The following article ** in IDC circle, written by Sun Weijing.
IDC circle. China's IDC circle is the most authoritative platform for the data center and cloud computing industry in China, relying on the enterprise-level matrix of industry portals, new platforms, print magazines, conferences and exhibitions, and mobile terminals, etc., to provide one-stop solutions such as information information, industry exchanges, and brand promotion for the upstream and downstream of the data center and cloud computing industry.
In the seventeenth century, tea was introduced to Europe along the "Silk Road" and became popular among all classes, and the British added spices, fruits, and sugar to tea to form a distinctive British black tea.
During World War II, Robert Weiyi was inspired by the Chinese soy milk production process to invent non-dairy cream, which was the basis for the creation of Weiyi Foods in the United States.
From ancient times to the present, food and technology have not stopped evolving and evolving. Today, with the changes in production technology and consumer demand, the non-dairy cream process continues to improve and become healthier, and the products of Weiyi Foods have expanded to non-dairy cream, milk cream and animal butter, and the company's business has developed to all over the world with the rich milk aroma, becoming a global full-category cream company.
At present, more and more enterprises are going overseas to explore the market, how to formulate IT strategies in different regions, and how to build perfect and stable IT support are the difficulties in going overseas and one of the keys to improving efficiency. In this regard, Weiyi Food, which entered the Chinese market in the 80s, is worth referencing.
Huang Zhengkang
Vice President of Information Systems of Weiyi Foods Asia Pacific.
A few days ago, China's IDC circle interviewedHuang Zhengkang, Vice President of Information Systems of Weiyi Foods Asia PacificwithGao Liheng, General Manager of Sales of China EntercomDialogue with Weiyi Food's business and IT development in the Asia-Pacific region to exploreThe same frequency and difference in the IT construction of global enterprisesSee how the IT department has developed from a cost center to a value center, and how it can use China Entercom's technology and experience to drive the direction and process of enterprise digitalization.
From localization to standardization
The road to digitalization of Weiyi Food
For this leading company in the cream industry, you may not have heard of its name, but most of you have eaten its products, from cakes and desserts in dessert shops, to biscuits on supermarket shelves, from cream soups in restaurants, to cream tops on coffee and milk tea, there are the shadows of Weiyi Food.
Source: Weiyi Food's official website.
As early as the late 90s of the last century, Weiyi Food came to the Chinese market and brought the cream produced in the United States into the Chinese bakery industry. In 1998, Weiyi Foods built its first factory in Suzhou to produce products for the Asian market, followed by a second and a third ......With the increase in the consumption level of residents,Weiyi Food's Asia-Pacific business is growing day by day, owned10 factories, in China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, India and other places, Asia-PacificBecome the number one market outside of North America, to create 600 million US dollars in sales, realizedHigh profit margins and 20 to 30% growth
Source: Weiyi Food WeChat***
Behind the rapid development of the company, the IT department and IT construction of Weiyi Foods are also expanding their scale to provide strong support for the business, and Weiyi Foods is the first in the Asia-Pacific regionThere are only 2 people in the IT department, and today this number expands to
After nearly 30 years of development, Weiyi Foods has been in the Asia-Pacific regionUpgrade from traditional manufacturing to digital production and operation。Huang Zhengkang emphasized that in this process, Weiyi FoodIt's not a copy of the U.S. IT strategy, ratherAt the same frequency as China's informatization and digitalization process, exploring a path of IT practice from localization to globalization.
Localization: Supporting local business development with IT construction tailored to local conditions
Since entering the Chinese market, based on the level of domestic technical facilities and digital trends, Weiyi Food has carried out a phased system launch and digital upgrade of each part of production, sales and managementAdapting to local needs is the main principle
1998 - the beginning of the 21st centuryWeiyi Foods has implemented the basic work of informatization, creating a corporate mailbox system and a simple corporate network for office use.
2005-2010Weiyi Food officially started the digitalization process, selected and implemented the ERP system of a domestic brand, and then focused on the IT construction in the field of ** chain and finance.
