Frucor Suntory

Vision

Why Frucor Suntory needed to re-imagine their network

Frucor Suntory is a leading drinks manufacturer with operations across New Zealand and Australia. With a history stretching back almost 60 years, they employ 1,000 people across their manufacturing facilities, head offices and extensive branch office network.

With this spread of operations they depend on their network to keep their workforce connected to each other, as well as to applications hosted in their hybrid cloud environment.

More than just a backbone for company-wide communication, their network is critical to their entire supply chain and needed to be able to securely and quickly respond to the requirements of the business.

As part of their network transformation journey they needed the network to support them as they moved forward and this required a more intelligent infrastructure.

They also needed comprehensive Wi-Fi coverage at all of their sites, something that had proved a challenge in the past. It was essential that any solution was robust enough to handle day-to-day business communications, flexible enough to create a more mobile workforce and reliable enough to keep logistics running smoothly.

Transformation

Leveraging their robust network to empower the agile workforce

Creating a digital backbone for the organization hinged on the deployment of a reliable network. Any downtime would both impact their manufacturing lines and the ability of teams to communicate with each other across locations.

Working together with NTT and Cisco, they deployed a new core network leveraging Cisco’s Digital Network Architecture. The software-defined network provides a secure and flexible foundation, enabling seamless access to information and applications. With wired and wireless analytics they’re able to monitor performance, ensuring that any issues can be addressed before they impact the user experience.

With mobility being a critical component of their vision, the software-defined Wi-Fi network had to deliver a consistent and reliable connection for all users across all their sites, including employees, clients and visitors. It also had to support the growing number of connected devices forming part of their infrastructure, including an array of network-enabled operational technologies.

The policy-driven Wi-Fi configuration ensures all devices on the network comply with the company’s policies, keeping staff and logistics safe and secure. Leveraging the capabilities of Cisco Stealthwatch they’re able to monitor the network for any behavioural anomalies to proactively address issues and avoid disruptive downtime.

Results

Creating a collaborative and innovative culture

Working together with NTT and Cisco, Frucor Suntory are able to use the power of their network to enable business innovation, keeping them ahead in a competitive market. By re-imagining their network they’ve created more than just a digital backbone; they’ve built the foundation for company-wide collaboration.

This collaborative environment helps their teams work more closely together, reducing the time needed to bring new products to market and responding faster to any market changes. With all of their facilities covered by their mobile wireless network they can explore the possibilities that advances in technology make possible, including the automation of warehouse logistics.

The Wi-Fi network also ensures that wherever their people are located they’re able to reliably access data and applications, as well as collaborate seamlessly, creating a truly agile workforce. With a partnership built up over the years between NTT and Frucor Suntory, they’re confident that they can rely on us to support their digital business strategy.

With a network capable of supporting their innovative organizational culture, they can focus on their goal of delivering the best drinks to their customers in Australia and New Zealand.