Cisco Cisco 2106 Wireless LAN Controller Guía De Información
Customer Case Study
© 2009 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Marazzi Group S.p.A.
●
Manufacturing
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Modena, Italy
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Over 6000 employees
CHALLENGE
●
Provide network connectivity to outdoor
warehouses to automate and improve
operations
operations
●
Affordably deploy highly reliable, weather-
resistant network without disrupting warehouse
operations
operations
SOLUTION
●
Enterprise wireless mesh network provides
Wi-Fi coverage throughout each warehouse,
enabling workers to access the Warehouse
Management System using handheld devices
enabling workers to access the Warehouse
Management System using handheld devices
●
Controller-based system enables centralized
IT team to remotely manage 350 access points
and 350 handheld devices deployed in
warehouses across Italy and Spain
and 350 handheld devices deployed in
warehouses across Italy and Spain
RESULTS
●
Plays critical role in warehouse automation,
helping to increase accuracy of orders and
quality of customer service
quality of customer service
●
Helps ensure high network availability, while
saving time and money
●
Makes it possible to automate processes,
integrate systems, and remain ahead of
competition worldwide
competition worldwide
World Leader in Tile Manufacturing Achieves Wireless Automation
Marazzi Group deploys Enterprise Wireless Mesh Network to improve operations and quality of service.
Challenge
Established in 1935, Marazzi Group is the world leader in the design,
manufacture, and sales of ceramic tiles, with a growing presence in
the sanitary fixture industry. With subsidiaries in six countries including
the United States, China, and Russia, the company produces a wide
range of porcelain stone tiles, special floors and ventilated walls, and
sanitary fixtures and furnishings that meet the aesthetic and functional
requirements of consumers, architects, designers, and builders. Over
the years, the company has introduced a series of innovative
processes and products and acquired dozens of technological patents
that have become the industry standard for tile production worldwide.
“Marazzi Group’s innovative use of technology in both product
development and manufacturing has resulted in the company’s
leadership position,” says Andrea Provini, Marazzi Group’s CIO.
In 2008, Marazzi Group decided to improve its operations by
automating its warehouse processes for the first time. “Because our
procedures were manual, the interaction between our customer
service department and warehouses was very cumbersome and time
consuming,” says Provini. To simplify and improve the accuracy of
order preparation and delivery, Marazzi Group decided to implement
Warehouse Management System (WMS) and Enterprise Resource
Planning (ERP) software. However, providing network connectivity to
the warehouses presented a challenge. The company’s warehouses
consist of outdoor areas spanning thousands of square meters filled with pallets of tiles. “Implementing a wired
network was cost-prohibitive and would have required moving our stock in order to dig into the floor,” says Provini.
“Deploying a wireless network was the only viable option.” Because Italy experiences high and low temperatures
year-round, Marazzi Group needed to find a highly reliable, weather-resistant wireless network.
Solution
To launch its automation project, Marazzi Group researched various wireless networking solutions. “Some solutions
were proprietary or unproven,” says Provini. “But when we visited companies who were using Cisco’s Enterprise
Wireless Mesh access points, we were impressed.” Marazzi Group was already using Cisco
®
core infrastructure
solutions and was pleased with the company’s open strategy and level of customer support. “Our automation project
required us to undertake a lot of risk with new processes and software, so we wanted to be very confident in the
network that we chose,” says Provini. “We knew Cisco would provide us with the performance and reliability we
needed.”