BASF IT Services Remodels Company’s European Network

Published 17th May 2006

 Integration of different IT systems for Flint Group Europe
 Order worth double-digit millions...

Flint Group, a globally active company in the printing and packing industry, has placed the integration of various IT systems in the hands of BASF IT Services. At the end of 2004, the investment group CVC Capital Partners purchased the BASF Printing Systems and merged it with ANI Printing Inks, under the name of XSYS Print Solutions. At the end of 2005, the American company, Flint Ink Corporation, was acquired and the name changed to Flint Group. The company has 8,000 employees and sales of 2,2 billion Euro. Prior to the mergers, all the companies worked with very diverse systems. Without any disturbance to daily business, BASF IT Services was able to connect these island solutions. Now all the locations can communicate with each other via one network and mails and Internet run via a shared platform in the Data Center of BASF IT Services.

Order worth double-digit millions

In total, Flint Group and BASF IT Services have entered into six contracts covering various tasks areas. These contracts will run over a period of three to six years and their worth amounts to double-digit millions. This makes BASF IT Services the preferred IT service provider of Flint Group Europe. As an example, it runs the Group companies’ SAP systems and supervises part of the applications. The data runs via BASF IT Services’ Data Center in Ludwigshafen. Furthermore, it makes the channels to the Internet available and looks after the security system, for instance with firewalls and spam protection.

Work commenced with a highly complex task: It concerned removing the entire infrastructure of BASF Printing Systems in Europe, following its sale, out of the BASF network and simultaneously incorporating the new arrival ANI Printing Inks. This affected not only the SAP systems but also the mail system, connections to the Internet and also the so-called Wide Area Network (WAN).

Construction of new mail platform and shared network

For the Internet and the different mail systems used in the Group, amongst which are Lotus Notes, MS Exchange, Open Exchange and FT Gate, BASF IT Services set up a shared platform. The so-called Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) makes sure that mails now sent out by the 2,500 users are automatically given a standard appearance. Thus corresponding with the new company group rules on self-portrayal (Corporate Identity, CI).

BASF IT Services was able to set up a connection via WAN between the 42 locations of Flint Group. Initially two completely independent communication networks existed. Thereupon, BASF IT Services took over both of the Group companies’ contracts with the network provider and moved one network with 22 locations to the other network with 20 locations. Both the production and work carried out by the approx. 3,600 affected employees, continued to run smoothly. Afterwards, BASF IT Services standardised the IT solution, whereby the employees could dial into the company network, irrespective of whether they were out travelling on business or working from the home office. The previous six technologies used until then were reduced down to one.

The customer is happy
“BASF IT Services is a reliable partner, reacting flexibly to any new demands and proactively suggesting solutions suitable for us. We know our IT is in good hands,“ explains Richard Skogh, Director I/T Technical Services Flint Group Europe. “We will have to align our SAP processor and storage capacity requirements flexibly, according to business needs. With our outsourcing partner, BASF IT Services, we only have to pay for what we really need,” clarifies Heinz Ensen, Director ERP Systems Flint Group Europe.

Wolfgang Erny, speaker on behalf of the Board for BASF IT Services, explains, “Our customers need a powerful IT partner, which guarantees them easy communication and continuous processes. We are able to adjust the IT to any new demands made by our customers and thus help them to be more successful.“

BASF IT Services: Using IT to boost process efficiency

BASF IT Services, a BASF Group company, is among the leading IT service providers for the process industry in Europe. It had some 2,300 employees and recorded an annual turnover of €364 million in 2005. The company’s key strengths are industry solutions, managed infrastructure services and business process outsourcing. This expertise is based on years of experience in providing solutions to the world’s leading chemical company, BASF. Today, BASF IT Services operates one of the world’s largest networks and around 1,000 servers for some 50,000 users in more than 250 locations. The company, which is represented throughout Europe, is committed to standardising and developing customer-orientated, tailor-made solutions. BASF IT Services is certified under the international quality management standard ISO 9001:2000 and the British Standard 7799.




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