Always On: Cegeka improves continuity of Sligro’s core applications

Tens of thousands of hospitality businesses, catering companies and SMEs depend on Sligro for their business. Wholesale indirectly plays a crucial role in the work and night life of millions of consumers in the Netherlands and Belgium. But the decentralized and, at times, outdated IT infrastructure was not future proof. In close cooperation with Cegeka, the two parties found a solution using the IBM POWER platform (IBM i).

If you have worked for a company for more than three decades, you’ll have seen it all. Hugo Jaspers, IBM i Service Owner at Sligro, can relate to this. Since the mid-1980s he has seen the Dutch company grow from a self-service wholesale business to become a modern-day food service giant serving 67 locations in the Netherlands and Belgium. And they are not stopping yet. With sales of over €2,300 million, the Veghel-based company has grown rapidly, and so too has its IT dependency, which has evolved from a supportive factor to a business-critical tool.

Decentralized IT

When Cegeka came on board, each Sligro self-service and delivery service location had its own internal IBM server. Critical applications such as cash register systems, management administration and planning depended on it. But with each location dependant on its own servers, the differences between them were huge. While a malfunction at one location could be quickly remedied, others had to be shut down for most of the day.

‘Some locations’ servers were quite outdated,’ Hugo says. ‘We could not guarantee safety and continuity for another five years. It was time for a change.’

‘In times like these, 24/7 uptime and solid performance are a must,’ his colleague, manager of IT operations, Rob van Acquoy, continues. ‘We were not able to provide this with our decentralized IT infrastructure. Management was also too labour-intensive and the risks too high. A decentralized solution was simply no longer suitable for modern times.’

Always On

Sligro wanted to eliminate these islands and guarantee the security and continuity of all locations through a centralized and consolidated IT environment. In consultation with Cegeka, Sligro decided to dismantle the individual servers and house them in two central data centres, replacing the old IBM POWER7 servers with the new POWER9 (IBM i). They also cleared the decks of old custom applications, in favour of a future-friendly standardized SAP system.

Sligro was already familiar with Cegeka, as several Cegeka engineers have been providing support at the Sligro head office in Veghel for years. Hugo: ‘We had already had some great experiences with Cegeka. Occasionally we ran into issues that were not covered by the contract, but Cegeka’s on-site engineers were always on standby.’ Nonetheless, the decision in favour of this project was not made lightly. ‘Outsourcing increases dependency on a party. That’s simply a fact. And this is our core application we’re talking about. This means we had to be confident in our decision and make proper arrangements.’

After reaching an agreement at the end of 2019, migration to the Sligro data centres was completed within a few months – earlier than planned and within budget. All locations were transferred with no disruption to staff on the floor. ‘From an operational point of view, none of our branches noticed any changes,’ Rob continues. ‘And that’s exactly what you’d expect from a project like this. The execution was perfect.’/p>

Well-oiled machine

Hugo: ‘Everything went according to plan – exceeding our expectations in fact. Cegeka was available, even in the middle of the night, to prevent any downtime. In addition, it was particularly reassuring that in these challenging times, with COVID-19 causing a drop in turnover, the entire project was carried out on time and within budget.’

Rob: ‘Our cooperation with Cegeka feels very reliable, as if they are our own employees. It feels like we are one team, with the necessary flexibility from both sides. At one point we had to deal with a major malfunction. Cegeka’s engineers continued working on a solution until late into the night. They left no stone unturned. We were all extremely impressed by this degree of commitment and dedication.’

Sligro once again enjoys a modern, reliable infrastructure. ‘In the unlikely event that a diversion is needed, wholesalers no longer need to shut down and meetings are no longer necessary,’ Hugo says. ‘Locations will be running on another server within half an hour. As a result, the availability of the system, and therefore of our business, has greatly improved.’

Rob adds, smiling: ‘We’ve become a well-oiled machine.’