Case study

ContiTech opts for HP to roll out PCs during Veyance integrationHP implements new PC devices at 54 locations in 13 countries worldwide

IndustryAutomotive supplier

ObjectiveA smooth, high-quality global rollout of new PC devices for 3,500 employees in former Veyance locations

ApproachHP was selected to perform the rollout at 54 locations in 13 countries

IT matters• Commissioning HP reduced the pressure

on ContiTech’s internal IT department

Business matters• Smooth, calm project despite many changes,

thanks to good project management by HP

• HP guarantees high degree of internationalisation for the individual former Veyance locations through local contracts and contact persons

• Globally standardised procedures and standards thanks to coordination and knowledge transfer by HP

“HP was always open to change, responded very constructively, and we had efficient change management processes. Furthermore, the HP project manager always knew exactly what was happening at the individual locations, enabling him to be proactive.”– Hendrik Lüder, head of competency center workplace, ContiTech Information Technology

Very flexible and pragmaticWhen integrating Veyance, ContiTech commissioned HP to roll out 3,500 new PC devices in 54 locations across 13 countries worldwide. The project was very complex and there were several delays due to various reasons, but HP took a very flexible and pragmatic approach to implementing all requirements.

Case study | ContiTech

Challenge

International, highly complex PC workstation rolloutContiTech is one of the world’s leading providers of technical elastomer products and specialises in plastics technology. Headquartered in Hanover, it develops, produces and markets functional parts, components and systems for machine and plant engineering, mining, the automotive industry and other important industries. With around 43,000 employees in more than 44 countries, ContiTech supports its partners with innovative solutions based on the principle of ‘Engineering Next Level’.

ContiTech has been growing strongly for many years – both organically and through acquisitions. Veyance Technologies was one of its largest takeovers. In acquiring the US company, the Continental AG division further expanded its position within rubber and plastics technologies and therefore increased the proportion of industry and end-customer business.

“As with every integration, our objective was to implement our corporation’s IT standards (hardware and software) at Veyance as quickly as possible to ensure seamless collaboration between all employees throughout the company and to harmonise IT services,” explains Hendrik Lüder, head of competency center workplace at ContiTech Information Technology.

The greatest visible change for the former Veyance workers was probably their new PC workstations. Ninety per cent of the hardware was to be bought especially to provide the new staff members with state-of-the-art workstations. The remaining 10 per cent of the computers could be retained; however, ContiTech’s standard software and applications had to be implemented here too. “We use standards to a large extent, which is why we procured new hardware for the Veyance locations and provided standard software packages,” recalls Lüder. “The rollout of the new workstations was also to be standardised as far as possible. But we soon realised that, due to capacity and complexity, neither we nor the IT staff at Veyance would be able to complete this task alone. We needed support from an experienced external service provider.”

The complexity of the PC deployment project made it clear that new IT workstations were required for a total of 3,500 employees spread across 54 locations in 13 countries. This meant that 65 devices had to be installed in each location on average.

When ContiTech started its search for an IT service provider, the scope of the project had not yet been finalised.

“It was important to us that the devices could be exchanged on site by local IT experts so that they could directly answer any questions raised by the people responsible or the users in the relevant language,” says Lüder. “We wanted a smooth, high-quality rollout.” There were also cultural differences to consider.

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Solution

Only HP could fulfil ContiTech’s exacting requirements“But this was not all: The IT service provider had to be able to complete contracts with companies in the relevant country. The project’s strong international focus and complex contract management led many IT service providers to turn us down. Ultimately, HP was the only provider that could fulfil all our requirements,” explains Lüder. “But the main challenge for HP was to roll out a standard system despite the sometimes small volumes at the 54 individual locations. This required efficient organisation, coordination and project management to establish the necessary structures and thus to ensure knowledge transfer between the locations. HP achieved this in all respects.”

A pilot project was launched in Slovenia to test and optimise the standard processes developed with HP for the mass scenario. The actual time required was also determined. “From the outset, we had a very cooperative partnership with HP. We agreed beforehand that the results of the pilot project would be incorporated into the price negotiations. It was a very fair approach,” emphasises Lüder.

After this pilot project, HP’s local country organisations – or partner companies – concluded the relevant contracts with the local country organisations.

The process agreed with HP took the following form: Once the local contract was wrapped up, HP made initial contact with the location. Then a test run would be performed – specifically, a technician would visit the location weeks before the planned rollout date to check whether the technical prerequisites were in place: Could the PCs be installed? And did the software work on the back end? Then the technician would migrate one or two test systems to familiarise themselves with the technology and the installation process.

The project management organisation was set up at the same time. To limit the coordination required, it was decided that regional responsibilities would be established for the two central project managers at ContiTech and HP, who would communicate with the locations. The project managers held telephone conferences at least once a week throughout the multi-month project to adjust the project plan – for example to accommodate delays or changes to the PC volume.

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Case study | ContiTech

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Case study | ContiTech

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4AA6-6108EEW, June 2016

Benefit

Forward-looking project management ensures a seamless project“Changes occurred during the project, and the response from HP was very flexible and pragmatic. They were highly professional,” says Lüder. The local contracts with the country organisations could not all be concluded with the same speed. The number of workstations to be migrated also had to be adjusted in places.

“The project’s strong international focus and complex contract management led many IT service providers to turn us down. Ultimately, HP was the only provider that could fulfil all our requirements.”– Hendrik Lüder, head of competency center

workplace, ContiTech Information Technology

Customer solution at a glance

HP Services• PC deployment services

There were also some delays in the delivery of the servers, which were required for the client migration. Regional differences also provided the occasional surprise: In the Philippines, for example, HP sometimes found it difficult to arrange appointments to exchange the computers because some of the offices work around the clock in three shifts and some employees who needed new PCs were only available at night.

“Our idea of mass PC deployment with standard processes was not always possible,” states Lüder. “HP was always open to change, responded very constructively, and we had efficient change management processes. Furthermore, the HP project manager knew exactly what was happening at the individual locations, enabling him to be proactive.”

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