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Cat Logistics RUNS ORACLE 10g
Cat Logistics
Configuration Details:
SAP Application
SAP Versions: ECC 6.0, SCM 5.0, CRM
5.0, NW2004s, BI 7.0, EP 6.0, XI
Hardware & Operating System:
IBM pSeries/AIX 5.3
SAP servers: Initial setup 8 (4-way)
pSeries hosting 14 SAP app server
instances, handles up to 4,000 SAPS.
End state 100+ 4-way pSeries handle
170,000 SAPS
Users: Initial setup 200 named users,
40 concurrent users. End state 3500
named users and 20,000 customer users
Transactions: Initial setup 600K dialog
steps per day * User and Transaction
metrics estimated
Oracle Database
Database: Oracle RAC 10.2.0.2
Hardware & Operation System: IBM
pSeries / AIX 5.3
Stretch cluster: 10 miles (Gb ethernet
over single mode fiber < 1ms latency)
File System: IBM GPFS 2.3 with GPFS
Replication
DB Size: Single DB Totals
Current: 10 Gigabytes to 200 Gigabytes,
growing to 1.2Terabytes
End State: 250 Gigabytes to 3 Terabytes,
growing to 15 to 20 Terabytes
Disk: 60% greater than size of db
CPU: 4 to 6 depending on SAP compo-
nent (AIX virtualization)
Memory: 3 8 Gb depending on SAP
component
The following article "SAP Cat Logistics
Success Story is a reprint from Cat
Logistics Industry Article, with permission
from Cat Logistics. The original article can
be viewed at:
http://logistics.cat.com/cda/components/
fullArticle?m=115228&x=7&id=394024
R E A L A P P L I C AT I O N C L U S T E R S
Cat Logistics went production with SAP Service and Asset Management in November 2007.
The database server is running AIX 5.3 and the database is Oracle 10g with Real Application
Clusters. The Oracle Cluster spans approximately ten miles utilizing a high-speed dark fiber
connection between the nodes of the RAC cluster. This configuration ensures the high
availability of Cat Logistics SAP applications. The Oracle Global Technology Center and
Oracle Development team in Walldorf Germany in addition to the local Oracle account team
provided key support during the implementation of Oracle RAC.
C AT L O G I S T I C S S E RV I C E S Key Benefits
Taking Service Parts Management to the 25% to 50% improvement in warehouse
Next Generation with SAP Software productivity
5% to 10% improvement in fill rates
Summary 15% to 25% reduction in inventory
20% to 30% reduction in IT support costs
When Morton, Ill.based Caterpillar Logistics
Services, Inc. (Cat Logistics) wanted to move More time for IT staff to spend on customer
its aftermarket parts operation to a next-gene- service and integration
ration platform, it joined forces with Ford
Solutions and Services
Motor Company and SAP to develop a power- SAP Service and Asset Management
ful service parts management application.
Now part of the SAP Service and Asset Existing Environment
Management solution, the software is helping Legacy systems
the company stay on the cutting edge. SAP software for supply chain management
Key Challenges
and SAP industry specific automotive solu-
tions (functionality now found in the
Provide continued support for increasingly mySAP ERP application)
sophisticated global operations
Eliminate costly legacy systems Current Environment
Meet customer expectations for next-genera- Database: Oracle
tion technology Hardware: IBM
Project Objectives
Operating System: IBM AIX
Move away from in-house software develop- Why SAP Solution?
ment
Long-term stability of SAP as a company as
Provide the functionality and power to
well as its industry and supply chain know-
manage complex service parts supply chains
ledge and global perspective and support
Implement Web-enabled, standard techno-
logy

Cat Logistics
Caterpillar Logistics Services, Inc.s expertise
is in providing truly integrated logistics solu-
tions, says Krish Srinivasan, manager of strat-
egy and business development at the Morton,
Ill.based company. We draw on the intellec-
tual property developed in serving Caterpillar,
our parent company, which has more 80 years
of supply chain experience and one of the
worlds largest and most efficient logistics
operations, he says. And a few years ago,
with an eye on rapidly evolving information
technology, the company wanted to rethink
the systems that were helping it deliver that
expertise to customers. We decided that we
should take a look at our technology strategy
going forward especially in our service parts
business, says Srinivasan.
