Barbier Group pursues always-on, eco-friendly manufacturing with SUSE

“SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications is the ideal foundation on which to build our data-driven business.” Jean-François Desassis, CIO, Barbier Group

Barbier Group is one of the largest producers of polythene films and wraps in France. Committed to environmental sustainability as well as profitability Barbier Group’s aim is to enhance the efficiency of its manufacturing and recycling operations. Industry 4.0 innovations — including analytics and Internet of Things (IoT) — promise to help Barbier Group realize these goals. To drive real-time insight into manufacturing and logistics processes, the company turned to SAP HANA.

Then, in recognition of the increased demand coming from real-time analytics workloads, Barbier Group selected IBM Power Systems servers with SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) for SAP Applications as the underlying operating system. SLES for SAP Applications was selected based on its maturity in the market and because it is SAP’s preferred platform, which gave Barbier Group confidence, especially around support and compatibility.

Planning for a digital future

Running its SAP HANA data platform on IBM Power Systems servers and SLES for SAP Applications, Barbier Group has successfully laid the foundation for Industry 4.0 capabilities. Being able to query millions of data points, the infrastructure now supports faster, better-informed decision-making.

Barbier Group knows automation will be a crucial capability and driver of efficiency in the years ahead. The combination of SUSE, IBM and SAP solutions has already optimized processes and reduced headcount requirements by up to 50% without impacting revenue.

Barbier Group plans to embed Industry 4.0 capabilities more deeply in its business systems in the coming years. The long-term goal is to feed IoT sensor data into real-time predictive analytics models, enabling the company to perform maintenance on manufacturing assets before they fail. This development will boost availability and help ensure round-the-clock production. Automation is being assessed in other areas too, including AI-powered video analysis to detect production defects.

Aiming to lead the way in recycling and waste reduction, Barbier Group continually strives to find more efficient ways to produce, ship and reuse its products. Today, just under 20% of the company’s manufacturing output is made from recycled materials with further improvements expected as a direct result of system optimization.

Click here to find out more about how Barbier Group is delivering efficient and environmentally sustainable manufacturing with SUSE.