JK Tyre & Industries improves operating efficiency and drives future innovation with SUSE

“SUSE has the competency we need to reduce migration downtime for minimal impact on production.” Sharad Agarwal, Head of Information Technology, JK Tyre and Industries Ltd.

With a vision to harmonize its technology infrastructure, and create serious efficiencies, JK Tyre & Industries Ltd. has worked with SUSE to dramatically improve processing time, system uptime and user productivity.

Making tracks

Founded in 1974 and headquartered in New Delhi, JK Tyre and Industries Ltd. is the undisputed market leader in radial tyres in India, producing a staggering 32 million units per year. JK Tyre requires efficient manufacturing processes and low-friction methods of coordinating with Original Equipment Manufacturers, as well as dealers and distribution networks. In the race to stay ahead of its competitors, the company has long relied on a variety of SAP ERP applications to support rapid, reliable business processes and streamline its supply chain management.

JK Tyre had previously been running its SAP applications on an Oracle database and decided to make the move to SAP HANA. This opened the door to further efficiency improvements, technology upgrades and secured long term support.

To harmonize its software upgrade, the company was also planning a hardware refresh that would provide a safe home for its SAP database, and keep crucial SAP applications running smoothly.

JK Tyre assessed a variety of different providers to support this transformation, including Red Hat and SUSE. When it came to sourcing a solution that could run mission critical enterprise applications without any downtime, and that would integrate tightly with crucial SAP systems, SUSE was the natural choice.

JK Tyre delivers against business objectives

The SUSE implementation was as quick as it was effective. Over the course of the four-month deployment period uptime increased from 98 percent to 100 percent and user productivity increased by around 30 percent.

Process cycle times dropped from three minutes down to just one, while reports that used to take 10 minutes are completed in just 60 seconds​.

Supporting innovation

Moving to SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications has opened the door for JK Tyre to explore a new world of advanced SAP functionality. This includes the possibility of leveraging AI, Machine Learning and Internet of Things technology for new technological capabilities such as predictive maintenance, which avoids production delays by addressing weaknesses before problems arise.

The future for JK Tyre is looking bright, both in terms of the efficiencies created by the migration as well as the launch pad it has built for further innovation – destined to deliver increased value to customers around the world. Click here to read more.