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apsolut supports the digital transformation in Pfleiderer's purchasing department
Company
Pfleiderer
Branch
Wood processing, building materials
Products
Wood-based panels for furniture construction, timber trade, interior fittings, structural timber engineering
Number of employees
ca. 2,100
Turnover
ca. 700 million Euro
Headquarters
Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz, Germany
Websitewww.pfleiderer.com
Reduction of complexity and error-proneness through tool-supported standardisation of processes in strategic purchasing
With around 2,100 employees at five production sites in Germany, Pfleiderer manufactures high-quality wood-based panels that are used in the furniture industry, flooring, interior design and the construction industry.
Together with the apsolut consultants and SAP Ariba, Pfleiderer made a conscious decision at the start of the project to implement a system that would meet the requirements of the wood processing industry. On the one hand, on-site meetings were excluded from the outset due to the pandemic. On the other hand, a phased go-live was chosen in order to meet the ambitious schedule and achieve maximum efficiency. One after the other, first tenders, then requests for information and finally auctions were activated. Auctions are highly relevant in the timber industry, as they allow maximum savings to be made in the procurement of this raw material. Pfleiderer also uses Ariba for auctions in purchasing.
As part of the improved process architecture, Ariba now automatically sends purchase orders and contracts to the ERP system. RfQ documents are automatically sent from ERP to Ariba. In addition, purchasing info records can be created or updated in the ERP from Ariba.
With apsolut, the project was successfully completed in the shortest possible time without any complications in terms of time and budget - a fact that Frank Unfried, Director Digitalization Purchasing & Indirect Spend at Pfleiderer, was naturally very pleased about:
"With apsolut, we have gained a partner who has implemented our requirements effectively and efficiently in the configuration of Ariba in a practical manner and in a breathtaking amount of time. The customer-oriented approach was one of the main reasons why we also chose apsolut for the implementation of SLP and Contract Management."
Originally, the sourcing licence was to be purchased first and an interface developed for the suppliers. After careful consideration and preliminary conceptual work, Pfleiderer decided on Ariba SLP, which is why the interface included in the standard could be used. This meant that suppliers could be migrated and used in sourcing well before the start of the SLP project.
Due to many adjustments in the inventory solution for wood purchasing, Pfleiderer had decided against integrating the processes in this area right at the start of the project. As the only purchasing department, Wood Purchasing was therefore unable to transfer enquiries from the ERP to Ariba or trigger orders and contracts automatically. Nevertheless, Wood Purchasing can use all the 'stand alone' advantages of Ariba and is the pioneer in the area of auctions! Despite the different requirements for a procurement process in the various departments, it was possible to develop uniform templates that support, standardise and streamline the process.
After the successful go-live, apsolut was commissioned with the implementation of the Ariba modules SLP, SPM and Contracts.
71
productive tenders in the first month after go-live
Integration of ~100,000 material strains
Implemented tools
SAP Ariba Sourcing
SAP Ariba Cloud Integration Gateway
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Steffen Bauer, Project Manager, BITZER
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Frank Unfried, Director Digitalization Purchasing & Indirect Spend bei Pfleiderer
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