Our solutions in the Cardbox project
Generate more business success with Microsoft Azure.
In 2019, the Cardbox Packaging Group decided to continue its globalization with an expansion into the USA. The company faced various challenges in the process: the right choice of location, the construction of new production halls, the provision and commissioning of production machinery. All this had to be implemented in the shortest possible time.
In the course of the site expansion, existing concepts and technologies were also reconsidered. Among other things, the use of the existing ERP system, which was classically hosted in a data center.
A company’s IT landscape and its operation is always a cost factor and in the case of Cardbox – as in many companies – the ERP system also represents the backbone of all business processes. These two factors were scrutinized, as were the potential advantages or disadvantages of rapidly evolving technologies.
Under no circumstances were ongoing operations to be affected.
The possible time frames are extremely small due to three-shift operation in two time zones.
Industry-specific solutions and their manufacturers must be involved.
As far as possible, the new site in the USA should not experience any additional disruptions or changes.
Any new technologies used must not only offer future potential but ideally also lead to cost savings.
The scalability of the systems had to be considered with regard to the high degree of automation, as well as security aspects concerning the monitoring of the IT systems.
Topics such as disaster recovery scenarios and failure concepts also played a major role in the risk analyses.
The benefits of Microsoft Azure cloud technology meant that the backbone of Cardbox Group’s entire IT is now hosted in Azure.
This includes a central authentication and security layer, the operation of the Microsoft Dynamics AX ERP system, the provision of centralized company reporting using Microsoft PowerBI, and all the necessary back-end technologies to ensure a smooth worldwide operation. Backup and disaster recovery scenarios, as well as proactive monitoring of all relevant services (24/7), are provided.
By using Microsoft PowerPlatform for various business processes, the time-to-market from idea to operational use has been reduced immensely.
The IT cost structure is clearly transparent and adapts to the requirements of the company. This includes automatic scaling of systems, appropriate reporting and periodic analysis of potential in order to achieve cost reduction through the meaningful use of technology.
With this project, we transformed the entire IT platform of the Cardbox Group from a self-hosted system to a modern cloud solution. This will enable Cardbox to use other SAAS solutions in the future and, thus, to take advantage of the full potential of currently available technologies
The new capabilities created by the cloud solution are already enabling Cardbox to achieve greater process efficiencies such as using low-code/no-code solutions, and artificial and data intelligence solutions.
This project has shown that intelligently applied courage to innovate can turn a classic "lift-and-shift" project into a technologically forward-looking solution that secures the company's long-term success.
“Just because the technology is there doesn’t automatically mean that every tool and application has its raison d’être with us. We look for purposeful use of apps and technologies that bring added value.”
Andreas Kopp
Group IT Manager – Cardbox Packaging
Generate more business success with Microsoft Azure.
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