- Success Story
Revolutionizing Operations
How a Leading European Materials Distributor is Digitizing Its Business.
Greater Visibility and Efficiency for Distribution Centers: Project Highlights at a Glance
- New ERP system: A leading European materials distributor worked with MHP to implement a customized ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system tailored to its business mode thus seamlessly covering all processes from Order-to-Cash (OTC), Procure-to-Pay (P2P) and Plan-to-Produce (PTP) to Inbound-to-Outbound (I2O) and Record-to-Report (R2R). Based on SAP S/4HANA, the new ERP system not only takes operations to a new level, but also lays the foundation for the digital integration of sites across Europe.
- Successful implementation at two pilot sites: The new ERP system has already been implemented at two plants in Eastern Europe. The results speak for themselves: both sites were back to full capacity within days of the transition.
Inefficient Supply Chain Processes and High Manual Effort
The Path to Digital Transformation
With approximately 380 locations in more than 30 countries, more than 16,000 employees, and 250,000 customers, this internationally recognized company handles vast amounts of material on a daily basis. Many of the processes within its distribution centers were previously manual and inconsistent. This not only wasted time, but also meant that the existing heterogeneous system landscape was not equipped to meet future demands for greater harmonization across the European business.
A unified european business was not possible
Within Europe, the company operates with separate Western and Eastern business units - an approach that is reflected in the existing ERP system. As a result, customers in the European market could only be served from their respective regions, rather than through an integrated, pan-European organization. This led to complex inter-company processes and communication barriers that became part of the daily business challenges.
Complex and rigid logistics processes
A mix of different software solutions, manual lists, and search screens – supply chain processes were fragmented, decentralized, and highly complex. This required employees with specialized process knowledge and experience in handling the respective IT systems. Additionally, the existing IT solutions were heavily customized to meet the company’s specific requirements, which negatively impacted their lifecycle in terms of updates and upgrades. As a result, future-oriented development had to be weighed against cost-effectiveness, resulting in an outdated system landscape in some areas.
Inconsistencies weaken customer focus
As a key player in Europe’s material supply chain, the company sees itself as a partner to its customers, helping them execute complex projects and initiatives. Customer needs and expectations are always at the forefront, making it essential to maintain a high level of service quality despite increasing demands. Employees should be able to focus on critical challenges rather than navigating inefficient systems. By implementing a single, streamlined and efficient system across Europe, day-to-day operations become smoother, freeing up capacity to better meet customer needs. But what did this transformation look like in practice?
"Despite significant challenges and numerous changes, we always worked together with a solution-oriented mindset. It was this determination and communication at eye level that ultimately led us to success."
One ERP System for All Processes
How MHP Standardizes Logistics Management With SAP S/4HANA
From the very beginning, MHP took a holistic approach to digitizing complex processes. MHP played a key role not only in the design and development of the new ERP system, but also in its implementation and follow-up support.
In-depth understanding of work structures
In order to identify the most relevant processes for a customized ERP system, MHP gained a deep insight into the company's specific work structures. Following a structured consulting approach, MHP specialists visited various locations and conducted specialized workshops with the responsible departments. This hands-on approach allowed MHP to assess workflows and evaluate their relevance together with the client, taking into account both practicality and overall business value.
Development of the new ERP system
The close collaboration resulted in a new, customized ERP system. This SAP S/4HANA solution standardizes and streamlines structures while maintaining the flexibility needed for future adaptations and growth.
High-level technical implementation
The implementation of the S/4HANA system was guided by customer-specific design principles, always adhering to standards and the "Keep the Core Clean" approach. In order to provide users with a modern UI experience, MHP and the client chose Fiori as the user interface. For integration and extension, MHP used SAP BTP on AWS as the cloud provider. SaaS solutions such as BN4L were integrated into the SAP standard via SAP BTP. To minimize enhancements within the S/4HANA system, MHP used a hybrid approach and also implemented enhancements using a side-by-side approach on SAP BTP.
Implementation at two pilot sites in Eastern Europe
During the initial rollout of the new ERP system, MHP provided comprehensive on-site and digital support to the client. This collaboration enabled the teams to quickly restore the original operational capacity at both sites despite the transition.
"With the new ERP system, we’ve ensured that processes run much more transparently and efficiently. The successful implementation at two pilot sites was an important milestone on the company's way to complete digitalization."
Unified, Streamlined, Efficient: The Benefits of the New SAP S/4HANA ERP System
In collaboration with MHP, a solution-oriented and unified system for logistics processes was developed and successfully integrated at two sites. The new ERP software not only simplifies operations at the individual plants but also improves collaboration between them. The benefits are particularly evident in the following areas:
- Orders from the most advantageous site: When customers order products, they receive them from the warehouse or plant that is most convenient to them. Improved reporting: Logistics management now requires less manual and repetitive work, reducing the likelihood of errors.
- Optimized material search: The new ERP system enables material searches directly within sales documents. Materials are now cataloged and filterable based on specific criteria.
- Better sales management: The new system provides employees with several sales analysis tools via Fiori.
- Simplified interface: With Fiori, the user interface is much more streamlined and accessible from mobile devices.
- Automated workflows: The creation, approval and scheduling of production orders is now automated.
- Improved production visibility: Production status is now clearly displayed in an overlay.
- Active pricing support: Integrated software provides real-time visibility into recommended product pricing.
A Powerful Foundation for Comprehensive Digital Transformation
Simplified supply chain management, faster processing, and useful tools for sales and ordering that can be rolled out across Europe: the new ERP system not only increases efficiency and user-friendliness in day-to-day business, but also improves customer satisfaction, reduces costs, and saves time. The successful implementation of the system at the two pilot sites demonstrates that forward-looking digitization is a journey with significant long-term potential.
