Cooler Master

Mr. Jason Wu, MIS Director of Cooler Master Co., Ltd.

As global supply chains are being reshaped, Taiwanese companies like Cooler Master are facing significant challenges. Cooler Master Corporation, focusing on thermal management technology, is responding with digital transformation. To realize a customer-centric, globally-focused transformation, it is essential to choose the most suitable digital technologies. The critical first step is to revamp and enhance the network infrastructure, as it is the foundation for stacking application systems and expanding global footprints.

Mr. Jason Wu, MIS Director of Cooler Master Co., Ltd, said, “Our company is evolving from a local player to a global enterprise. To support this transformation and streamline our operations, we have undertaken a series of IT initiatives, including ERP consolidation, MES replacement, PLM upgrade, and the implementation of a global learning system on a cloud-based SAP HR system. To underpin these efforts, we have adopted Chief Telecom’s SD-WAN along with CCX solution to replace the traditional MPLS network. This new network infrastructure provides greater efficiency and stability to meet the demands of market changes and global expansion.”

 SD-WAN: The Key to Cost-Efficient, High-Speed Global Expansion

In recent years, the miniaturization of chips and the rise of AI applications have driven a growing demand for advanced thermal management solutions. Founded in 1992, Cooler Master has emerged as a hidden champion in this field, specializing in both air and liquid cooling technologies. With a steadfast commitment to providing high-performance, innovative cooling solutions, Cooler Master has earned the trust of industry giants such as NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel. The company’s sustained competitive advantage can be attributed to its robust R&D team, which constitutes 15-20% of the total workforce, and its significant investments in information systems.

Currently, Cooler Master’s primary manufacturing bases are located in Huizhou and Kunshan, China. To adapt to changing US trade policies and expand the global footprint, Cooler Master is set to establish new facilities in Vietnam and the United States next year. Moreover, while Cooler Master primarily focuses on OEM and ODM businesses, its affiliate company, COOLER MASTER TECHNOLOGY, targets the branded consumer market and has established a presence in numerous European and American countries. The integration of the group’s network and infrastructure is also in the pipeline.

“The primary reason for network integration is the widespread adoption of mobile applications, which necessitates increased bandwidth and speed. The second reason is our global footprint. We aim to enable all our locations to access data via the cloud, thereby enhancing our work efficiency, information storage, and security.” said Mr. Jason Wu.

However, traditional MPLS networks are constrained by rigid boundaries between internal and external networks, limiting many emerging applications and necessitating workarounds that complicate management. In contrast, SD-WAN is more adaptable to the blurred network boundaries of today, allowing for flexible bandwidth scaling and rapid deployment of standardized modules for new overseas locations. Notably, SD-WAN offers significant cost savings compared to MPLS, typically costing only one-half to one-third as much for the same bandwidth, providing substantial cost benefits to Cooler Master.

CCX and ExpressRoute Ensure Network Security and Reliability

Traditionally, manufacturing focused solely on production. However, with the global supply chain undergoing restructuring and diversification of production bases, real-time data has become crucial. Therefore, it’s necessary to connect upstream and downstream operations, ensuring all information is transparent and accessible in real-time. This includes not only yield rates, delivery schedules, and on-time delivery rates, but also tracking raw material supply, including supplier sources and lead times.

Given the global nature of supply chains, Cooler Master must align with its customers’ supply chains and also integrate its own. Additionally, to meet customer demands, different production lines utilize various SaaS services and application systems, including packaged software, customized systems, and internally developed systems, which must be fully integrated.

Cooler Master has adopted a multi-cloud strategy, currently utilizing both Azure and AWS. Based on synergy, the cloud selection is driven by factors such as objectives, corporate strategy, technical advantages, and scalability. Cooler Master may expand to other public clouds in the future. Given these considerations, Chief’s CCX service enables direct connection to the three major public clouds via ExpressRoute, has become Cooler Master’s preferred choice.

Mr. Jason Wu stated, “Beyond latency, factors such as convenience, real-time access, security, and data integration were crucial in our evaluation. Chief’s unique advantage lies in its direct connection to the three major public clouds, which significantly simplifies our access, backup, and SaaS usage. We can confidently entrust our network to Chief’s expertise, allowing Cooler Master to focus on higher-value tasks such as OT-IT convergence and enhancing cybersecurity.”

For instance, some factory locations, like those in Vietnam, have subpar infrastructure. To prevent disruptions, migrating to the cloud is the optimal solution. Chief’s CCX and ExpressRoute services ensure the reliability of cloud migration. Additionally, Chief provides dedicated connection to China guarantees timely and smooth data transmission from the factories in China. As a result, Cooler Master can comprehensively collect real-time production data from global machines, aggregate it in the cloud, and monitor and make decisions through a centralized global operation center.

Leveraging Partnerships for Specialized Division of Labor and Added Value

Given the global layout and ESG requirements, carbon emissions, carbon footprint, and production traceability have become top priorities. To address these, Cooler Master is currently adjusting its data center configuration to migrate as many systems to the cloud as possible, leaving only the most essential functions in its internal data centers. Meanwhile, Chief’s data centers has also been included in the evaluation for hybrid cloud applications.

Mr. Jason Wu also said, “Chief’s service attitude is excellent, with quick responses and efficient handling. Not only are they professional and considerate, but they also assist us beyond expectations in building our backbone network. For instance, they reviewed our data center’s network configuration and recommended adjusting the bandwidth, provided optimized configurations to maximize efficiency, and remotely guided our overseas teams to complete network deployments.”

Additionally, Chief will track and regularly report network performance to ensure stable network operations, allowing Cooler Master to launch new application systems without any concerns. Once the infrastructure is well-established, subsequent applications can be deployed as quickly as stacking building blocks. Whenever a new branch is established, this foundational setup can be easily replicated and extended, ensuring centralized operations and unified management for efficient resource utilization.

Mr. Jason Wu mentioned that digital transformation is about company growth and profitability, but it also presents a learning opportunity for the IT team. Internally, it enables the company to provide comprehensive support for people, places, time, materials, and events during growth, empowering employees to leverage technology for increased efficiency. Externally, it ensures seamless customer service and real-time management of production flow data, fostering customer trust and creating a continuous positive cycle.

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