Reference Georg Fischer

Digital purchasing in production companies

Georg Fischer Fittings GmbH, based in Traisen, Austria, produces threaded fittings and compression fittings made of malleable cast iron for a wide variety of piping systems. As digitalization continues to advance, the site is now introducing e-procurement. A significant advantage of this solution is the fast and efficient transmission of order requirements to the supplier. The approval processes that are important for the company can be handled easily with the digital ordering solution.

GF-400x200

Industry: Metal processing

Web: christianbauer.com/

Digitization should accompany reality

Engelmayer talks about the digitization efforts to date: "A few years ago, every request was made using paper documents and handwritten approvals. This process was of course associated with an enormous administrative burden and the same amount of time and resources." The first digitization initiative therefore provided for the use of e-mail and Excel forms. "This accelerated the process, at least up to the point where the request was to be transferred to our ERP system - i.e. typed in. The implementation proved to be too time-consuming, but it also created an awareness that we needed to develop further in this area," says Engelmayer.

Decision in favor of DIG

"When choosing the right e-procurement provider, we drew on experience from the surrounding area and region. DIG emerged as the favorite," says Engelmayer. A recommendation that was also confirmed by Max Winkler MBA, Global Head of Group Procurement at theNeuman Aluminium Group(see also How to digitize purchasing properly). "As an important part of such a solution, we were also interested in the experience of the suppliers," emphasizes Engelmayer and discussedDIG's e-procurement solution with major suppliers such as Haberkorn and Sonepar. His conclusion after the research: "DIG is a clear recommendation from both customers and suppliers." The decision was made.

E-procurement with a fixed completion date

The budget was drawn up after an initial discussion in 2022: "The opportunity was favourable due to the digitization funding awarded at the time - but this was also the reason for a tight schedule," Engelmayer recalls the start of the project and adds: "That's why the end date was fixed." A separate process was also created for ordering spare parts for machine maintenance. An order is created directly from the maintenance software. "The user jumps from the maintenance software via Punchout to the supplier's website, where the shopping cart can be put together. This is then transferred to DIG eProcurement. The order itself is placed, including all approvals, in the ERP system," explains Engelmayer.

Various catalog types including multi-suppliers

"We use different types of catalogs and have also connected well-known suppliers such as Kaiser & Kraft, Haberkorn and Hoffmann viaOCI," says Engelmayer. In addition, multi-supplier catalogs are used to easily map recurring orders from various small suppliers. At Georg Fischer Fittings GmbH, these include various raw materials as well as sanitary materials and drawing-based metal blanks.

Sensitive roll-out strategy

"In addition to the technical clarifications, the involvement of employees is an essential factor in order to fully exploit the strengths of the digital ordering solution," emphasizes Engelmayer. For this reason, all requisitioners and their supervisors were trained following an intensive test phase. Engelmayer explains: "In addition to the practical workshop on how to create an order in the system, it was also important to explain the advantages and benefits of the e-procurement solution to the entire staff. Saving time and money through faster procurement and reducing the disproportionately high administrative costs are just two of the many advantages of DIG."