Customer Success Story
RECKITT BENCKISER
New Global Infrastructure Shines for Reckitt Benckiser with Spotless Performance
As any major company will tell you, mergers may be exciting but it is only when the ink is dry and the media bulbs have stopped flashing that the real work begins. And that is when the headaches can often start as well.
In December 1999, two well-known companies, Reckitt & Colman of the U.K. and Benckiser NV of the Netherlands, set their seal on a merger which created the world's largest household cleaning company and a leader in the field of health and personal care. Leading brands such as Dettol, Calgon, Vanish, Finish, Lysol, Veet and Disprin are now part of the same global company. The company has sales in over 180 countries around the world and employs some 20,000 people worldwide.
The management of Reckitt Benckiser realised that a critical element in the successful integration of the two companies would be the use of integrated IT platforms for all external and internal communication and transaction processing. By deploying global standards for IT platforms and systems it would be possible to dramatically improve the time-to-market of new products and also reduce operating costs by the best use of the marketing, production and distribution capabilities of the two companies. There was another concern. Reckitt Benckiser also realised that their own marketplace was changing. The Internet was beginning to affect the way in which suppliers and consumers interacted. It was, therefore, important to the company that their new communication infrastructure be not only global and seamless, but also prepare them for this next wave of Internet-based business communications.
BT Infonet had built a strong and trusted relationship with Benckiser in the Netherlands so the new company turned to BT Infonet to create a new global infrastructure. "At all stages this has been a true team effort, with the provider and client working side by side. As a result of BT Infonet's capability to proactively manage capacity and by using BT Infonet's Application Defined Networking (ADN) approach to the problem, it has been possible for Reckitt Benckiser's IT function to be freed up to concentrate on other essential issues, namely application development and application integration, without being faced with networking restrictions or limitations. We have added value to a client's operations and proven to be a good partner," Michel Ferreboeuf, Marketing & Services Vice President for BT Infonet in Europe. Ferreboeuf's comment is echoed by Tony Gallagher, Senior Vice President Information Services for Reckitt Benckiser. "We were impressed with BT Infonet's understanding of our business, and their willingness to work together with us to create the solution we needed. Based on this experience I look forward to working closely with BT Infonet to supply our international business in the coming years."
Reckitt Benckiser and BT Infonet are now building an Internet virtual private network (IVPN) based on BT Infonet's The World Network. The network will incorporate BT Infonet's Global Frame Relay (GFR) as well as the recently launched IVPN technologies and will support a wide range of applications. Over 120 sites across the world are involved. Consolidation of systems and data centres has been made possible through the reliability and reach of The World Network and through the use of BT Infonet's integrated, secured Internet and DialXpress remote access capabilities.
For employees of Reckitt Benckiser they will be able to move to an 'anytime, anywhere' solution. Until now, not every Reckitt Benckiser employee has been able to get access to all systems and applications. In the future, the seamless network will be available. Irrespective of location or time of day, a single log-on will connect to the BT Infonet and Reckitt Benckiser networks to give an employee direct access to the applications they need. This has been made possible by the seamless integration of the global Reckitt Benckiser NT domain and the BT Infonet IP-based global network. The company has gained in other ways, too. Costs have been reduced while systems availability and up-time is now over 99.95 percent.
Reckitt Benckiser is one of the first companies in Europe to use BT Infonet's ADN approach. ADN, coupled with BT Infonet's product suite and the reach and capability of The World Network, has resulted in the creation of a truly global and seamless infrastructure which will not only meet the requirements of today but is configured to address the new ways of doing business presented by the Internet. With this infrastructure in place Reckitt Benckiser is better placed to realise the potential which its merger has created.