Commonly known as Cat Logistics, the com-
pany was formed in 1987 as a wholly owned
subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc. the worlds
leading manufacturer of construction and
mining equipment, diesel and natural gas
engines, and industrial gas turbines. Today
Cat Logistics provides integrated logistics
solutions global companies in a variety of
industries. It operates more than 105 offices
and facilities in 25 countries on six continents
and serves more than 60 client companies,
including Caterpillar itself.
The aftermarket parts business is key for Cat
Logistics, which manages some 25 million
SKUs annually. To support those vital operati-
ons, the company had been using legacy
systems that it developed and fine-tuned over
the course of several decades to support its
sophisticated, and often complex, supply
chain processes.
Some of our legacy systems were 10 to 15
years old, and they were getting expensive to
maintain, explains Srinivasan. In addition, the
company had created variety of customized
versions of service parts management software
to meet the needs of various customers, which
also drove up maintenance costs.
Oracle 10g RAC for SAP at Cat Logistics 37
To keep upgrading and enhancing those
systems was not an option, says Srinivasan.
It was becoming too time-consuming and
difficult. Instead, Cat Logistics began sear-
ching for a packaged service parts manage- SAP brought a genuine
ment application. We took an exhaustive desire to make sure the
look at the solutions that existed in the mar- software not only met
ket and found that were woefully limited in the needs of Cat Logistics,
terms of capabilities, especially compared to
but was also a best-in-
the rich functionality of the systems Cat
class solution for the
Logistics had developed over the years, says
Srinivasan. We could see that buying the industry as whole.
software in the marketplace would be a step
Kevin Nelson,
backward for us. Development Manager,
Caterpillar Logistics
Collaborating on a Solution Services, Inc.
To keep its critical service parts business
moving forward, Cat Logistics decided to create
exactly what it wanted. The company joined
forces with Ford Motor Company, which was
also interested in a better service parts mana-
gement solution, and the two began looking
for a development partner. Soon, they decided
work with SAP to develop an end-to-end, "With global available-to-
next-generation service parts management promise functionality,
application an effort that would eventually for example, we can do a
produce a key portion of the Service and Asset complete network search
Management solution. for parts, across ware-
Cat Logistics decided to work with SAP in houses. That makes it
part because of SAPs stability as a company possible to service
and in part because of the software vendors customer orders more
understanding of supply chain management quickly and avoid going
and service parts management in particular. back to suppliers to order
Service parts is one of the core key strengths
additional inventory you
of our business, says Scott Koval, marketing
dont need.
director at Cat Logistics. We could not ent-
rust this effort to a company that might not Scott Koval,
be around five years down the road. We wan- Marketing Director,
ted to go with a vendor that the business, that Caterpillar Logistics
had been around for some time, and that was Services, Inc.
going to be around for the long term.
Cat Logistics was also looking for a partner
that, like Cat Logistics itself, was focused on
the future. We wanted a company that
understood where the technology was going,
Srinivasan says. Just as important, Cat
Logistics felt that SAP was committed to
keeping its software on the leading edge.
38
In a fast-changing business, Srinivasan says,
we wanted a partner that was prepared to
apply ongoing research and development to
the product and market needs changed.
Cat Logistics, Ford, and SAP brought a wide
range of complementary knowledge and expe-
rience to the effort. Two heads are better than
one, and, in this case, three were better than
two, says Srinivasan. This development effort
benefited greatly from the combined expertise
of these three companies.
