Invensys Operations Management, a global provider of technology systems, software solutions and consulting services to the process and manufacturing industries, has been named Microsoft Global Enterprise Partner of the Year in the category Alliance ISV Industry. The award recognizes Invensys Operations Management for excellence and innovation in using Microsoft-based solutions to help its manufacturing and infrastructure management customers achieve operational excellence.
“In today’s manufacturing world, integrating business and operations data in real time is important to achieving production and profitability goals,” said Simon Witts, corporate vice president, Enterprise & Partner Group, Microsoft Corp. “Invensys Operations Management’s solutions, including its InFusion Enterprise Control System, use Microsoft.Net and other Microsoft technology to improve productivity, asset performance, customer response times, inventory velocity, emissions management and many other aspects of their clients’ operations. We are pleased to recognize them as a Microsoft Global Enterprise Partner of the Year.”
“You can’t really manage and optimize your operations and achieve top profitability until you connect your business strategy to your production execution,” said Sudipta Bhattacharya, president and chief executive officer, Invensys Operations Management.
“In most plants, the production floor isn’t connected to the rest of the enterprise, and that gap is where much of the value is lost. Our solutions, using Microsoft technology, link corporate goals, like environment and sustainability, with supply chain targets and production metrics. Consolidating data for planning, scheduling, production and other operations management tasks on a single platform allows everyone at every level of the enterprise to see and understand how their decisions impact profitability and productivity in real time. And that leads to faster, smarter choices.”
For example, New Belgium Brewing, the third-largest craft brewer in the United States, produces more than 600,000 barrels of beer each year. The brewer has used Invensys Operations Management solutions, including Wonderware InTouch HMI, Wonderware Historian, which fully utilizes Microsoft SQL Server 2008, and ArchestrA System Platform as the backbone of its manufacturing execution system (MES).
“Beer brewing is an energy-intensive process, and, among other things, the Wonderware MES continuously monitors steam, water and electricity consumption to ensure optimal usage,” said Igor Valuyev, the company’s chief electrical and automation engineer. “Focusing on sustainability gives New Belgium the strength to grow our business, improve the welfare of our employees and reduce our impact on the environment. With help from Invensys, we have a system that supports our business goals, as well as our commitment to the environment.”
Another example of how Invensys and Microsoft collaborate is at KapStone Paper and Packaging, a Northbrook, Ill. Based paper producer who recently implemented Invensys Operations Management’s Avantis enterprise asset management (EAM) solution with Microsoft Dynamics AX ERP solution.
“While acquiring paper mills and other related operations, KapStone needed to build an IT infrastructure that would reduce operating costs, enable continuous improvements and help improve productivity,” said Todd Sain, director of application design and support, KapStone. “The Avantis EAM solution did exactly what we needed it to do, and because it’s an integrated offering, it is scalable and quickly implemented so better ROI is achieved sooner. The common look and feel, as well as the tighter connection between Dynamics AX and Avantis, helps reduce overall training effort, improve decision making in the ERP layer and shrink total cost of ownership.”
Manufacturing operations are becoming more complex and demanding, and executives, plant managers and even operators expect their systems and technology to do more. But, said Bhattacharya, what they really need is to stop executing their business, supply chain and production strategies independently. That would allow personnel to access and act on real-time operating and performance information.
"Plant managers and operators are required to do more with what they have,” he said. “By using our open-platform technology, they can integrate their people, processes and systems and achieve what we call ‘operational excellence.’ Simply put, this means that they can improve the safety, sustainability and profitability of their operations by uniting their business controls, production controls and process controls in real time. The InFusion Enterprise Control System enables that.”
Invensys Operations Management will attend this year’s Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference, being held July 10 through July 14 in Los Angeles, Calif. Bhattacharya will participate in the keynote address, joining Witts on stage to discuss Microsoft’s relationship with Invensys on July 13.
