Slide1: Information Technology at Plantronics September 30, 2004 Tom Gill


Agenda : Agenda Plantronics overview Plantronics IT IT management Project examples Q&A


Plantronics Overview : Plantronics Overview World leader in communications headsets $416M annual revenue (FY’04) 5000 employees Headquartered in Santa Cruz Offices in 22 countries


Mission Vision Values : Mission Vision Values Mission Enhancing Personal Communication Vision Headsets for Everyone Values Passion, People, Customers, Creativity, Teamwork A part of everyday life at Plantronics!


Plantronics Product Evolution : Plantronics Product Evolution 1962 - Introduced first product, a lightweight aviation headset 1964 - Continued with aviation market by providing air traffic control headsets 1969 - Went to the moon ’70s and ‘80s - Focused on call center and office products ’90s - Expanded product line to include mobile and computer headsets 2000 - Added USB, gaming (Xbox), residential and bluetooth headsets


Business Growth : Business Growth It took twelve years to make our one-millionth headset We now make over 1 Million headsets per month!


Product Development at Plantronics : Product Development at Plantronics Design / Engineering Centers Santa Cruz Tijuana Mexico Swindon England Suzhou China (planned) Outsource to partners for special services and quick time to market Increased emphasis on design Products started in the cockpit and call center cubicles Now headsets are seen everywhere and need to be more of an accessory Quality is a differentiator Very high levels of customer satisfaction Very low return rates


New Markets Present New Business Challenges : New Markets Present New Business Challenges


Manufacturing at Plantronics : Manufacturing at Plantronics Plamex operations in Mexico High quality Highly variable product mix / many product variants Just in time production / made to order China contract manufacturing and our future Suzhou operation High volume products Sub assemblies Predictable demand due to longer lead times


IT Makes it Happen: IT Makes it Happen IT is ubiquitous Virtually all associates use information technology throughout the day Consider a day without IT! IT solutions have enabled growth Advanced supply chain solutions Portals / knowledge management Information warehouse / Business Intelligence Wireless solutions Workflow and approval applications Shorten cycle time, increase collaboration, improve productivity reduce barriers of time and geography


Plantronics IT Organization : Plantronics IT Organization Worldwide team of 60 IT teams at five largest sites Other locations and SOHO sites serviced remotely Enterprise applications, WAN and technology standards managed centrally Local applications and infrastructure managed by remote sites Mexico factory payroll Local LAN, voice systems, Exchange servers, etc. Local intranets WW management team meets weekly Communication is key to virtual team success Annual offsites and other travel also key to effective collaboration


Information Technology Footprint – Infrastructure: Information Technology Footprint – Infrastructure Dell / Microsoft desktop Microsoft Exchange / Outlook messaging Cisco networks including WiFi in most locations WAN technologies include dedicated circuits, frame relay, point to point VPNs and remote access Avaya voice systems (PBX, voicemail, unified messaging) Wireless PDAs and smartphones also supported 100+ Windows servers 40+ Sun Solaris (Unix) servers


Information Technology Footprint – Key Applications: Information Technology Footprint – Key Applications Oracle Applications 11.5.8 / 9iR2 Complete suite (finance, manufacturing, purchasing, HR, logistics, order management) Self service (iProcurement, iExpense, iStore, etc.) Single instance / multi org Customizations include reports, some forms, alerts Informatica / Business Objects Information Warehouse Saratoga Avenue CRM ATG commerce applications / Interwoven contact management Microsoft intranet and Sharepoint portals


Road to CIO: Road to CIO BS in Business Info Systems from SDSU TRW Electronics and Space – started as a programmer Syntelligence – expert systems startup Tandem computers – gained international business experience Bay Networks – emphasis on CRM and web technologies Plantronics – started as Director of Technical Services and promoted to CIO in January 2000


IT Management Challenges : IT Management Challenges Hiring and retaining talented people Exciting technologies help Culture of learning and innovation is key Management role is to provide direction and environment to succeed! People challenges Communication / style Corporate vs. remote sites Change management Internal to IT End user impact Outages / downtime Problems will occur It’s all in the recovery


Key IT Management Competencies : Key IT Management Competencies Business enterprise knowledge Client partnership Business influence Change management Team leadership Empowering others Accountability Systems thinking


Project Example – China Operations : Project Example – China Operations Business problem – establish infrastructure, staff and applications for new factory and product development center in China Process Scope assessment Requirements Design, setup and test Implementation / sourcing Support


China Operations – Scope Assessment : China Operations – Scope Assessment First step is to understand effort required All aspects analyzed including Network and servers Voice systems (VoIP) Voice and data circuits Oracle applications modules Reporting Local applications Scope combined with target building completion dates drives resource assignments and schedule


China Operations - Requirements: China Operations - Requirements Infrastructure is based on headcount, business functions and local considerations Applications requirements based on Changes to worldwide business processes due to a second factory Localizations IT sometimes has better understanding than business users…IT is an influencer at Plantronics! Reports replicate current factory requirements but will need to be in local language Local applications (payroll, intranet, customs processing, etc.) based on local business practices


China Operations – Design, Setup and Test : China Operations – Design, Setup and Test Applications are configured by IT business analysts based on requirements Customizations are developed based on requirements that are not met by ERP package Conference room pilots are key Hands on business simulation Quick user feedback Mindshare comes when users see a working prototype or system vs. a design document


China Operations – Implementation and Support : China Operations – Implementation and Support China IT team will be key to success Local customs include testing users before allowing them to use system Change control will be challenging Worldwide systems require worldwide processes Sarbanes Oxley legislation is helping IT to improve controls Communication and time zone differences will also be a challenge When to schedule staff meetings with Europe, North America and Asia? Cultural training and language skills are important


Project Example - iSPAR : Project Example - iSPAR Business problem – How to shorten cycle time on routing and approval of special pricing requests Process Requirements analysis including analysis of current system Design Prototype Implementation with pilot group Full deployment


iSPAR – Requirements and Design: iSPAR – Requirements and Design Analysis of current process plus other desired features and functions Selection of appropriate technology Oracle forms is best fit due to integration with enterprise information Workflow – uses Oracle HR hierarchy for routing and approvals Wireless – assess the need to enable application on Blackberry and other mini browsers Review with user experts


iSPAR – Prototype: iSPAR – Prototype Develop basic functionality and review with stakeholders Finance – emphasis on controls Field users – require easy interface with good performance from remote client systems Executive staff – intuitive interface with easy access to backup information including attachments Iterate based on feedback


iSPAR – Implementation with Pilot Group: iSPAR – Implementation with Pilot Group Pilot advantages include Minimizes risk Ensures that system and related processes are solid Helps to identify evangelists who can promote the tool to the larger user group Pilot also may uncover other must have requirements that can be added before broader deployment Pilot also allows team to refine training and messaging


iSPAR – Full Deployment: iSPAR – Full Deployment Evangelists promote to peers User training can be challenging Field personnel Executive staff Complete cutover from current system (manual paper driven process) Future releases add functionality, improve performance and user experience


iSPAR – Full Deployment: iSPAR – Full Deployment Rely on evangelists to get the message out Complete cutover from current system (manual paper driven process) Also results in additional functions and features that can be added and deployed in the next release


Career Advice : Career Advice First opportunity may not be ideal but it’s a start Learn the business Consider consulting Be patient!


Q&A : Q&A