2010-2020After the completion of digitalization in the field of ** chain and finance, the company turned to focus on interaction with customers, put into use the CRM system, established the company's BI system, and established a variety of mobile phone applications with the advent of the mobile Internet wave.
In 2020, Weiyi Foods established a B2B China Mall platform, which uses the OMS order management system for dealers to digitally place orders and obtain supporting documents such as product quality inspection reports in real time, greatly improving sales and communication efficiency. Since 2020, the platform has been continuously iteratively updated, developing ** WeChat applets, researching customer service and intelligent order analysis and reminders based on AI technology.
For more than 20 years, Weiyi Foods has promoted the digitalization of China and the Asia-Pacific regionA breakthrough from "0" to "1"., realizing the digitalization of the whole chain of research, production, marketing and service. Among them, the cream production line and packaging line of the new factory are fully automated and digitized, and the data of each production equipment is collected in real time for analysis and alarm, and the whole process is palletized and transported by robots from production to warehouse, which is close to realizationAn unmanned "black light factory".
Standardization: IT standardization to match business globalization
As Weiyi Foods has grown in many countries and regions outside of the Americas, 2020 has been driven by improved overall operational efficiency, cost-effectiveness, synergies and brand impact"Globalization and standardization of business" strategyIt was put on the agenda by Weiyi Food.
Business globalization cannot be achieved overnight, it needs to be promoted step by stepIT standardization is an important part of thisand also necessary support. Huang Zhengkang introduced that after receiving the sales process control and standardization requirements put forward by the sales department, he led the information department to first propose a plan to unify the CRM system, and integrate and unify the data and system with the inconsistent master data scattered in various branches around the world.
He stressedSystem standardizationIt is not a matter of which system is adopted by the headquarters, and the branch needs to be completely copied, but after careful consideration and selectionThe most suitable system for the entire group。Taking the standardization of CRM as an example, there were more than four CRM systems used by Weiyi Foods in different regions of the world at that time, and after a team of key global business personnel formed an in-depth understanding, they finally voted to choose the CRM system that is most suitable for future global business use, and then implemented it in various countries and regions to ensure that the use of global use can be seamlessly connected.
From CRM to SAP, Weiyi Foods has not only relied on the standardization of various systems, but also built in IndiaThe Global IT Support Center promotes the standardization and optimization of IT infrastructure. Huang Wenkang introduced that the support center now has 80 employees, and the main work content is standardization and integration - such as standardizing basic support work such as computer failures and system problems, and the support center is responsible for special personnel. This also frees up IT personnel from a lot of basic work, has more time to understand the business, and drives digital transformation within the enterprise to create greater value.
Twenty years to sharpen a sword. Today's Weiyi Food's IT department has been realizedFrom a cost center to a value centerhas become the engine that drives the company's innovation and business reform.
When Weiyi Food meets China Enterprise Communications
Innovate value faster and more steadily
When the East inspired the West to manufacture cream and sell it all over the world, today's new tea drinks are also becoming more and more popular, with a touch of snow-white cream on top of the tea soup, reducing the astringency of the tea, and making it more smooth and sweet, just like the encounter and cooperation between Weiyi Food and CECOM.
In 2018, the production and sales of Weiyi Foods in many countries in the Asia-Pacific region were in full swing, and the demand for the network was getting higher and higher.
Huang Zhengkang pointed out that at that time, the original first-class businessmen had insufficient resources in the Asia-Pacific regionThe enterprise network fails at both ends in three days, and the fix is slow,"The longest time it took a week to restore the network"., which has had a great impact on the normal operation of the business.
Therefore, Weiyi Food Asia Pacific started the screening of new network providers, and compared multiple options including telecom operators in China and the United StatesIn the end, China Entercom won favor by virtue of its joint parent company, CITIC Telecom CPC, in the Asia-Pacific region with rich resources, standardized services and mature mechanisms.
Gao Liheng, General Manager of Sales of China Entercom, gave an in-depth introduction to the efforts behind the networking solution of Weiyi Foods in the Asia-Pacific region.
