solutions. The IBM
proposal offered lower total costs, managed by the IBM
as it avoids the need to build and team, Albaad has the
manage a server room, train and enterprise-wide view
IBM Deutschland GmbH
retain BASIS consultants or database
of skills, inventory and D-70548 Stuttgart
administrators, and the associated ibm.com/solutions/sap
manufacturing that
systems and application management IBM, the IBM logo, and ibm.com are trademarks
costs,” says Rafi Shamir. will enable us to take of International Business Machines Corporation,
registered in many jurisdictions worldwide. A
the next steps in its current list of other IBM trademarks is available
on the Web at “Copyright and trademark
“We compared tender offers from international business information” at http://www.ibm.com/legal/
several hosting providers, and the IBM
expansion.” copytrade.shtml
proposal shone out in terms of strength Intel, the Intel logo, Intel Xeon and the Intel Xeon
logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of
in depth and quality of capability. Rafi Shamir, Operational and IT Manager, Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United
Rather than sending us a generic Albaad States and other countries. UNIX is a registered
trademark of The Open Group in the United
hosted offering, IBM proposed a
States and other countries. Linux is a trademark
tailored solution based on Albaad’s of Linus Torvalds in the United States, other
countries, or both. Microsoft, Windows, Windows
specific requirements, and was able “The next steps are to implement the
NT, and the Windows logo are trademarks of
to demonstrate its ability to deliver latest editions of SAP ERP solutions, Microsoft Corporation in the United States, other
countries, or both.
worldwide SAP application and BASIS and we will add SAP ERP Human
Other company, product or service names may
support.” Capital Management. It makes
be trademarks, or service marks of others.
sense for Albaad to integrate our
This case study illustrates how one IBM
Looking to the future people management with business customer uses IBM and/or IBM Business Partner
technologies/services. Many factors have
With the IBM System x infrastructure in management, as we need to track,
contributed to the results and benefits
place, Albaad is positioned to migrate for example, their training for specific described. IBM does not guarantee comparable
results. All information contained herein was
to the latest editions of SAP ERP work areas that meet ISO 14000
provided by the featured customer and/or IBM
applications. and ISO 9000 requirements for Business Partner. IBM does not attest to its
accuracy. All customer examples cited represent
manufacturing. With integrated SAP
how some customers have used IBM products
Rafi Shamir comments, “By solutions hosted on IBM technologies and the results they may have achieved. Actual
environmental costs and performance
outsourcing our server infrastructure and managed by the IBM team,
characteristics will vary depending on individual
and application maintenance to Albaad has the enterprise-wide view customer configurations and conditions.
IBM Global Technology Services’ of skills, inventory and manufacturing This publication is for general guidance only.
Photographs may show design models.
outsourcing services, we have that will enable us to take the next
© Copyright IBM Corp. 2011. All rights reserved.
gained the ability to concentrate on steps in its international business
the business opportunities rather expansion.”
than spend time on hardware and
functional maintenance, or invest in
BASIS skills. We are able to exploit the
benefits of the SAP applications to the
maximum, looking for ways to optimize © Copyright 2011 SAP AG
SAP AG
processes, reduce costs and develop Dietmar-Hopp-Allee 16
new markets. D-69190 Walldorf
SAP, the SAP logo, SAP and all other SAP
products and services mentioned herein are
trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP AG in
Germany and several other countries.
SPC03323-ILEN-00 (April 2011)