"SAP understood the SAP contributed both technology and busin-
needs of various market ess knowledge gained through extensive expe-
sectors and the chal-
rience in the supply chain management arena
in a variety of industries. Among other
lenges of global business
things, says Srinivasan, SAP understood the
the cross-border issues,
needs of various market sectors and the chal-
import/export regula- lenges of a global business the cross-border
tions, local tax laws, and issues, import/export regulations, local tax
so forth. It was prepared laws, and so forth. It was prepared to develop
to develop a solution that a solution that could work for many different
could work for many regions of the globe.
different regions of the
The three companies worked closely together
globe. under a well-defined governance structure that
spelled out details about roles, responsibilities,
Krish Srinivasan, and timing in a highly collaborative process.
Manager of Strategy and
At the team level, people were meeting at
Business Development,
least once a week and more often two or three
Caterpillar Logistics
Services, Inc.
times a week, says Kevin Nelson, develop-
ment manager at Cat Logistics. Throughout
the process, he adds, SAP brought a genuine
desire to make sure the software not only met
the needs of Cat Logistics, but was also a best-
in-class solution for the industry as a whole.
Support for the Complex Aftermarket Supply
Chain
The result of these efforts was a powerful ser-
vice parts management application that gives
Cat Logistics fully integrated order manage-
ment, materials management, and warehouse
management capabilities. The SAP software
provides the full range of tools and functions
the company needs to support its sophistica-
ted operations, from planning to fulfillment
and analysis, with real-time execution of logi-
stics processes, including exception monito-
ring and alerts.
The SAP software supports a number of pro-
cesses that are integral to both Cat Logistics
and its customers. "With global available-to
promise functionality, for example, we can do
a complete network search for parts, across
warehouses, says Koval. That makes it pos-
sible to service customers more quickly and
avoid going back to suppliers to order addi-
tional inventory you dont need.
The software also provides improved support
for large, complex operations. It lets us ma-
nage situations where, for example, you have
orders coming in from tens of thousands of
customers into a complex warehouse environ-
ment, with orders going to different destina-
tions and potentially being cross-docked or
consolidated after they leave the facility, says
Nelson. The intelligence in the routing system
is very effective.
At the same time, the companys service parts
management operations now run on a more
flexible, Web-enabled platform that makes it
easy to bring customers onboard and support
them virtually anywhere in the world. And,
says Srinivasan, we now have multilanguage
and multicurrency capabilities that we can use
with global customers. These things will help
us reach out to customers in different regions.
The Payoff for Cat Logistics and its
Customers
In the near future, Cat Logistics plans to roll
the SAP Service and Asset Management solu-
tion out to a growing number of customers,
with some 20,000 users expected to be on the
system within three years. Currently, the com-
pany is implementing the software for one of
its most sophisticated clients its parent
company, Caterpillar. Caterpillar has placed a
strategic emphasis on its aftermarket supply
chain; it recognizes that significant repeat sales
of its prime products happens because of the
aftermarket support it provides for those pro-
ducts, says Srinivasan. For example, he ex-
plains, the company has a no-orphan policy
of supporting products as long as customers
own them which can be decades and the
 Oracle 10g RAC for SAP at Cat Logistics 39

aftermarket supply chain achieves same-day Overall the SAP Service and Asset
shipping of parts 99.7% of the time. Management solution gives Cat Logistics the
Already experience shows that Cat Logistics tools it needs to work effectively with its
customers are likely to see clear benefits from customers and help them streamline their
the SAP software. As an example, in facilities aftermarket supply chains. Just as important,
where the company has used the softwares the software provides a technology platform
warehouse management capabilities, produc- that can keep up with an expanding and
tivity in terms of lines shipped has improved rapidly changing business. Our customers
anywhere from 25% to 50%. With the inte- like having the confidence of knowing their
grated solution supporting the service parts supply chains are supported by the latest stan-
supply chain, says Srinivasan, we will also dard technology, says Srinivasan. This is a
see significant benefits in inventory manage- system that we and our customers can grow
ment, with an expected 5% to 10% improve- with in the coming years.
ment in fill rates and inventory reductions of
15% to 25%, depending on the customers
industry.
Meanwhile the use of standard software and a
reduced need for in-house development should
lower IT support costs 20% to 30% and
allow Cat Logistics in-house IT professionals
to focus on customer service and integration,
rather than ongoing software development.