Published on 13-Sep-2008
Validated on 08 May 2013
"Without the integration and efficiency that the IBM WebSphere software-based SOA provides, we would not have been able to increase quality and productivity in the change process to this considerable extent." - Jörg Ackermann, IT manager, Meyer Werft GmbH
Customer:
Meyer Werft GmbH
Industry:
Ship Building, Industrial Products
Deployment country:
Germany
Solution:
Business Integration, Business Process Management (BPM), Enabling Business Flexibility, Openness, Service Oriented Architecture, Transforming Business
Overview
Meyer Werft teamed with IBM Global Business Services and the IBM Software Group to launch the ICEflow application, which enables Meyer Werft to prioritize shipbuilding tasks and make changes on the fly.
Business need:
The organization’s IT infrastructure—based on siloed, heterogeneous systems that the company had inefficiently weaved together over time—no longer supported Meyer Werft’s need to run an adaptable, integrated business. To boost its competitive advantage, the shipbuilder needed to transform its IT infrastructure into a modern environment that would support the integration and automation of enterprisewide business processes as a set of linked services.
Solution:
Meyer Werft teamed with IBM Global Business Services and the IBM Software Group to launch the ICEflow application, which enables Meyer Werft to prioritize shipbuilding tasks and make changes on the fly. Based on IBM WebSphere® software, the service-oriented architecture (SOA) solution gives Meyer Werft an overall picture of the entire shipbuilding process and allows employees to quickly implement changes at every stage of the production process.
Benefits:
• Facilitates the ability to react quickly to customer needs, build its ships to even higher standards of quality and deeper levels of customization, and compete more effectively in the global marketplace
• Reduces errors while increasing employee productivity
• Unites all of the company’s change management information and makes it available via a single Web-based interface
Case Study
Overview
Meyer Werft GmbH
Papenburg, Germany
www.meyer-werft.de
Industry
• Ship building
Employees
• 2,300
Products
• IBM WebSphere Process Server
• IBM WebSphere MQ
Services
• IBM Global Business Services
Founded in 1795, Meyer Werft GmbH is a shipyard that specializes in cruise liners; luxury car and passenger ferries; roll-on, roll-off and passenger ships; and gas tankers and livestock carriers. As a builder of some of the world’s most inventive and comfortable cruise liners, Meyer Werft stays competitive in the global shipbuilding industry by seeking to adapt to meet customer requirements and accommodate changes to orders during the shipbuilding process—all while still delivering a high-quality product on time and within budget.
Challenge
The organization’s IT infrastructure—based on siloed, heterogeneous systems that the company had inefficiently weaved together over time—no longer supported Meyer Werft’s need to run an adaptable, integrated business. To boost its competitive advantage, the shipbuilder needed to transform its IT infrastructure into a modern environment that would support the integration and automation of enterprisewide business processes as a set of linked services. Meyer Werft also had the goals of improving data quality across different systems and reducing the time required
to build ships in the context of its one-of-a-kind production processes.
Solution
Meyer Werft is now able to react quickly to customer needs, build its ships to even higher standards of quality and deeper levels of customization, and compete dynamically in the global marketplace. The company teamed with IBM Global Business Services and the IBM Software Group to launch the ICEflow application, which enables Meyer Werft to prioritize shipbuilding tasks and make changes on the fly. Based on IBM WebSphere® software, the service-oriented architecture (SOA) solution gives Meyer Werft an overall picture of the entire shipbuilding process and allows employees to quickly implement changes at every stage of the production process.
The company used IBM WebSphere Process Server V6.0.1 software as the basis for the ICEflow application, while IBM WebSphere MQ V5.3 middleware provides the communication platform between the ICEflow application and the company’s back-end Dassault Systèmes ENOVIA product lifecycle management (PLM) system.
A Business Process Execution Language (BPEL) technology–based application, the ICEflow platform displays in one view all of the information needed to perform different production tasks, thereby providing an overall picture of the entire process. The ICEflow application makes it easy for any employee to complete production tasks using a Web-based front end that also reports production status. Specifically, the ICEflow application supports special change-management methodologies in the steel production component of the shipbuilding process—a highly automated and integrated part of the overall production process.
The ICEflow application is only one part of the company’s overall SOA environment. In addition to using the SOA approach to help it switch from a siloed IT infrastructure to an integrated IT environment, Meyer Werft is using the SOA approach to transform how various divisions conduct business. Had the company not embraced the SOA solution, Meyer Werft estimates that it would have closed its doors within five years.
Benefits
• Facilitates the ability to react quickly to customer needs, build its ships to even higher standards of quality and deeper levels of customization, and compete more effectively in the global marketplace
• Reduces errors while increasing employee productivity
• Unites all of the company’s change management information and makes it available via a single Web-based interface
“Without the integration and efficiency that the IBM WebSphere software-based SOA provides, we would not have been able to increase quality and productivity in the change process to this considerable extent.”—Jörg Ackermann, IT manager, Meyer Werft GmbH
Products and services used
IBM products and services that were used in this case study.
Software:
WebSphere Process Server, WebSphere MQ
Service:
IBM Global Business Services
Legal Information
© Copyright IBM Corporation 2008 IBM Corporation 1 New Orchard Road Armonk, NY 10504 U.S.A. Produced in the United States of America September 2008 All Rights Reserved IBM, the IBM logo, ibm.com and WebSphere are trademarks or registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both. If these and other IBM trademarked terms are marked on their first occurrence in this information with a trademark symbol (® or ™), these symbols indicate U.S. registered or common law trademarks owned by IBM at the time this information was published. Such trademarks may also be registered or common law trademarks in other countries. A current list of IBM trademarks is available on the Web at “Copyright and trademark information” at ibm.com/legal/copytrade.shtml Other company, product and service names may be trademarks or service marks of others. The information contained in this documentation is provided for informational purposes only. While efforts were made to verify the completeness and accuracy of the information contained in this documentation, it is provided “as is” without warranty of any kind, express or implied. In addition, this information is based on IBM’s current product plans and strategy, which are subject to change by IBM without notice. IBM shall not be responsible for any damages arising out of the use of, or otherwise related to, this documentation or any other documentation. Nothing contained in this documentation is intended to, nor shall have the effect of, creating any warranties or representations from IBM (or its suppliers or licensors), or altering the terms and conditions of the applicable license agreement governing the use of IBM software. This document illustrates how one organization uses IBM products. Many factors have contributed to the results and benefits described; IBM does not guarantee comparable results elsewhere. References in this publication to IBM products or services do not imply that IBM intends to make them available in all countries in which IBM operates. IDC03004-USEN-00