Altivity Packaging

IT and Applications Integration and Support Enhances Operating Efficiency

Migrating data systems to a consolidated platform delivers high levels of business value for a major packaging company during M&A activities.

The Challenge

Emerging as a leader in the industry, Altivity Packaging was formed when Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation’s consumer packaging business merged with Field Container Company. The Merger and Acquisition (M&A) activities that built this industry leader also left them with diverse IT challenges. As with any M&A activities, the complexity of reconciling and standardizing back-office systems was monumental, and Altivity had to deal with the difficult tasks of, not only carving out applications from Smurfit-Stone, but also accommodating the merger of the two disparate operating environments.

A $2 billion company, employing more than 8,300 people in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, Altivity recognized the urgency and importance of getting its infrastructure up and running, as well as providing its business with cost-effective IT operations. It knew that without careful planning, well-honed expertise, and focused execution, these technology projects could fail, which would put business continuity at risk, cut into the bottom line, and jeopardize customer service.

Altivity turned to Perot Systems so it could continue focusing on its core business and serving its clients, while outsourcing non-core functions to a trusted IT provider with deep industry and business domain expertise. To assist Altivity in achieving real business results, Perot Systems brought a proven skill set, along with a combination of M&A knowledge, technology-based solutions, and transparency, into the true cost of IT operations.

The Solution

Working collaboratively, Perot Systems provided experienced industry consultants and skilled IT professionals who recommended and then implemented strategies and tactics to achieve Altivity’s business goals. Using proven processes and procedures, Perot Systems focused initially on a 6-month transition/migration with three primary goals—establish a robust IT infrastructure for Altivity at the Perot Systems Plano Technology Center (PTC), carve out applications and systems from Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation, and migrate the Field Container data centers to the PTC.

Using centralized best practices and IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL)-based service desk and management operations, in conjunction with a knowledgeable application support team, Perot Systems established full IT infrastructure capabilities at the PTC, a world-class, multi-client data center facility with 24x7x365 manned physical security, redundant network connectivity and power, UPS, and back-up power generation.

After the initial transition and setup phase, Perot Systems undertook carve-out and migration activities. To facilitate communications across the new entity, a new Microsoft Exchange environment was expedited and deployed, along with the migration of the disparate legacy e-mail systems. Another especially critical and high-impact element of the transition was the carve-out of Altivity’s SAP system from Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation and the subsequent integration of Field Container into that SAP environment. Additional data integration challenges involved the migration of mainframe, AS/400, UNIX, and Wintel platforms. This consolidation involved successfully migrating Altivity’s core HRIS systems in Kronos, Ultipro, and Workbrain without interruption to a complex payroll operation, which included 59 production plants and countless labor unions across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

Allowing Altivity to focus on its core business, Perot Systems now provides a wide range of ongoing support services—including application management, back-up and restore services, database administration, desktop support, disaster recovery, e-mail support, information security, middleware support, network support, server administration, service desk, and service management.

The results

Given the criticality of keeping the Altivity business running—and running profitably—our solution set focused on minimizing negative impact to business operations, while maintaining profitability. Working together with the Altivity team, we migrated infrastructure systems and applications successfully the first time during every “go-live” event. The overall transition/migration activities were completed on time and on budget during this critical time of the creation of Altivity Packaging.

Now, with a consolidated, robust IT environment, Altivity has adopted a sweeping operating philosophy for effective management of its business that includes aligning facilities, standardizing processes, and implementing human resources initiatives across its entire enterprise. To support these initiatives and better serve its customers, the company adopted the Altivity Operating Systems (AOS), which incorporates industry-related manufacturing excellence processes, including Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma. Altivity’s customers can now access online tools and packaging support services, such as vendor-managed inventory (VMI) and order fulfillment.

Delivering a full suite of services within agreed-upon parameters while meeting budget goals has earned Perot Systems the trust of Altivity; and, at the same time, has forged a close working team at all levels to build a solid, long-term strategy for success.