Transforming Armstrong into a more agile, data-driven organisation

Since 1974, Armstrong Industrial Corporation has been a pioneer in precision engineering, as Asia’s trusted leader in noise, vibration and heat management solutions. With more than 40 years of experience, Armstrong serves a broad swathe of industries that range from automotive, consumer and lifestyle, to data storage and healthcare. This diverse customer base enables Armstrong to leverage its cross-industry experience as a platform of expertise for knowledge transfer.

“At Armstrong, we are always looking at how we can be the most innovative solution provider for our customers and stakeholders,“ said Eugene Ong, Group VP at Armstrong.

We are embarking on a digital transformation where we look into how we can re-design and automate our processes, how we can institutionalise operations, product and service excellence, and how we can utilise data to make critical business decisions.

—Eugene Ong, Group VP at Armstrong

The Challenge 

When COVID struck, Armstrong realised that it did not have an effective way of letting its staff work remotely.  

“We were very dependent on face-to-face meetings for discussions, and we did not have many staff work from home. Similarly, many of our work processes were manual or paper-based and proved to be ineffective during this period,“ explained Eugene. “With the increased use of communications tools such as Webex and Zoom, it got us thinking deeper as to what other technologies we have been under-using, and to consider how we can utilise technology in the wider scope of business to change the way we work and interact with our stakeholders.”

To keep pace with the evolution in technology, Armstrong was looking to build a simple and scalable analytics stack that better served its business. Its previous legacy Material Library application was built on older technology and had limited search capability. Armstrong wanted to rebuild this application from the ground up and improve users’ experience in comparing their materials.

Having expanded to 17 locations over the years, Armstrong had also inherited different communication systems and needed to adopt a modern workplace strategy to improve the way it worked. To support its digital transformation, Armstrong needed a robust and intelligent network infrastructure linking all of its operations. 

Solution 

Armstrong appointed Telstra Purple, Telstra’s professional and managed services consulting arm, as its digital transformation partner. Telstra Purple drove the process through its 4D consulting approach (4D Methodology) of Discover, Define, Deliver, and Drive. 

Using the learning and insights from Discovery, Telstra Purple created a blueprint in the Define phase to meet Armstrong’s business challenge to become a data-driven organisation and make key business decisions using data. The team worked closely with Armstrong to review current processes, test its requirements and identify the best solution to unlock collaboration, streamline workflow and deliver innovation through cloud applications. 

As part of the process, Telstra Purple: 

• Built a data platform in Azure that consolidated all ERP data for analytics. This enabled automation and a consolidated view of data on a single cloud platform, supporting the near-instant generation of sales reports. 
• Rebuilt Armstrong’s material library as a cloud-native web application with multi-language support, data analytics and state-of-art ElasticSearch.
• Built a modern data platform and ecosystem to analyse and search Armstrong’s sales and raw material data.
• Standardised the service infrastructure and user experience across all countries by migrating Armstrong’s users and its regional affiliates to a single Microsoft 365 tenant. Telstra Purple provided training to all users so that Armstrong could get the most out of Microsoft 365.
• Built a SASE architecture for Armstrong that combined network security with WAN capabilities, leveraging the Telstra Adaptive network.
• Connected Armstrong’s China office with the rest of its business in other countries, aligning the China Optimized 365 access with Microsoft’s best practice recommendations.

Outcome

Telstra Purple brought people, process and technology together to drive long and lasting changes at Armstrong, transforming it into a digital-first organisation. 

• Improved tracking and reporting: With a modern data stack which supports the consolidation of ERP data from 17 locations across 7 countries, Armstrong is able to better track various metrics at a consolidated group level. 
• Improved collaboration: Office 365 modernised Armstrong’s approach to work and collaboration, paving the way to an agile and modern workforce. 
• Improved user experience: Armstrong’s new Material Library is more intuitive to use, allowing its staff to more easily search and do comparisons studies on its materials.

"Telstra Purple has been able to garner the right professional experience and expertise within their team to help us with our problem statements. We were also able to breed deeper engagement as Telstra Purple could provide an end-to-end solution from network infrastructure to front-end applications", said Eugene. 

Download Armstrong Industrial Corporation case study (PDF, 625KB)