Leading automotive supplier finds outsourcing is the best communications strategy
By Jim Fulcher, contributing editor -- Manufacturing Business Technology, 4/1/2005 12:00:00 AM
As a leading supplier of electronic systems to OEMs in the automotive sector and other industries, Milwaukee-based Johnson Controls understands the value of outsourcing certain functions to qualified specialists. In fact, that knowledge contributed to the manufacturer signing a contract to have its global telecommunications network managed by Nortel.
Johnson Controls makes integrated seating, interior controls, and batteries for automotive OEMs, and facility management and control systems for nonresidential buildings.
"We aren't in the voice communications business," says Mark Schoeppel, VP, Global IT Infrastructure at Johnson Controls. "Although it's a necessary infrastructure, it requires technical expertise and isn't something we wanted to focus on."
The Johnson Controls telecommunications infrastructure required special expertise because it supports a corporation with more than $26 billion in annual revenues and 123,000 employees spread across 50 countries. Roughly four years ago, Johnson Controls signed up for Nortel's Managed Network Services.
Schoeppel says the network Nortel took over was characterized by "a proliferation of brands and technology in telephony, localized management, and inconsistent support." The goal in outsourcing, Schoeppel adds, was "to streamline the architecture, get out of the public branch exchange [PBX] game, and get away from ongoing training and maintenance to reduce overall total cost of ownership."
The relationship with Nortel meets those requirements, he says. Nortel now manages the PBX that forms the heart of the Johnson Controls telecommunications network. Nortel also handles everything from dial-tone and voice-mail management to call-center networking and third-party systems management.
Schoeppel says network performance and reliability have improved while costs have decreased. "Managed services allow the platform to receive more care and feeding than would be possible using our internal resources," Schoeppel says. "We also have wonderful technical capabilities, and can leverage any Nortel technologies."
Johnson Controls also has what's known as a utility agreement with Nortel, which gives Johnson Controls the flexibility to easily expand, or contract, the network as needed to accommodate changes in its business. If it acquires a company or facility and needs to bring 60 people onboard quickly, Nortel can meet that demand.
"Technology is no longer our problem," concludes Schoeppel. "We use what's best, and stop using technology or services whenever we need to."
