Gertex weaves a new ERP landscape using SAP software on IBM System p5

Gertex Textil GmbH (Gertex, www.gertex.de) is a medium-sized company operating in the textiles sector. Its diverse output includes automotive fabrics (such as upholstery, door panels and head liners); industrial textiles; advanced three-dimensional spacer fabrics; and fabrics for the manufacture of lingerie. Throughout its 130-year history, Gertex has aimed to manufacture first-class products, delivered on time, at competitive prices.

Looking to reduce costs and implement enterprise-standard software, Gertex decided to base its ERP system on SAP solutions. The company opted to run the new SAP landscape under Linux^® on IBM System p5 systems, which are based on the advanced IBM POWER5 64-bit microprocessor.

Jürgen Deissenrieder, CFO of Gertex, explains: “We wanted to deploy SAP on a 64-bit platform without making a high initial investment or being strapped by high ongoing costs. IBM System p5 systems running Linux have given us the performance we need – at low cost, and with excellent expansion options for the future.”

Built on a mainframe-inspired hardware platform and tuned for Linux, 64-bit IBM System p5 systems deliver high performance, reliability, availability and scalability – at highly competitive price-points.


The optimal mid-market solution

The former ERP environment at Gertex, an industry-specific system, was functionally adequate, but relatively costly. The software was supplied by a small vendor who drew revenue from frequent new releases. Aiming to eliminate the cost and disruption of continual software changes, Gertex decided to implement SAP solutions.

Says Deissenrieder, “We determined that SAP software offered the right functionality, with the added benefit of being the de-facto standard for our industry. We were confident that the ongoing investments made by SAP in developing the software would serve our needs better in the future.”

As a medium-sized company, Gertex needed to ensure that the new solution could support its growth plans without entailing unsustainable costs. The company engaged IT-Informatik GmbH, an IBM Premier Business Partner, to evaluate the platform for its planned SAP implementation.

“IT-Informatik had successfully completed a number of unrelated projects for Gertex,” says Deissenrieder, “and we trusted that they would find the optimal solution.”

Jochen Wöhrle, Systems Architect at IT-Informatik, comments, “We thought then – and also think today – that SAP under Linux on System p5 servers would be the best choice for many small to medium-sized businesses like Gertex. The price-performance offered by System p5 servers is excellent, and we were also confident that it would be a reliable and easily scalable platform.”


Headroom for business growth

Gertex specifically wanted to avoid the previous problem of frequent changes and upgrades to its ERP system, and the 4GB main memory limit of a 32-bit architecture would potentially have restricted the company’s growth. In addition, SAP applications perform well on 64-bit systems such as IBM System p5.

Achim Schütz, Systems Architect at IT-Informatik, says, “We dug deeper and looked at alternatives, such as Linux on Intel^® processors. Our conclusion was that Linux on IBM System p5 truly offered the best price-performance for Gertex. We already had excellent experiences with SAP on Linux on POWER through a Proof of Concept done at the Technical Marketing Competence Center (TMCC) in the IBM Böblingen Development Center and later during a customer implementation for Röhm GmbH Sontheim. That’s why we recommended that Gertex select SAP on System p5 servers.”

He adds, “Linux is certainly not a zero-cost option – but the well-developed administrative tools, simple management and modular design will help Gertex to keep the cost of operation very low. And System p5 servers are stable! We installed the first test system at Gertex in April and had no platform-related downtime until October – and that was only because someone accidentally cut off the power supply!”


Cost-effective power

The System p5 implementation at Gertex consists of two systems: a model 720 for the SAP production environment, equipped with two POWER5 processors, and another 720 for test and development, with a single POWER5 processor. In the unlikely event of a failure on the production server, Gertex will be able to temporarily move its SAP systems to the second System p5 server.

The database used for the SAP R/3 implementation at Gertex is MaxDB, a SAP-certified database which offers high reliability, availability and scalability. Says Schütz, “We determined that MaxDB would provide Gertex with all the functionality they need at low cost, and would be easy to manage.”

The SAP R/3 environment includes modules for financials and controlling (FI/CO), production planning (PP), materials management (MM) and warehouse management (WM). Gertex also plans to add document management capabilities. Once fully rolled-out, the SAP environment will support about 120 concurrent users.

Deissenrieder says, “The deployment of SAP software has been a great success for Gertex. The system provides excellent functionality, helping us to streamline processes and improve cost-control, and the performance is excellent. With SAP under Linux on System p5, we have a cost-effective, high-performance ERP solution that suits our requirements precisely.”


Enterprise solution, mid-market price

Working with IT-Informatik, Gertex has achieved an enterprise-class SAP solution at a mid-market price. The combination of Linux, MaxDB, and IBM System p5 servers provides a stable and reliable platform for SAP that offers outstanding price-performance.

Deissenrieder says, “IT-Informatik fully appreciated our needs as a mid-sized company, and helped us to achieve our goals without exploding budgets. As a business partner, they have been very responsive and honest with us, and have provided an excellent route to specialist IBM assistance.”

Wöhrle concludes, “I believe SAP under Linux on System p5 is an ideal solution for medium-sized businesses, meeting the requirement for scalability and ease of management, while delivering enterprise-class performance at entry system price points.