Watt Line Service deployed Fujitsu’s mission-critical IA Server PRIMEQUEST as the foundation of its warehouse management system. The company placed high priority on finding a solution that would not stop and would allow for quick recovery in the event of system failure. Watt Line Service valued PRIMEQUEST’s mainframe-class reliability, as well as its ability to achieve swift recovery with a reserved system board utilizing hardware redundancy.
Challenge
To achieve mainframe-class reliability and business continuity in a warehouse management system that runs continuously and can quickly recover from a system failure.
Solution
- Deploy Fujitsu Mission-Critical IA Server
PRIMEQUEST - PRIMEQUEST is configured with hardware
redundancy and automatically switches to a
reserved system board after a failure - Establish a one-stop structure for resolving
issues rapidly
Outcomes
- Achieves business continuity and stability
through a continuously running WMS - Enables recovery from a system failure within one hour without the need for
complex procedures - Eliminates difficulties associated with software redundancy
Fujitsu offers one-stop support with hardware-based redundancy, and so we greatly appreciated the ability to swiftly and reliably respond to issues.
Masayuki Iwata, Group Manager, Smart Meter Group, Logistics Division, Watt Line Service Co., Ltd.
20 mins
to recover from a failure with
the reserved system board
- Industry: Logistics Services
- Location: Japan
- People: 180+
- Customer's website
About the customer
Watt Line Service has supported electricity distribution systems since 1962. In recent years it has branched out from smart meter logistics services and developed the business in shipping, logistics, warehouses, and construction. As a member of the Takaoka Toko Group, it also carries out operational work for a steadily reforming electrical distribution system and continues to take on challenges in creating new businesses.
Around-the-clock warehouse management
Watt Line Service has supported electricity distribution systems since 1962. It has developed the business in shipping, logistics, warehouses, and construction work. As a member of the Takaoka Toko Group, it carries out operational work for a steadily reforming electrical distribution system.
“Watt Line Service actively engages in initiatives to automate warehouse work,” says Board Director, Toyoji Nishi at Watt Line Service. “When smart meters come into our warehouse, we import data via a portable terminal and RFID tag into the warehouse management system (WMS).”
The WMS uses data to manage the warehousing, storage, and delivery of smart meters. “If the WMS stops, this halts warehouse work and severely impacts the shipping and deployment processes,” explains Nishi.
The existing WMS shut down during working hours and took several hours to recover, leading Watt Line Service to place business continuity as its top priority when selecting a new system. “We focused on choosing an offering that would not fail or stop and would allow a swift recovery,” recalls Nishi.
Mainframe-class reliability and hardware redundancy for swift recovery
Masayuki Iwata, Group Manager, Smart Meter Group, Logistics Division at Watt Line Service, was convinced by Fujitsu’s proposal to deploy the mission-critical IA Server PRIMEQUEST as the foundation for the next WMS. “PRIMEQUEST is built with mainframe-grade standards in design and quality. The system is extremely reliable.” PRIMEQUEST offers an advantage in recovery should the system stop: “Our existing WMS had a software-based redundancy system,” but PRIMEQUEST “has hardware-based redundancy, automatically switching to the reserved system board should the CPU or memory fail.”
The deciding factor was Fujitsu’s open response. “We asked Fujitsu to identify all the risks that could lead to a total system shutdown, and Fujitsu gave us a complete response without hiding any conditions,” says Nishi.
In October 2019, Watt Line Service began building the new WMS using PRIMEQUEST. It was impressed with the results. “We witnessed a test on the function for automatically switching to the reserved system board. The recovery was achieved in 20 minutes,” Iwata explains.
Exploring new opportunities around digital transformation
The new WMS started full-scale operation in March 2020. “It continues to run stably, and it supports our business with no failures or downtime. Our previous redundancy system featured four devices, but we consolidated this into a single PRIMEQUEST machine, allowing for a lower operational burden,” says Iwata. Also, having the reserved system board saves administrators effort and eliminates the need for advanced skills.
“Building a WMS based on PRIMEQUEST has allowed for greater stability in automated warehouse operations,” says Nishi. “Watt Line Service seeks to expand its business in other categories outside of smart meters. We hope that Fujitsu can assist us in pursuing digital transformation in our logistics services through further digitalization in our warehouses.” As Watt Line Service contributes to the development of social infrastructure, Fujitsu continues utilizing its advanced technologies to support the company’s initiatives
Related Customer stories