With its business in the Asia-Pacific region spread across many countries, China Entercom has completed its services in a number of relevant countries and regions, adding new service points, assigning staff and setting up service teams, cultivate and improve service levels and awareness, and ensure that no matter which region receives customer needs, they can follow up the operation and maintenance within the agreed timeComplete 7 24 hours and 99 hours for customers99% SLA Service Level Commitment.
When Weiyi Food meets China Entercom, the new Asia-Pacific enterprise network that uses MPLS private line + SD-WAN network connection is used, and it gets lower cost, higher security and better service.
Huang Zhengkang saidIn addition to providing network bandwidth and some outsourcing services, China Entercom also has bandwidth and some outsourcing services, but the total cost has been significantly reduced, the failure rate has been greatly reduced, and "there are few sudden problems".
This stable and efficient network covering the Asia-Pacific region has been used so far, building an interconnected information high-speed for Weiyi Food's factories and branches, ensuring smooth production management and office communication, and continuously providing support for the continuous growth of the Asia-Pacific region.
While solving the problem of stable network operation, how to ensure the security of data and network is also a problem that enterprises must face. China Entercom uses TrustCSI UTM to unify threat management services to escort the network security of Weiyi Food, and "take the first door".
High Scales
General Manager of Sales of China Entercom.
As more and more enterprises go overseas and accelerate the internationalization of the digital economy, how can excellent global enterprise ICT partners be created? "We provide what our customers need. Wherever the customer wants, we will go in advance. ”Gao Liheng summed up the development of China Entercom in this way.
From network services to integrated services of cloud, network, intelligence and security, as well as the cutting-edge enterprise-level large-scale model service "Cloud-Edge Intelligent Platform", China Entercom is committed to providing comprehensive digital intelligence services for enterprises in response to technological development and customer needs. fromInitial 8 service nodesToday, together with the parent company CITIC Telecom CPC, and the group, it has been deployed globallyNearly 170+ network service points, with 60+ SD-WAN gateways, 30+ data centers, 21 cloud platforms, and 3 security operations centers (SOCS) operating around the clockChina Entercom's high-quality and global resource services not only cover the Belt and Road, the Middle East and BRICS countries, but also improve the service system in RCEP member countries, and continue to extend to more countries and regions with economic expansion and development.
China Entercom's "Belt and Road" ICT resource layout.
Not only China, not only the Asia-Pacific region, but also Europe, South America, Southeast Asia, and Africa ......China Entercom, together with its parent company, CITIC Telecom CPC, is expanding to more regions around the world.
Whether it is a prosperous city or a remote area, China Entercom is committed to providing customers with standardized and high-quality services everywhere, and escorting more enterprises to go global with 7x24 hours of uninterrupted operation and maintenance and instant fault response services.
About Weiyi Foods
In the thirties, the company's founder, Robert Viy, became Wilber Farms, working in the dairy sector. During World War II, he was inspired by the production process of Chinese soy milk and invented "non-dairy cream", which opened up a whole new world of non-dairy creamer products for frozen foods, and founded Weiyi Company in 1945. Today, Weiyi Foods is one of the largest family-owned frozen food manufacturers in North America, with annual sales exceeding $3.5 billion.
As a global full-category cream company, Weiyi has been committed to promoting the development of the pastry, catering and retail markets for many years, and has done its best to provide customers with comprehensive solutions.
In 1998, Weiyi Food (Suzhou) was established, the factory was built with pharmaceutical standards, professional production equipment and strict quality control system to ensure product quality and safety, and at the same time heavily invested in the Asia-Pacific R&D center, constantly developing a variety of innovative products that meet market demand.
In June 2012, Weiyi officially opened its second factory in China in Tianjin, which not only more than doubles Weiyi's production capacity in China, but also is an important part of Weiyi's strategy to further develop China and the Asia-Pacific region.
As a global cream manufacturer, Weiyi has a complete product structure of mixed cream, non-dairy cream, and milk cream, and its advantages ensure that the company can better serve our customers in depth and breadth.
For more than 70 years, as one of the leading brands in the bakery and catering industry, Weiyi has been innovating and providing customers with a full range of solutions.
Article**: China IDC Circle.
Author: Sun Weijing.