PTPI is a leading Indonesian state-owned enterprise that specializes in producing fertilizer and petrochemical products. A group of ten subsidiaries, PTPI plays a vital role in supporting Indonesia’s national development by providing subsidized fertilizer to eligible farmers. As South East Asia’s largest fertilizer manufacturer, PTPI boasts assets worth approximately $2 billion and an annual production capacity exceeding 18 million tons.
At-a-Glance
As it prepared to bring its entire group of companies onto the SAP platform, PT Pupuk Indonesia (PTPI) chose SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP® applications as the foundation for its new business systems. In the years since deploying SAP ERP, SUSE Support Services has helped the company seamlessly upgrade its mission-critical server environment, which has delivered zero unplanned downtime for more than a decade and counting.
Standardizing operations across a growing enterprise
Supporting Indonesia’s agricultural sector through a customer-centric approach requires a robust digital infrastructure. To achieve this, over 7,000 employees across the group rely on seamless access to a range of digital tools, including supply chain, warehouse management, finance and controlling applications.
PTPI’s significant growth over the years, driven by a combination of organic expansion and strategic acquisitions, brought new opportunities but also introduced challenges. As acquired businesses retained their own individual systems and processes, the resulting application and data silos became increasingly complex and costly to manage. Recognizing this challenge, PTPI identified a critical opportunity to enhance operational efficiency and productivity by standardizing and centralizing its IT infrastructure across the group.
To achieve this, PTPI decided to adopt SAP solutions. A critical first step was selecting a robust, reliable operating system (OS) that could support the performance demands of the new SAP workloads, while laying a solid foundation for future growth and efficiency
“With 100% availability from SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP® applications, we avoid approximately $5.3 million in downtime-related costs a year.”
Mr. Richard Halim
Vice President of Infrastructure and IT Services
PTPI
Why SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP® applications?
As part of the procurement process for its SAP implementation, PTPI conducted thorough proof-of-concept exercises to determine the ideal hardware and OS platform for meeting its business needs.
“All the vendors who took part in the procurement process suggested we go with SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP® applications,” recalls Mr. Richard Halim, Vice President of Infrastructure and IT Services at PTPI. “The ringing endorsement we received from vendors during the procurement process, along with the fact that the OS was co-developed with SAP, gave us the confidence that SUSE was the right choice.”
Working with local partners Gosyen and Metrodata, PTPI deployed SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP® applications on an on-premises colocation facility within just two weeks. The SUSE solution supports a comprehensive SAP landscape at PTPI, including a wide range of SAP ERP applications.
Why SUSE Support Services?
To help minimize risk to mission-critical systems, the lean IT team at the PTPI holding company engaged SUSE Support Services. With rapid access to SUSE experts around the clock, the team can swiftly remediate any potential issues and receive best-practice advice.
“We strongly support open source initiatives, and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP® applications gives us the best of both the enterprise and open source worlds,” says Mr. Halim. “For critical systems like SAP, where even minor configuration changes can have a huge business impact, enterprise support from SUSE is invaluable.”
The impact of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP® applications
Enables standardization for optimal resource allocation
With SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP® applications underpinning its central SAP ERP instance, PTPI has enhanced business operations and productivity for its IT team. The group’s IT infrastructure now requires less hands-on maintenance, freeing IT teams to pursue higher-value tasks, like developing new offerings for customers.
Over the years, IT teams across the group have gained experience with SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP® applications, enabling PTPI to support a growing business while keeping IT headcount flat.
“Previously, each subsidiary used their own, different OS,” explains Mr. Halim. “Now that we all have the same SUSE-based skillset, it’s much easier for us to reassign IT resources to different areas of the group.”
Supports national and global growth with 100% availability
Over a decade after its strategic move to SAP and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP® applications, PTPI has achieved 100% availability of its mission-critical ERP system. Thanks to this high availability, PTPI has been able to consistently distribute its fertilizer throughout Indonesia and beyond, helping it earn its position as one of the country’s top ten state-owned enterprises by GDP contribution.
Reduces the risk and cost of downtime
“Before our SAP transformation project, we’d experience an average of 7.3 hours of unplanned ERP downtime a month — a cost of over $442k to the business,” says Mr. Halim. “With 100% availability from SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP® applications, we avoid approximately $5.3 million in downtime-related costs a year.” These savings enable the company to redirect resources toward strategic initiatives, including growing its global footprint.
“One of the main benefits of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP® applications is stability,” adds Mr. Halim. “To date, we have never had a second of unplanned downtime for our SAP environment.”
The impact of SUSE Support Services
With SUSE experts readily available, PTPI benefits from peace of mind, knowing any technical issues will be swiftly resolved. Although PTPI hasn’t faced critical problems, SUSE’s support proved invaluable during the transition from VMware to OpenStack. “SUSE Support Services helped us ensure the transition to OpenStack was effortless,” confirms Mr. Halim. “Whenever we had questions, SUSE was always there to help us.”
PTPI is currently planning its transition to the next-generation ERP, SAP® S/4HANA, and SUSE will play a key role in the project. “We know that SAP implementations are complex and resource-intensive, so we are approaching the move to SAP® S/4HANA very carefully,” explains Mr. Halim. “With technical expertise from SUSE, we’ll be fully ready when the time comes.”
What’s next for PTPI?
As PTPI prepares for its transition to SAP® S/4HANA, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP® applications will remain its OS of choice. As the Indonesian government continues to invest in the agricultural sector, PTPI relies on SUSE solutions to help keep its fertilizer manufacturing operations running 24/7.
“From the very beginning of PTPI, the goal has been to become a world-leading fertilizer company,” concludes Mr. Halim. “With SUSE Linux Enterprise for SAP® applications at the heart of our business, we can continue to build our footprint in Indonesia and all around the globe.”