SCHERDEL’s management decided to introduce the SAP S/4HANA system for every area of the enterprise – e.g. for purchasing, planning, finances, controlling, the warehouse and logistics. “In logistics, we considered two options: using the Stock Room Management module of the original SAP system, or the Extended Warehouse Management (EWM) module instead. We opted for the deployment of the strategic EWM module, because it enables the implementation of more complex logistics processes. The main supplier of the SAP S/4HANA system including EWM is All for One Group, an international IT consulting company. The solution for work with scanners on the shop-floor level was supplied by Aimtec, our long-term partner in the realm of logistics. We chose multiple suppliers, and we don’t regret it. Each of them brings its own benefits to this project,” explains Michael Kuhn, Head of Organisation at SCHERDEL.
The Aimtec SCIx solution for simplifying warehouse processes
The EWM module represents a high performance, highly configurable solution for comprehensive warehouse and logistics processes. And because it is comprehensive, the question came up of how to not just deliver the entire software solution including the scanners, but also configure the system, give people access to it and ease their work with it. This is where Aimtec stepped in to play the key role; it has a mobile solution ready to work with scanners and simplify EWM processes. Aimtec SCIx makes use of the modern and configurable SAP Fiori user interface. Thanks to its pre-configured processes, this solution was prepared for integration tests at SCHERDEL in just three months.
“I view this collaboration very positively. All for One Group set up the S/4 base and performed the standard customisation in ERP and the EWM module. We provided the scanner solution, which can be adapted to meet specific needs for work on the shop floor. During the project implementation, we never got in each other’s way; in fact, we complemented each other. We confirmed our vision that it is possible to collaborate on large, complex tasks in this fashion, and to do it with clear benefits for the customer,” summarises Martin Bezděk, SAP Consultant at Aimtec.
„Implementací systému SAP S/4HANA a modulu EWM jsme ve společnosti SCHERDEL dosáhli kompletní digitální transformace logistických a dopravních procesů. SAP standard jsme rozšířili o naše individuální zákaznická řešení pro tisk štítků a avizaci pro spedice. V kombinaci s řešením mobilních skenerů od společnosti Aimtec to v budoucnu umožní optimalizovat skladovou logistiku, snížit náklady a zkrátit průběžné časy. Díky silnému partnerství se společností Aimtec se nám podařilo úspěšně zvládnout složité logistické výzvy automobilového průmyslu a vytvořit inovativní řešení se skutečnou přidanou hodnotou,“ uvádí Thomas Forst, Senior Industry Manager Series Production ve společnosti All for One Group.
“By deploying the SAP S/4HANA system and the EWM module, we achieved a comprehensive digital transformation of logistics and transport processes at SCHERDEL. We extended the SAP standard to make it include our customised solutions for label printing and freight forwarder notification. In the future, together with a mobile scanner solution from Aimtec, this will let us optimise our warehouse logistics, cut costs and shorten our throughput times. Thanks to our strong partnership with Aimtec, we’ve successfully overcome the complicated logistics challenges in the automotive industry and created an innovative solution with true added value,” states Thomas Forst, Senior Industry Manager Series Production at All for One Group.
Swift deployment and adaptation to customer requirements, flexible responses to changes
The main benefit of the Aimtec SCIx solution was the speed with which it could be deployed and adapted to users’ physical processes and requirements. This product has simple screens with clear instructions, guiding users through the logistics process from receipt to removal from the warehouse and repacking to picking for shipping to loading. It enables such things as work with handling units, print jobs, issuance to a centre and production orders. The advantages include the great ease of training users and faster deliveries of new requests. During the go-live, as tends to be the case during similar products, dozens of such requests came up in just the first five days. Yet Aimtec was able to respond to them flexibly to ensure processes on the shop floor ran on without problems.
Other parts of this solution’s deployment are a simplified process for reporting production directly within EWM and an uncluttered system for monitoring shipped deliveries and transports, with support for the packaging of handling units. Keyence scanners were employed in this project; the Aimtec SCIx solution was adapted to work with these very quickly thanks to its compatibility with a variety of hardware brands.
About SCHERDEL GMBH
SCHERDEL GmbH manufactures technical springs for passenger cars, as well as assemblies for electric vehicles. It is headquartered in the German town of Marktredwitz. It is a member of the SCHERDEL group – a German family firm with 35 branches and over 6,800 employees worldwide that has been on the market for over 130 years.
About All for One Group SE
All for One Group is an international provider of IT, consulting and services with a strong focus on SAP. With the clear goal of transforming technology into concrete business benefits, it accompanies and supports its more than 4,000 mid-sized corporate customers in Germany, Austria, Poland and Switzerland in their sustainable transformation on the way to the cloud. It focuses on SAP S/4HANA as the digital core for enterprise-wide and field-specific processes. All for One Group is a leading SAP partner in Central and Eastern Europe in the areas of both the transition to SAP S/4HANA via its innovative CONVERSION/4 programme, and SAP cloud enterprise.
About Aimtec
For over a quarter-century, we’ve been guiding automotive companies on their way to digital transformation. We help them to digitalise and automate production, logistics and the supply chain into one functioning whole so that their transformation truly benefits them. We empower our customers to learn, standardise and be efficient while also flexibly responding to the changes they face every day.
Media contact:
Petra Troblová
Key Account Marketing Manager
petra.troblova@aimtecglobal.com
+420 724 284 141
