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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
Turnover
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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Alexander Köhler, Purchaser and Project Manager, MLP
"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."
Frank Unfried, Director Digitalization Purchasing & Indirect Spend bei Pfleiderer
"apsolut pro-actively asked us questions from the outset, discussed our aims and created a new roadmap. This approach was the complete opposite of the original project and it worked fantastically,"
Patrick Tydex, Project Manager, Zentis
"apsolut impressed us in our project , particularly because of the open and cooperative partnership. The project team gets on very well with each other. But we were also impressed by the solution-oriented approach and the fast and efficient enablement of our support staff!"
Annette Römer, Project Manager at McKesson Europe
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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
“We had many specific requirements and together with apsolut we found a solution for each one of them. We used to search for supplier information, now we do find it. We are really very satisfied!”
Tanja Sefrin, Project Manager, KUKA
"A transformation program of this scale needs a strong internal team from Procurement and Internal IT, but of course also experienced and committed external partners. The most important aspect is that everyone then works together with passion and conviction towards the common goal. In addition to the strong know-how of the consulting implementation partner – in our case apsolut – a strong line of communication from the partner to the software supplier SAP is also necessary."
Martin Traxl, Head of Strategy & Digitalization, OMV
"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!"
Hubert Buchsteiner, Group Vice President Purchasing, ZKW Group
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Chandrashekhar Saldur, AGM - Global Procurement & Projects, ETG Group
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Zinah Matar, Digital Business Development Manager, Juffali Commercial Vehicles
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Regina Krüger-Wendel, Chief Procurement Officer, Atruvia
“The cooperation with the international apsolut project team from Germany and India was very effective despite the tough schedule. Due to the high degree of standardisation and automation, we were already able to realise potential savings and, in particular reduce process costs.”
Markus Ortlieb, Director Global Procurement, ProMinent GmbH
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Manuel Steffen, Project Officer Source-to-Pay, Evonik Industries
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Annette Römer, Project Manager, McKesson Europe AG
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Sandra Mancino, Application Consultant, C&A
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Göktürk Simsekol, Digital Transformation Director, Flint Group
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Jane Wanger, Global Procurement Systems & Support bei KSB
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Michael Spiess, Chief Procurement Officer, Sanitas Krankenversicherung
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Simon Bohn, Global Solution Architect Procure to Pay, STIHL
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Paul Trautmann, Manager Procurement Processes & Projects, Röhm GmbH
„apsolut not only guided us through the project with utmost professionalism and a proactive approach – decisive was the fact that apsolut enabled us to operate the new tool independently and to control the next steps ourselves. In addition, thanks to apsolut, we have been able to establish the right network, including with the right contacts at SAP Austria. The project has been an overwhelming success and we have managed to foster an almost friend-to-friend relationship with the apsolut team."
Gerald Goldgruber, Strategic Manager for Process Management and SAP, Frutura
„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
"apsolut has been supporting us in the ope-ration of our SRM system for 10 years. It does not matter whether we report a problem in the production system or want to discuss change requests. We are contacted by apsolut in a timely manner to resolve our concerns or discuss our requirements in detail. apsolut always provides the important piece of securi-ty in the background - if anything goes wrong, they always help quickly and straightforwardly."
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Sarah Eve Wiedemann-Geiß, who oversees purchasing and supplier management at Bausparkasse Schwäbisch Hall
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Dr. Bei Mortensen, IT Business Service Owner – SCM & Manufacturing, GEA Group
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Małgorzata Pośpiech, SCM Process Manager, JOYNEXT
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