NORDSEE – Erfolgsgeschichte (ACMP)

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Companies in the foodservice industry with their standardized organizational structures strive to ensure standardization in the back office as well. In IT, for example, software and hardware can be managed centrally with a client management system. Nordsee GmbH also uses this kind of a solution to quickly transmit information to all employees via its cash register systems at its numerous branches.

[Translate to Englisch:] Logo NORDSEE
[Translate to Englisch:] Sascha Detke

Sascha Detke, the IT manager of Nordsee GmbH, says metaphorically: "A good client management system is like a Swiss army knife – but one in which the individual tools jump out at me as if by magic." With 1,000 desktops virtualized via VMware, 150 notebooks, 400 thin clients and 930 cash register systems at over 370 locations worldwide, the IT department of the Bremerhaven-based food service company manages a complex IT infrastructure. The SCCM system used in the past offered a lot of management options, "but every function had to be selected painstakingly," recalls Sascha Detke. The tool from Microsoft was therefore only used rudimentarily for rolling out images for notebooks.

The Nordsee team hoped that a new client management system would allow them to renew and use laptops more efficiently and agilely as well as to manage the virtual infrastructure. Nordsee switched to the ACMP Suite in April 2018. It began with adding more functionality, but above all, the new system won Nordsee over with its out-of-the-box capabilities.

[Translate to Englisch:] Filiale NORDSEE

The Aagon solution meets the IT administrator's needs with pre-designed modules that are available without a lot of fiddling around – just like a Swiss army knife.

[Translate to Englisch:] Filiale NORDSEE

One day after the setup of ACMP, IT administrators started to use the ACMP Suite Wizard to transform software that they had previously distributed using Group Policies into ClientCommands.

You can plan and automate client- and server-related administrative tasks that would otherwise be expensive and complicated, on your own initiative and with little training, using these client management system command tools. "Once you understand this principle, you immediately realize that this is not just about software distribution, but about holistic management," says system administrator Stefan Richter.

ClientCommands are the basic framework for software distribution with ACMP Desktop Automation, the core of Aagon's client management system. The Nordsee team now uses the system to handle everything that used to be done using scripts or unclear group guidelines – and was therefore often not even attempted because of the manual effort or complexity. In the past, a team member had to maintain countless group policies in the Active Directory and make complex changes.

[Translate to Englisch:] Stefan Richter

Group policies are reduced to one third

Following the introduction of client management, Nordsee has reduced these policies to one third, significantly shortening login times because many tasks are now performed with ClientCommands after login or at specific times. This included the reconfiguration of COM interfaces on the 900 cash register systems, which only took 30 seconds. Also included was migrating branch PCs, including Sybase databases, from an old virtual machine to a new one.

The ClientCommand Editor consists of ready-made components that can be used immediately. With each component used, Stefan Richter thinks of all the other possibilities he could do with it. For example, a service that automatically pops up a window in the evening informing the user that their computer will be reinstalled overnight and will therefore look slightly different in the morning.

 

[Translate to Englisch:] Filiale NORDSEE

Nordsee has set up well over 100 ClientCommands for various tasks.

To save the time-consuming packaging of standard software, patching, and individual tests, Nordsee also uses the Package Cloud. The cloud service within ACMP Desktop Automation provides important software packages online that are always up-to-date.

The IT team reinstalls notebooks and also organizes the migration from Windows 7 to Windows 10 with the OS Deployment module. ACMP Inventory automatically collects information about the complete hardware and software status, which used to be maintained manually with great amount of effort at Nordsee.

"With simple queries, we can now find out who has installed which software and how many licenses we need," says Stefan Richter. The Container Adapter integrates the Active Directory structure into the client management system. Nordsee uses dynamically filled containers to install the software automatically.

Conclusion

The client management system now manages 1,000 virtual Windows clients, 150 notebooks (a Linux-based management system is used for the 400 thin clients), and even the cash register systems in the stores. However, they are not listed in the Active Directory. To integrate them, software developer Aagon had to dig deep into its bag of tricks. This is because these are Windows XP Embedded systems – as is often the case in such cases where terminals have to provide only very dedicated functions for years. So Nordsee provided a cash register for testing, and the result was quite odd: Although the latest version of the client management system was no longer able to integrate these outdated systems, a previous version could.

Nordsee now manages all computers with the current release of the client management system from one server and the cash register systems with an previously-discontinued version on a separate server. This opens up the possibility of quickly transmitting critical messages to the branch team. There is no faster or more direct way.

In Client Management, the quality manager can see who has already read the notification. In turn, they can receive messages entered by the cashier at the terminal without the cashier having to run to the back office of the branch. This can also be achieved via ClientCommands.

Following automatic software distribution, inventory, and OS deployment, Nordsee also wants to use the kiosk function of ACMP Suite in the foreseeable future. This allows users to install software they need on their own without the need for IT support. Furthermore, the Helpdesk module is currently being discussed. Even without it, First Level Support reports significantly fewer inquiries from PC users at the company. This is also due to the fact that people now sometimes prefer to reinstall notebooks "quickly" rather than spending time on intensive troubleshooting. And the result is often better. It reflects how IT manager Sascha Detke characterizes client management today: "It gives us a path to success without having to work hard to get there."

In short:

Nordsee GmbH uses the Client Management System by Aagon to automatically distribute software, establish a complete hardware and software inventory, simplify IT administration through ClientCommands, and plan migration projects better as well as carry them out faster via ClientCommands.

Connected workstations:
1,330 Windows clients and 950 cash register systems

Products used:
ACMP Inventory, ACMP Desktop Automation, ACMP OS Deployment, ACMP Package Cloud, ACMP Container Adapter

Project start:
April 2018

Benefit:

  • Fewer support calls
  • Faster implementation of migration projects
  • Administration tasks that would have been too complex and time-consuming in the past can now be performed
  • Faster login
  • Reduction of group guidelines

About Nordsee GmbH

Nordsee is the leading supplier of fish specialties in Europe. The company was founded in 1896 as Deutsche Dampffischerei-Gesellschaft Nordsee, and today employs a total of approx. 4,800 people, of which around 165 are trainees and 1,200 are employed by franchise partners. The company is represented at over 370 locations worldwide, serves over 19 million customers annually, and generates annual sales of approximately 350 million euros. The company is headquartered in Bremerhaven, Germany. http://www.nordsee.com

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