Midmarket manufacturing company relies on SAP and the expertise of itelligence AG in the metal and synthetics processing industry
Bielefeld, Germany, November 18, 2008 – itelligence AG, one of the leading international full-service IT providers for SAP, is launching its “it.manufacturing” solution at the Marburg-based midmarket mass producer Seidel GmbH + Co. KG. Once again, one of the highest-profile companies in metal forming technology has chosen SAP as its company software and itelligence as its SAP consultant. To deploy staff in production and toolmaking operations, the highly automated mass producer relies on it.manufacturing, and thus on end-to-end SAP control.
Cosmetics has long been a global industry. Women from New York, Tokyo, Paris and Cape Town to Oberpfaffenhofen count top brands such as Hugo Boss, Helena Rubinstein, Estee Lauder, Avon, Bulgari and Dolce&Gabbana among their best friends. In Marburg in the German state of Hessen and at two other locations, the midmarket mass producer Seidel GmbH + Co. KG manufactures closures, lids and top-quality spray pumps, not only for this select clientele but also for car makers and manufacturers of writing instruments.
Seidel’s core expertise is in forming aluminum by means of molding, drawing and stamping techniques and in surface finishing in the eloxal process. The additional production of plastic injection-molded components, along with the comprehensive range of decorative variants and assembly make it possible to implement complex projects that come from a single source. To do this, the serial producer employs a staff of roughly 650 at three plants in and around Marburg and at sales locations in France and the USA. In 2007, they brought in revenues of EUR 60 million – and the numbers keep growing. The company’s growth and global success need to be planned and tracked intelligently. itelligence AG is providing the necessary company software and IT industry consulting.
Since August 2008, the consultants at itelligence AG have been implementing it.manufacturing, a version of the market-leading SAP ERP software solution which has been developed and specially tailored to the requirements of the midmarket manufacturing industry by itelligence. Seidel plans to use this integrated, end-to-end solution to make its IT processes even more transparent, thereby laying a solid foundation for its expected international growth.
On the plus side are simply scalable IT systems that can be easily rolled out worldwide and monitoring by an SAP partner that operates on a global scale while retaining its status as an SME.
In an initial phase lasting until January 2009, the itelligence consultants will equip the areas of finance, human resources and toolmaking with the SAP system. To ensure a high level of integration of development and enterprise software, the Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) system – which comprises product data management including material classification, characteristics tables as well as document management – will be deployed. After that, the areas of mass production, sales, materials management, warehouse management, quality management and controlling will be connected to the SAP system. Forecast delivery schedules via EDI are also planned. Starting in July 2009, 250 users at all three plants will work with it.manufacturing. A further phase, in the second half of 2009, will feature an expanded reporting system in the SAP Business Data Warehouse. An external PDM system profile and planning system, as well as an automated small-parts storage management system, will also be integrated.
One particular feature of this project is the high degree of integration between production and staff deployment, which are managed and streamlined using it.manufacturing. Seidel is already using cutting-edge management methods like lean management and makes quality management – both in production and in the organization – its highest priority.
Highly specialized employees use state-of-the-art 3-D tools such as Pro-E to develop both products and deep-drawing instruments. The design of deep-drawing instruments breaks down into firstly the production of simple 2-dimensional drawings derived from the 3-D model and secondly the design of complex tools for products with freeform surfaces.
“We are a highly specialized company in metal forming technology with a clientele that spans the globe,” says Frank Hemer, managing director for business at Seidel GmbH & Co. KG. “Our high degree of automation and meticulous quality control mechanisms enable us to attain an extremely high level in manufacturing and quality that we intend to provide in the future as well. With its it.manufacturing solution, itelligence has impressed us with the quality and service orientation it offers as an SAP consultant. It is well able to guide us expertly as we continue to standardize our business processes and pursue globalization on the basis of the ERP market leader.”
Meinolf Schäfer from itelligence AG’s Midmarket Sales added: “We are pleased that another midmarket company, Seidel, has placed its confidence in the expertise of itelligence AG. Specific industry knowledge, extensive SAP expertise in the area of metal forming technology and documentable reference companies – along with the good chemistry between Seidel and itelligence employees – have been key to this exciting new SAP customer project.”
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