Weather Shield Case Study: Upgrade to JD Edwards EnterpriseOne 9.2
About Weather Shield Manufacturing, Inc.
Weather Shield is a premier manufacturer of energy efficient windows and doors. Their focus on innovative and flexible solutions has led Weather Shield to offer the biggest variety of styles, shapes, sizes, and options in more product lines than others in the industry. Founded in 1955, Weather Shield is a family-owned company with more than 1,900 employees based in Medford, Wisconsin.
The Situation
Weather Shield had a planned upgrade of its IBM iSeries web servers from the Power 8 system to Power 9. At the same time, they planned to implement a new web environment (WebLogic) and upgrade from JD Edwards EnterpriseOne version 9.1 to version 9.2.4.
“Weather Shield had previously worked with WhiteLight Group for two JDE upgrades and they went well,” recalled Senior Applications Analyst Bernard Harris. “For this upgrade, we knew we were going to need some outside help and technical expertise to help us convert to a new web environment as well as get us up and running with Orchestrator.”
Harris and his team kicked off the project by completing the Power 9 system upgrade and then WhiteLight Group began the setup of the JDE 9.2 system, including the conversion of 9.1 data into the new environment. Additionally, WhiteLight Group set up JDE Orchestrator, an integral part of the Internet of Things (IoT) configuration with EnterpriseOne that supports various integrations such as Cloud services, third-party applications, custom programs, and more.
“We requested the services of WhiteLight Group and their CNC technical consultants to help us upgrade our JD Edwards EnterpriseOne instance. Their team accomplished everything we set out to do while improving uptime, streamlining processes in IT, and improving application security management.”
– Bernard Harris, Senior Applications Analyst, Weather Shield Mfg.
Challenges
- Upgrade technology to Power 9 servers, WebLogic web environment, and newest version of JD Edwards EnterpriseOne
- Set up and validate Orchestrator and UXOne
- Increase flexibility and improve security within JDE applications
- Load balanced web servers
- Technical expertise and manpower to implement all upgrades within the same timeframe
Solution
WhiteLight Group consultants to lead upgrade of JD Edwards EnterpriseOne application and tools to current version 9.2.4 and set up Orchestrator and UXOne.
Results
- Upgrade to 9.2 provides greater ERP flexibility including personalization, Internet of Things, and machine learning.
- Updated JDE Security model by implementing role-based security
- Position the company to enable future innovation and efficiencies through Orchestrator and UXOne
Poised for Future Innovation and Growth
WhiteLight Group helps enterprises increase uptime and throughput. We help organizations reduce the cost of ownership of JD Edwards by improving system and application efficiencies and reducing downtime. That is a major reason why Harris is confident that Weather Shield will continue to grow with WhiteLight Group as they expand their use of other JD Edwards applications. “We are looking to move away from all of our legacy systems. We will be working with WhiteLight Group to pilot a use case for Orchestrator in our upcoming Manufacturing project,” noted Harris.
“WhiteLight Group is always looking for ways to enhance our business and help us get to the next level with our JD Edwards system.”
– Bernard Harris, Senior Applications Analyst, Weather Shield Mfg.
The Weather Shield team has been impressed with WhiteLight Group’s commitment to excellence and continuous improvement. Harris adds, “We enjoy working with WhiteLight Group. They really care about their customers and want to see us succeed.”