LAN/WAN Sweet solution - Hawaiian Commercial and Sugar Co - Company Operations

Communications News,  June, 2001  

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Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar (HC&S), a raw sugar producer for the Aloha State, needed to simplify its inventory management to improve purchase decisions and expedite communications with customers, partners and suppliers.

HC&S's principle businesses are growing and milling sugar cane, and making raw sugar, molasses, electric power, bagasse (agri-fiber) panel boards and food-grade turbinado sugar. The company is responsible for nearly 70% of Hawaii's sugar--more than 200,000 tons of raw sugar and 66,000 tons of molasses annually. "Network performance is crucial to the timely manufacturing of our products," says Peter Nakamae, HC&S network manager. "Our manufacturing efficiency depends on quickly tracking an enormous amount of inventory and quickly restocking our supplies."

To achieve this, the 130-year-old company--which employs 900--needed to deploy advanced applications and high-speed Internet access to nearly 100 users on HC&S's 37,000-acre plantation. The company previously relied on a 3Com hub-based network--so HC&S again turned to 3Com, and its fast ethernet system solution.

The solution is based on 3Com's Super-Stack switches, which are deployed in buildings across the company's plantation. Also part of the network are Fast EtherLink network interface cards, installed in desktops and servers. The solution also has an advanced Web-based management capability, enabling network administrators to configure and monitor switches, and view network statistics via easy-to-use graphic reports. The solution allowed HC&S to combine multiple servers into one location without degradation in speed.

Nakamae notes that network users immediately noticed the increased response times. The time to compile inventory and accounting reports, he adds, was reduced from 10 to 15 minutes to a few minutes. HC&S buyers can now instantly assess inventories and promptly order new supplies. The network-driven system immediately sends all purchase data to the accounting department's records system, ensuring timely and accurate payments to vendors.

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COPYRIGHT 2001 Nelson Publishing
COPYRIGHT 2001 Gale Group