HOPI Logistics Enhances Supply Chain Efficiency with Hitachi Vantara VSP One Block Infrastructure

HOPI Logistics Enhances Supply Chain Efficiency with Hitachi Vantara VSP One Block

HOPI Logistics, a prominent logistics provider headquartered in the Czech Republic, has recently made a strategic upgrade to its data infrastructure by deploying Hitachi Vantara's Virtual Storage Platform One Block. This state-of-the-art system is designed to enhance operational performance, reliability, and overall efficiency, enabling HOPI Logistics to maintain its competitive edge in the fast-paced logistics sector.

A Critical Need for Upgraded Infrastructure

As HOPI Logistics serves as a major warehousing partner for international retail and fast-moving consumer goods brands, it operates a highly integrated supply chain that spans several countries. The company heavily utilizes SAP solutions to streamline its various business processes, from manufacturing and warehousing to distribution and transportation. However, the legacy storage systems they had in place were unable to support the growing demands for performance and reliability, leading the company to seek an advanced solution that could minimize downtime.

Unplanned downtime has severe implications, costing Global 2000 companies up to $400 billion annually. To combat this issue, HOPI Logistics decided to implement Hitachi's VSP One Block to ensure uninterrupted access to its essential SAP systems and enhance operational efficiency.

Implementation of VSP One Block

The implementation of the all-NVMe VSP One Block arrays, set up in an active-active cluster utilizing Global-Active Device (GAD) technology, marks a significant milestone for HOPI Logistics. This setup not only provides robust performance and resilience but also guarantees continuous operation—vital for the smooth running of their extensive operations. HOPI Logistics has reported a remarkable improvement, achieving read speeds of over 15 GBps and write speeds of 4 GBps, significantly surpassing their initial performance requirement of 3 GBps.

The upgraded system has proven to be a game changer, allowing the logistics provider to accelerate the restart of SAP databases by 50%. This translates directly to increased availability of key applications and a reduced risk of unexpected downtime. Additionally, with Hitachi's built-in deduplication capabilities, HOPI Logistics is achieving an impressive compression ratio of 2.411, effectively decreasing storage capacity requirements by around 17 TB.

Sustainability and Energy Efficiency Considerations

In pursuit of sustainability, HOPI Logistics has also seen a notable reduction in energy consumption and data center footprint due to the compact design of the VSP One Block system, which only occupies 2U of rack space—a 50% reduction. This smaller footprint contributes to less energy usage and aligns with the company's broader environmental goals, which include minimizing their carbon footprint throughout Europe.

Hitachi's VSP One Block is equipped with Dynamic Carbon Reduction technology, which optimizes energy consumption by switching CPUs to an eco-mode during low activity periods, potentially reducing CO2 emissions by 30-40%. This aligns seamlessly with HOPI Logistics' commitment to sustainability while maintaining operational excellence.

Looking to the Future

The advantages of deploying the VSP One Block extend beyond immediate operational improvements. HOPI Logistics is now positioned to accelerate its digital transformation journey, with plans to migrate its SAP ERP applications to the SAP HANA platform, thus unlocking rapid insights for their operational teams.

Petr Pokorný, Head of IT Operations at HOPI Logistics, expressed his satisfaction with the transition, stating, "When it comes to availability, the difference between our old platform and VSP One Block is huge. We can now restart our databases faster, which boosts our uptime and resilience significantly."

By leveraging Hitachi Vantara’s cutting-edge storage solutions, HOPI Logistics is not only enhancing its supply chain efficiency but also positioning itself as a leader in sustainable logistics practices. The partnership highlights the importance of innovative infrastructure in facilitating operational excellence in today’s rapidly evolving business landscape.

To learn more about Hitachi Vantara and its storage solutions, visit their website. They continue to lead the way in providing the foundation for transformative growth and sustainability in data management.