Nestlé Waters Powwow
Introduction
One of the major difficulties following acquisition of any successful organisation is how to consolidate disparate IT systems and hardware without disrupting service levels. Following its acquisition of Powwow in 2003/04, Nestlé selected DTP Group to help it standardise the technology infrastructure in its new subsidiary in line with Nestle’s global standards.
Long history
Formed in 1868 by Henri Nestlé, many of Nestlé UK’s products have been household names for generations - from its famous white chocolate, Milky Bar, launched in 1937, to the ever popular Aero, Kit Kat and Quality Street brands.
What is less commonly known is that Nestlé UK spearheaded the development of both instant and freeze dried coffee, pioneering most of today's blends and speciality coffees including Nescafé. After a series of acquisitions and joint ventures in the 1980s and 1990s, the company now markets a broad portfolio which encompasses products as diverse as pet foods, breakfast cereals, yoghurts, milks and creams, nutritional supplements, bottled water, pasta and Herta frankfurters, now the number one name in the UK with sales of over 150 million frankfurters a year.
In 2003/04 Nestlé acquired the business of Powwow, and is now the largest home and office delivery water company in the UK.
Comprehensive consolidation programme
When Nestlé acquired Powwow it recognised the need to standardise Powwow’s IT hardware and software infrastructure in line with its own global standards, quickly and with minimum disruption to service levels. DTP’s strong relationship with Powwow, and previous successful involvement in major IT roll-outs for them, was a key consideration in Nestlé’s decision to select DTP for this new programme of work.
Throughout the programme, DTP provided value added resources that encompassed storage, logistics, configuration, installation, on-site services, and third party recycling and disposal. DTP were flexible enough to be able to undertake the project in Nestlé’s own environment, minimising interruption to services.
Finely tuned project management
The 2004 roll-out programme, covering more than 22 UK sites, was completed to Nestlé’s precise schedule in just 12 weeks which meant it had to be very tightly project-managed by DTP.
DTP managed the supply of laptops and PCs, holding them in bonded stock at its Leeds warehouse ready for shipment to Nestlé’s Birmingham site for network configuration according to Nestlé’s strict protocol. Following configuration and testing, the units were then either delivered direct to site where they were installed by a DTP engineer, or returned to the Leeds bonded warehouse ready for roll-out.
Recycled hardware followed a similar trail, initially passing through DTP’s Leeds HQ and warehouse, where it was stripped in preparation for reconfiguration. Disposal was undertaken by DTP, in conjunction with a third party specialist, on an openbook basis for total transparency, and followed a documented procedure of quarantine, data cleansing and secure disposal.
Summing up DTP’s involvement in this major consolidation programme, Lee Warren, UK IS Infrastructure Manager of Nestlé Waters Powwow said: “We were impressed with DTP’s ability to understand our needs and to quickly respond to any changes we needed to make as the project progressed.”
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