Reference Roto Frank

eProcurement standardizes purchasing policy

Roto Frank Fenster- und Türtechnologie GmbH has its headquarters in Leinfelden-Echterdingen near Stuttgart in Germany. However, the inspiration for the introduction of eProcurement at the global manufacturer of building hardware came from Kalsdorf in Austria. There, Claudia Kettl registered an increasing number of webshop orders that needed to be processed more transparently and efficiently - and preferably in a single system! The project also standardized the purchasing policy at both locations.

Roto-400x200

Sector: Residential and industrial construction

Web: roto-frank.com

"About two years ago, we set ourselves the goal of processing as many orders as possible in our SAP system," recalls the central buyer from Kalsdorf. In particular, the increasing number of individual orders in more and more different web stores made it necessary to find "one solution for everyone and everything". This is because 25 colleagues in the Kalsdorf production department alone place orders. Previously, a purchase requisition was created in SAP with the respective web store and product number and forwarded to Purchasing. "In Purchasing, we then logged into the webshop in question, retrieved the price from the webshop and converted the purchase requisition into an order."

Researched online, convinced offline

It was obvious that this process, with at least two web store visits and corresponding registrations per order , offered potential for optimization. So Kettl researched online and found a very flexible partner in DIG GmbH, the Austrian expert for business digitization. After the first meeting, Kettl was already aware of all the options and was certain: "I immediately had the feeling that I was in the right place! Of course, end-to-end purchase-to-pay would have been the crowning glory of digitization. But it was important for us to start with a relatively simple ordering system for production, which we could then expand flexibly."

Simple ordering system to start with
Flexible expansion possible at any time

Highly efficient project management

Ideally realizing optimization potential means improving inefficient processes and maintaining existing, good processes: "We were used to the releases in SAP. The purchasing groups were also created here, and that's where they stayed," explains the Roto expert for strategic purchasing from Kalsdorf . To make this possible, the DIG.procure software queries the status of each order every 15 minutes. As soon as it has been approved, it is sent to the supplier - either via EDI or as a PDF by e-mail. This solution was implemented in just under six months from the kick-off in October 2020 - despite the Christmas break. The system went live at the beginning of April 2021. This was despite the fact that requirements increased during implementation: "It was important to us that only those account assignment elements are visiblethat relate to the specific order. This makes work easier and avoids errors." However, as SAP has a large number of account assignment elements, complicated selection criteria had to be defined as filters and replicated to the DIG platform. "At the beginning, we weren't entirely sure which elements we needed for each order. This only became clear as the project progressed. But that was no problem for DIG's project management team!"

Reliable planning by SAP specialist

This fast and efficient implementation of subsequent requirements was made possible by the partnership with the Linz-based SAP service provider INFORMATICS, which has existed for around 20 years . "We bring all our expertise in the development of interfaces to DIG . This means that real business processes can be mapped outside of any SAP standards, " summarizes INFORMATICS founder Otto Kitzmüller. After around 50 joint projects, well-established processes represent a significant advantage for customers such as Roto. This is because the early integration of INFORMATICS experts into DIG's customer coordination process guarantees clear definitions. And these can be adapted very economically during the course of the project if necessary, because: "The people involved know each other and DIG knows exactly how our business logic works. This saves us deadlines, coordination rounds and therefore time and money," says Kitzmüller, emphasizing: "Of course, this also has a positive effect on the budget adherence in the offer and the estimated time frame!"

>With his company INFORMATICS, OttoKitzmüller brings the necessary SAP interface expertise to the partnership with DIG.

Smooth project start-up

After going live on April 7, 2021, 200 order items were booked in the first month alone. Kettl is delighted with the success of the project. Currently, 20 people in Kalsdorf are working with the system. "The offer consists of internal and external catalogs. At the start, we had ten catalogs connected - six content catalogs and four OCI stores. We wanted to avoid overloading the administration in the background, for example if an article cannot be found, the ECLASS number is incorrect, etc."

Based on the positive experience and user feedback, the company now wants to expand quickly. "But we don't see that as a major hurdle, because onboarding with Ms. Elias from DIG is extremely easy!" Kettl is not only enthusiastic about the entire team from Linz, but also about the training she is responsible for as an SAP key user: "Our colleagues are really happy with it. The system is simple and self-explanatory, and the time and cost savings are enormous." Accordingly, the user group is now being rapidly expanded - initially to all 25 authorized users at the Kalsdorf plant.

Adaptations implemented quickly

Kettl is very satisfied with the course of the project: "DIG adapted to our pace, which made the collaboration very harmonious." Opportunities for improvement that have become apparent since the go-live are implemented quickly and accommodatingly. "Despite the intensive internal tests, we overlooked the fact that we neededdifferent control keys, for example . These were adjusted very quickly. In general, you always get answers to questions immediately."

Standardized purchasing policy

At the Roto parent company's site in Leinfelden-Echterdingen near Stuttgart, the Austrian initiative was convincing right from the start: "Our Group Purchasing Manager Harald Böhm immediately got on board and introduced DIG in Leinfelden at the same time." Roll-outs to other Roto locations are being planned. At the same time, the purchasing policy of the locations will also be standardized.