Accompanies introduction of SAP Warehouse

As part of the Atlas Copco group split, Construction Tools GmbH has been part of Epiroc since the beginning of the year. Epiroc manufactures hydraulic attachments which are now distributed worldwide from Essen, Germany, rather than from Atlas Copco’s own external distribution center in Hoeselt, Belgium.

“The changed structure with production and sales, including an internal distribution center as a new business area ‘under one roof’, meant that numerous new processes had to be set up within the complex group structure and mapped in SAP”, remembers Jeremy Banon, UNIORG project manager. “It had to be taken into account that production and distribution are separate organizational units from the Group’s point of view, which report separately, but are regarded as one unit for tax purposes. Order processes for stock delivery or production orders changed completely. Whereas in the past, warehouse processes were only marginally pronounced, since only parts in connection with in-house production had to be kept in stock, the new warehouse is now operated intensively with several storage lanes. Therefore the implementation of SAP Warehouse Management was necessary”.

Challenge for UNIORG

What seemed impossible for the large logistics service providers, UNIORG took on as a challenge: the integration of the new Essen distribution center into the existing SAP system, including warehouse management and EDI (electronic data interchange), within three months. A demanding change management had to be mastered, whereby UNIORG relied as far as possible on standard solutions. In addition to the introduction of Warehouse Management for mapping warehouse processes, the project included

• the mapping of logistics and payment processes according to the new organizational structures,
• the adaptation of the few existing or the installation of numerous new EDI-controlled functions for group-wide process integration,
• creating the basis for using the reporting system for Group controlling,
• The transfer or connection of the old distribution centre to the transferred construction tool area at Epiroc including process transfer, master data enhancement, physical and organisational warehouse transfer.

Professional cooperation

Start of the project was September 2017, the go-live was planned for January 2018, with delivery already scheduled for mid-October. “The fact that we were able to meet the very ‘sporty’ time schedule for this project is due in no small part to UNIORG’s outstanding support”, comments Dr. Claus Thiel, Vice President Operations at Epiroc. “The challenges, such as reducing complexity or handling several project steps and parallel phases, all in the shortest possible time, could only be mastered by a very tight coordination procedure. Thanks to the willingness of all those involved, it was also possible to eliminate some imponderables”.

About Epiroc

Epiroc was formed from Atlas Copco’s Mining Equipment Business Area and Hydraulic Attachments Division. Epiroc is a leading productivity partner for the mining, infrastructure and natural resources industries. Epiroc designs and manufactures innovative drilling rigs and equipment for rock excavation and construction using the latest technology and offers first-class service and consumables. The company was founded in Stockholm, Sweden, and has dedicated employees working with customers in over 150 countries.

About UNIORG

With approximately 180 employees, the Dortmund-based UNIORG Group companies offer companies of all sizes and in all industries a comprehensive range of products and services for all requirements concerning company-wide SAP systems. With offices throughout Germany, as well as a branch in the USA, UNIORG has enjoyed an excellent reputation among its customers for over 45 years. These include well-known groups such as Atlas Copco, REWE and KUKA, as well as numerous medium-sized companies in various industries, including ASK Chemicals, FC Ingolstadt 04, koakult, Leica Camera, VEKA and Hella.

Further Information

UNIORG Group, Lissaboner Allee 6, 44269 Dortmund, Tel. 0231 / 94 97-0, Fax 0231 / 94 97-199, www.UNIORG.de, press contact: Dr. Peer Walter Jahn, p.jahn@UNIORG.de
PR-Agentur: IT Public Relations, Maja Schneider, Tel.: 030-79708771, ms@it-publicrelations.com, www.it-publicrelations.com