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The starting point

With growing production and a new production line, the volume that had to be put away, staged and loaded every day increased. The existing processes could no longer keep up:

• At peak times, trucks waited on the plant premises for a long time, and loading lists were not managed according to urgency.
• Pre-picking and pre-storage for truck and rail as well as the annual cut-off date inventory were done on paper or semi-manually. Incorrect handling units were often only noticed during loading, and the inventory required several counting rounds and time-consuming reconciliation.
• The connection to the automated crane warehouse was rigid. Employees had to intervene manually when picking paper rolls and in special cases.
• Invoices from external warehouse service providers were checked manually, and the logistics processes were not yet designed for the new production line.

The approach

A team of four NEXGEN developers split the requirements into four building blocks and implemented them step by step in less than eight months.

1. Loading lists by priority, drivers notified automaticallyCustom batch processes in SAP WM prioritize the loading lists dynamically so that overdue trucks are loaded first. Drivers are called to the loading ramp via SMS.
2. Mobile warehouse processes instead of paper listsBased on SAP Fiori, NEXGEN developed mobile apps for the plants: for pre-picking of truck and rail loads, pre-storage and cut-off date inventory. Every handling unit is scanned by barcode and immediately validated in SAP.
3. Crane warehouse controlled directly from SAP WMThe interface to the automated crane warehouse was extended. Picking of paper rolls, bypasses, palletized and multi-part handling units as well as storage bin assignment now run automatically and in real time.
4. External warehouses and new production line mapped in SAPA custom billing solution automatically evaluates the costs of external warehouse service providers and passes them on to accounting. Special WM movement types ensure clean stock reconciliation. The logistics logic was adapted to the new production line.

The starting point

As the online share grew, so did the number of special cases. The existing processes could no longer keep up:

• Drop shipping: Shipping confirmations from suppliers reached the SAP system with a delay.
• Digital products: If the activation of gift cards or software failed at the checkout, it had to be reprocessed manually. During that time, customers could not use products they had already paid for.
• Shipping: Transport losses and refused deliveries were resolved with freight forwarders via spreadsheets and email.
• Returns: Returned goods were collected and checked by hand, and credit notes were delayed by days.
• Business departments: Article master data was maintained in several manual steps, and the month-end inventory valuation took a long time.

The approach

A team of 4 NEXGEN developers split the requirements into five building blocks and implemented them step by step over 24 months.

1. Drop shipping: Orders without media breaksDrop shipping orders are sent automatically to the supplier, and store orders for out-of-stock goods go to the appropriate warehouse. Shipping confirmations flow directly back into the SAP system.
2. Digital products: Reliable activationIf the activation of a gift card fails, the system automatically retries the process and cleanly reverses quantities that were not activated.
3. Shipping: Handling special cases automaticallyDeliveries containing dangerous goods or high-value items are split automatically. There is a defined process in the SAP system for transport losses and refused deliveries.
4. Returns: Faster credit notesGoods receipt and duplicate checks in the returns center run automatically. Credit memo requests are created directly and passed on to financial accounting.
5. Business departments: Fiori apps and automated master dataFiori apps developed with RAP support the business departments with storage bins and logistics special cases. Article master data is created automatically, and the month-end inventory valuation runs significantly faster.