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New ERP system makes material and information flows more transparent

In March 2008, the Hessian meat and sausage products company Grasmehr decided to implement a new ERP system (ERP = Enterprise Resource Planning). A key factor in the decision was the clear coordination of material and data flows as well as internal and external logistics.

At Edwin Grasmehr GmbH, Weilburg-Gaudernbach, the aim was to map the company structures comprehensively and consistently. It was also important to be able to run key reports quickly and with minimal effort, increase the transparency of order processing and optimize sales – particularly for grocery retailers, institutional caterers and the food service sector. The migration from the legacy system to the new ERP software from Aldenhoven-based provider Winweb Informationstechnologie GmbH was completed smoothly, on schedule and within budget: In particular, the legacy data was transferred quickly and with complete reliability. All data can continue to be used. As specialized industry software, winweb-food transferred not only the master data, but also historical statistical data going back up to three years.

Transparency in price calculation

The modules currently in use are Purchasing, Sales with order entry, telesales, route processing (route lists, route sequence), invoicing, invoice lists, EDI, reporting, Management information system and distribution channel costing, which is particularly important due to the proportion of deliveries to the wholesale trade. Financial accounting has also been migrated. This migration was also completed quickly and smoothly, as the new system provides convenient interfaces for exchanging data, including outstanding items. Distribution channel costing shows at a glance which customer rebates must be paid for each item based on sales. On request, the merchandise management system quickly and reliably lists all retrospective discounts agreed with customers. These include e.g. bonuses, rebates and advertising allowances. Another useful feature is the ability to immediately recalculate all retrospective terms agreed with trading partners and reflect them in the respective contribution margins. This allows clear forecasts of expected sales and profits to be made at an early stage.

Project focus: price labeling

Grasmehr has three price labeling lines. Winweb implemented end-to-end machine connectivity and the required integration with the ERP software via an interface. One advantage is that the IT partner can connect all standard devices from leading manufacturers (e.g. semi-automatic and fully automatic price labeling machines, scales, scanners, label printers). This gives Grasmehr significantly greater flexibility and independence while comprehensively protecting its investments, as existing devices can be connected immediately. Processes in price labeling are significantly accelerated by complete data integration. All master data is maintained in Winweb. The load on servers and networks is noticeably reduced and all other communication is more flexible and faster. Another key reason for the end-to-end automation of price labeling is the considerable reduction in errors throughout the labeling process. Grasmehr can carry out price labeling in three different ways – whether customer-specific, product-specific or for warehouse inventory. Price labeling, weighing and order picking are tightly integrated into a seamless workflow. This eliminates multi-stage and disconnected workflows. By integrating price labeling into the ERP software, all necessary data is available for immediate retrieval from a central SQL database. Time-consuming and costly duplicate data entry is eliminated. The different labeling variants can be integrated into the company’s overall logistics with varying degrees of automation.

Transparent flow of materials and information

The flow of materials and information at Grasmehr has been made significantly more transparent by the new ERP system. The work required across the value chain is reduced to a minimum, resulting in a substantial increase in productivity. In addition to optimizing price labeling and product labeling, customer deliveries and production, consistent and informative reports generated by a management information system are enormously important to the meat products manufacturer. Up-to-date and user-specific information helps the meat and sausage products company manage its business even more effectively and create a sound basis for decision-making. The management information system makes an important contribution to informed decision-making: The industry-specific IT solution as well as new data preparation methods and techniques have greatly expanded the possibilities for management support within our business processes. Company data can now be transformed quickly and transparently into knowledge relevant to decision-making. There are no longer any delays between the creation of reports and their presentation. While an analysis used to take an entire weekend, it now takes only 15 minutes.

Further IT projects planned

Grasmehr has ambitious plans for the future and intends to continue generating stable, moderate growth. The new IT partner is expected to contribute to this with additional modules as part of the company-wide ERP project. The Gaudernbach-based company plans to introduce the production modules shortly, including production planning and end-to-end product costing. In addition, quality assurance is to be integrated into the merchandise management system, incorporating all necessary inspections, measurements and evaluations for quality assurance management into the processes of the overall system.

www.grasmehr.de
www.winweb.de