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apsolut implements SAP Ariba at ZKW Group GmbH
Company
ZKW
Branch
Automotive
Products
Main headlights, fog lights and daytime running lights in laser, LED, xenon and halogen technology, additional lights and electronic parts
Number of employees
ca. 10,000
Turnover
1.25 billion €
Headquarters
Wieselburg, Austria
Websitewww.zkw-group.com
Agile SAP ARIBA-GO LIVE, parallel to SAP S/4HANA implementation
ZKW is one of the leading manufacturers of lighting systems and electronic components for the global automotive industry. In the course of the SAP S/4HANA transformation project, ZKW Group GmbH also wanted to replace the existing SRM system. The decision to use SAP Ariba to handle procurement in the future was made after an extensive reference telephone call, which was organized and moderated by apsolut. During the telephone call, the purchasing manager of an existing apsolut customer answered questions from ZKW managers and reported on his experiences with the tool. The consulting company’s in-depth know-how and best practices also played a key role in choosing apsolut as an implementation partner.
Connecting SAP Ariba Buying to the new SAP S/4HANA ERP system, which was currently in the middle of the implementation phase, proved to be a challenge. During the SAP S/4HANA implementation, ZKW established new processes, which the apsolut team adapted to SAP Ariba using agile methods.
During the first workshops, new scenarios for the procurement of direct materials were discussed, which had previously been directly integrated into the production process via the existing SRM system. The direct materials are now stored in the SAP S/4HANA system and therefore do not represent a standard process in SAP Ariba. Both the material upload and reservation processes were developed by apsolut and now help ZKW to reserve catalog items and then take them directly from the warehouse. This challenge was accompanied by new processes, such as budget reservation and service purchasing including service entry sheets, which ZKW also implemented with the SAP S/4HANA implementation.
However, apsolut not only supported the customer with regard to the functional requirements for SAP Ariba, but also provided significant assistance with cross-project communication. For example, a business partner concept was developed in SAP S/4HANA that served to synchronize suppliers in SAP Ariba Buying. apsolut mastered these challenges by closely coordinating with all parties involved, thereby creating a system with a high level of integration, automation and global reach. The system was used by 1,800 users immediately after the go-live.
Hubert Buchsteiner (CPO, ZKW Group) looks back on the project with great satisfaction:
"apsolut led us in a very cooperative and super-competent manner throughout all phases of the project! Above all, the open collaboration between all project members kept motivation high throughout. The project team gets on very well with each other. We were also impressed by the solution-oriented approach and the ability of the entire project team to make quick decisions!"
As a result of the successful project, apsolut was commissioned by the ZKW Group to support further global rollouts.
Consolidation of different ERP systems onto one SAP S/4HANA system
Successful go-live with 1,800 users
Implemented tools
SAP Ariba Supplier Lifecycle and Performance
SAP Ariba Buying
SAP Ariba Commerce Automation
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