Overview
In the construction and engineering industry, the complexity of engagements and the material-intensive nature of projects make ERP systems an essential element for achieving operational excellence.
About Martin Marietta
Martin Marietta – a leader in the construction materials industry – is a leading supplier of building materials, including aggregates, cement, ready mixed concrete and asphalt. It has operations spanning across 28 states in United States, Canada, and the Bahamas. Martin Marietta has always been at the forefront of enhancing its operational efficiencies and technological capabilities.
Martin Marietta wanted to streamline its operations by consolidating its disparate JD Edwards (JDE) implementations, bolstering recovery capabilities in the process.
To realize these objectives, they engaged Birlasoft to consolidate their JDE deployments, adopt new capabilities, and enhance system resilience. Birlasoft helped Martin Marietta attain these outcomes on time and on budget within eleven months, and successfully rolled out the new deployment for 2000 concurrent users. Read the details of this initiative below.
The Challenge
1. Consolidate multiple instances into a single platform and upgrade to JDE 9.2
With various business units in upstream building materials, downstream products, and specialty chemicals, Martin Marietta was running on two different JD Edwards deployments with partially shared data and security configurations across v9.1 and v9.2. They wanted to consolidate these deployments into a single, upgraded platform with minimal disruption.
2. Suboptimal reliability necessitated a resilient recovery solution
Martin Marietta wanted to improve its disaster recovery capabilities and was consequently looking to implement a DR solution that aligned with their RTOs and RPOs. In addition, they also wanted to enhance their security capabilities to mitigate the risk of data loss.
3. Strategic need for adopting new capabilities and enhancing user experience
Lastly, Martin Marietta wanted to enhance the user experience by adopting the latest JDE capabilities. In addition, they wanted to ensure that the new deployment could scale and adapt to their future growth.
The Solution
Birlasoft began by conducting a thorough assessment of the deployments, performing a menu and security analysis, and defining a data sync strategy followed by initial consolidation.
1. Assessment and planning for consolidation
In the assessment phase, Birlasoft leveraged its IMPACTA™ tool to analyze code-level differences, identify net changes, and estimate impacted patches across the two JDE instances. This analysis helped define the retrofitting efforts required and guided the strategy for merging the two systems. The plan included synchronization of user data, transactional data, and user-defined objects (such as Grid Formats and Advanced Queries), which helped avoid data duplication during consolidation. This meticulous planning set the stage for a smooth consolidation.
2. Consolidation of two JDE instances with 1-Click Install upgrade
Birlasoft executed a 1-Click Install to efficiently upgrade the JDE instances, reducing technical overheads and streamlining system updates. Oracle GoldenGate™ was used to synchronize transactional data across both instances, helping minimize downtime during the final cutover. User data, including media objects, favorites, and UDOs, were seamlessly merged, ensuring a smooth user transition. We also upgraded the JDE system to a 64-bit architecture, significantly improving system performance, and used QSoft to synchronize security roles and assignment definitions across the systems.
3. Defined group-based architecture to enhance system resilience
To enhance system reliability and resilience, Birlasoft devised a group-based architecture, leveraging Cisco FlexPod Converged Infrastructure and Oracle 19c 3-Node RAC Cluster. The new design supported a hot disaster recovery (DR) solution, significantly improving the system’s uptime and resilience. The system architecture also enabled rolling patching and fast failover in case of any issues.
4. Seamless cutover with near-zero go-live issues
After conducting thorough performance testing, Birlasoft completed the cutover process in under 72 hours with near-zero critical hyper-care issues. This ensured a zero-disruption transition to the upgraded environment, avoiding any interruptions to business operations or critical system functions.
The Impact
1. Enhanced system performance
The consolidated instance runs on the latest JDE version (9.2.7) on a 64-bit architecture, which resulted in a 30% improvement in system response time. Based on Oracle Enterprise Linux 8 and the 3-Node RAC Cluster, the infrastructure is now more efficient and has future-proofed the ERP infrastructure at Martin Marietta, enabling faster data processing and reporting.
2. Improved disaster recovery KPIs
The deployment of a hot DR solution enhanced Martin Marietta's RTO and RPOs. With the The Recovery Time Objective (RTO) was reduced from 24 hours to 1 hour, while the Recovery Point Objective (RPO) improved from 12 hours to 15 minutes, the system now delivers greater uptime. It allows for rolling patching and quick failover in case of issues, enabling uninterrupted access to critical business capabilities.
3. Enhanced end-user experience
The upgraded system delivers a better user experience while bringing all the familiar user artifacts from the old deployments to the new ones. The organization can also leverage advanced analytics tools and data capabilities to enhance decision-making.
4. Reduced IT overheads
The consolidation led to a significant reduction in IT maintenance costs and, with the timely completion of the JD Edwards upgrade before year-end, cut support costs by hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Martin Marietta has achieved a seamlessly scalable JD Edwards environment that can adapt to its changing needs as the organization grows. By engaging Birlasoft to make this transition, Martin Marietta has set itself on a path of continued success as it applies the latest JDE capabilities to power its business.
Birlasoft’s Advanced ERP and Recovery Solution for Martin Marietta recognized as an ISG Standout Case Study 2024. According to ISG, this case study exemplifies the implementation of a unified and scalable ERP solution to enhance system performance.
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