New ERP system makes the material and information flow more transparent

In March 2008, the Hessian meat and sausage company Grasmehr decided to introduce a new ERP system (ERP = Enterprise Resource Planning). Of essential importance in the decision was the clear coordination of material flow and data flow as well as internal and external logistics.

At Edwin Grasmehr GmbH, Weilburg-Gaudernbach, the company structures were to be mapped holistically and consistently. In addition, it was important to be able to run important analyses quickly and with little effort, to increase the transparency of order processing and to optimize sales - especially for food retailers, bulk caterers and the hospitality industry. The changeover from the old system to the new ERP software from the provider Winweb Informationstechnologie GmbH from Aldenhoven was completed smoothly and within budget in the planned period: In particular, the transfer of the legacy data was absolutely reliable and fast. All data can continue to be used. winweb-food as specialized industry software not only transferred the master data, but also older statistical data going back up to three years.

Transparency in price calculation

So far, the modules used are Purchasing,Sales with order acceptance, Telephone sales, route processing (route lists, route sequence), invoicing, invoice lists, EDI, analyses, Management information system and the sales channel calculation, which is of considerable importance because of the share of deliveries to retailers. Financial accounting was also converted. This conversion also went smoothly and quickly, as the new system has convenient interfaces for data exchange including open items. In the area of sales channel calculation, it is immediately apparent at a glance which rebates to customers must be paid exactly by item in relation to sales. The merchandise management system quickly and reliably lists all retrospective discounts that were agreed with customers at the push of a button. These include, for example, bonuses, rebates and advertising allowances. Another beneficial functionality is the option to immediately convert all retrospective conditions with retail partners into the respective contribution margins. This means that clear forecasts about sales and profit expectations can be made at an early stage.

Project focus price labeling

Grasmehr has three Price labeling lines. Winweb implemented seamless machine connectivity and the required integration into the ERP software via an interface. It is advantageous that the IT partner can connect all common devices of well-known manufacturers (such as semi-automatic and fully automatic PAZ systems, scales, scanners, label printers). Grasmehr thus gains considerably more flexibility and independence and achieves comprehensive investment protection, as existing devices can be connected immediately. The processes in the area of Price labelingare significantly accelerated by the complete data integration. The complete data maintenance is carried out in Winweb. The servers and networks are clearly relieved and the remaining communication runs more flexibly and faster. Another main reason for the continuous automation of price labeling is the comprehensive reduction of errors in the entire labeling process. Grasmehr can the Price labeling carry out in three different variants – regardless of whether customer-related, article-related or labeling for Storage. Price labeling, weighing and picking are brought together in a highly integrated manner into one continuous work process. This eliminates the multi-stage and unconnected work processes. Through the integration of price labeling into the ERP software, all necessary data is available for immediate retrieval in a central SQL database. Time- and cost-intensive duplicate entries are eliminated. The different labeling variants can be integrated into the company's overall logistics with varying degrees of automation.

Transparent material and information flow

The flow of materials and information at Grasmehr was made significantly more transparent through the new ERP system. Effort within the value chain is reduced to a minimum, so that a significant increase in productivity can be recorded. In addition to the optimizations in price labeling and labeling, customer delivery as well as production, the coherent and meaningful analyses within the framework of a management information system are of enormous importance for the meat products manufacturer. Current and user-specific information helps the meat and sausage products company to manage its own business even better and create solid foundations for decision-making. The Management information system makes an important contribution to informed decision-making: The industry-specific IT solution as well as new methods and techniques for data preparation have enormously expanded the possibilities of management support in our business processes. Now company data can be quickly and transparently transformed into decision-relevant knowledge. There are no longer any time gaps between the creation of reports and their presentation. An analysis that used to take an entire weekend now takes only 15 minutes.

Further IT projects planned

Grasmehr has a lot planned for the future and would like to continue generating secure, moderate growth. To this end, the new IT partner is to contribute with additional modules as part of the company-wide ERP project. Thus, the company from Gaudernbach is planning shortly the introduction of the production modules with planning and continuous product costing. In addition, the Quality assurance be integrated into the merchandise management system, whereby all required inspections, measurements and evaluations within the framework of quality assurance management are integrated into the processes of the overall system.

www.grasmehr.de
www.winweb.de