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Squando – Based on Collaboration and Joint Development by Schaeffler and apsolut
Company
Schaeffler
Branch
Automotive and mechanical engineering supplier
Products
Clutch systems, transmission parts, camshaft phasers, bearings and linear technology components
Number of employees
83,000
Assets managed
15.8 billion euros
Headquarters
Herzogenaurach, Germany
Websitewww.schaeffler.com
Together with the Schaeffler Group, apsolut developed a new tool for the qualification and onboarding of direct material suppliers as well as for material group management.
Best-of-Breed – Who wouldn’t want to write that as a bold headline over their target IT architecture? But how do you get to the solution that reflects your very individual needs?
Schaeffler has been driving forward groundbreaking inventions and developments in the field of motion technology for over 75 years. The technology company manufactures high-precision components and systems for drive train and chassis applications as well as rolling and plain bearing solutions for a large number of industrial applications. The Schaeffler Group has identified collaboration and joint development as the key to its desired architecture. As a first outcome, Schaeffler teamed up with SAP procurement specialist apsolut. In a collaborative development approach, the two partners have developed a new supplier management tool and named it Squando – an acronym for “Supplier qualification and onboarding”.
In fact, the term framework best describes Squando. This framework is adapted and scaled to the individual business needs of an organisation. At Schaeffler, Squando is used to manage all production material suppliers worldwide.
Squando brings many benefits to Schaeffler which would not have been realised by any other existing solution in the market:
- New suppliers are guided through a clear, comprehensible onboarding process.
- Squando fulfils the individual requirements of all business divisions, containing all divisional documents and certificates.
- The fulfilment status of the divisional requirements is visualised and thus supports the approval process.
- The fully digitalised supplier creation process is significantly more transparent than previous solutions.
- Suppliers are actively involved into the creation and qualification process.
- Squando is based on SAP Business Technology Platform (SAP BTP) and thus is integrated with Schaeffler’s SAP system landscape.
- It has a user-friendly interface, based on SAP UI.
- It is capable to act according to the VDA and IATF standards common in the automotive industry.
„We were looking for a specific solution that did not exist yet. We didn’t want to compromise. So we looked for the right partner to model a flexible tool so that we could configure the specific processes ourselves. We used our expertise and creativity to make Squando our global supplier management tool.“
explains Ketylin Morello, Purchasing Strategy and Market Intelligence and Functional Product Owner for Squando at Schaeffler.
Squando is a tool for rapid supplier qualification at the level of detail required.
Squando is based on the SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) and can be fully integrated into SAP ERP landscapes (S/4HANA or ECC).
Implemented tools
Squando
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Stefan Ehrhardt, Head of SAP Governance Purchasing, MAHLE
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„We were looking for a specific solution that did not exist yet. We didn’t want to compromise. So we looked for the right partner to model a flexible tool so that we could configure the specific processes ourselves. We used our expertise and creativity to make Squando our global supplier management tool.“
Ketylin Morello, Purchasing Strategy and Market Intelligence & Functional Product Owner for Squando, Schaeffler
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‘With its flexible and transparent procedure, apsolut perfectly complemented our own limited personnel resources. Together, we were able to address topics like multi-line items or dependencies with other tools. It’s unbelievable how much knowledge and expertise we were able to gain,’
Regina Krüger-Wendel, Chief Procurement Officer, Atruvia
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Martin Traxl, Head of Strategy & Digitalization, OMV
„During our conversation with apsolut, it quickly became clear that while we definitely did have potential for digitalisation in direct procurement, the potential in indirect procurement was much greater. That’s why we shifted our focus, and it was absolutely the right decision“,
Yvonne Kippschull, SAP-Prozess- & Application Consultant, wolfcraft
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Manuel Steffen, Project Officer Source-to-Pay, Evonik Industries
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„Despite all the digitalisation and automation, we still work in a people business. During this project, we have grown into such a resilient, unified team that we’ve managed to meet all of our deadlines up to this point, even though some of them were quite ambitious. Ultimately, that also motivates everyone involved to do their part in driving the project forward!“
Simon Bohn, Global Solution Architect Procure to Pay, STIHL
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All team members have done a great job, I have rarely worked so well with a consulting firm!"
Steffen Bauer, Project Manager, BITZER
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Annette Römer, Project Manager at McKesson Europe
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Hubert Buchsteiner, Group Vice President Purchasing, ZKW Group
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Gerald Goldgruber, Strategic Manager for Process Management and SAP, Frutura
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