Overview

Automated SAP approval workflows – Röhm digitizes with top xRM

As a renowned specialist in plastics chemistry, the Röhm Group supplies customers all over the world. In order to consolidate and expand this market position, the company continuously invests in innovative production technologies. Röhm is also optimizing its increasingly complex project and investment management through automated SAP approval workflows with the top xRM ECM system from top flow.

Originally founded in 1907 as “Röhm & Haas OHG” by its namesakes Otto Röhm and Otto Haas, the Röhm Group is now one of the world’s leading manufacturers of methacrylate chemistry. In particular, the pioneering invention of PLEXIGLAS® has established the company’s fame to this day. Röhm supplies important markets such as the automotive, electronics and construction industries with its products.

Röhm’s customers rely on its high-quality and innovative product and service portfolio as well as its state-of-the-art manufacturing processes. Last but not least, they value the company’s flexibility and a tailor-made service mix.

 

Project management with obstacles

Röhm is continuously investing in existing and new production capacities in order to be able to make even greater use of all these virtues in the future. Understandably, this requires sophisticated project and investment management. Dr. Peter Merz, Head of Technical Controlling at Röhm GmbH, reports: “For a long time, we used an externally connected project management tool, but this resulted in high licensing costs and fitted less and less into our IT architecture. On top of that, its interfaces to the ERP system we had been using made it increasingly difficult to administer. As part of the SAP S/4HANA transition that had just taken place, we therefore decided to finally design a project management tool that met our requirements: PRIMA (Project and Information Management Application).”

PRIMA acts as an umbrella solution that combines several applications (apps) and technologies and is integrated directly into SAP S/4HANA without interfaces. However, Röhm wanted to supplement this solution with a digital project file as a single point of truth for all project-relevant documents and records as well as for simpler, automated approval workflows. “It soon became clear to us that we needed a special tool for this!”

 

The search for a future-proof solution with SAP approval workflows

Röhm defined various selection criteria for the new solution. Above all, it should

• offer a simple and interface-free connection to SAP S/4HANA;
• fit seamlessly into the overall “PRIMA” solution;
• offer the option of implementing convenient remote access with graded user authorizations via Fiori Apps;
• be able to archive all important documents centrally and in digital form, and
• enable flexible workflow control.

During his research, Röhm finally discovered top xRM. The enterprise content management solution (ECM) from top flow GmbH enables companies to digitize all important records, documents and SAP objects. It supports the company’s internal workflow management and thus forms the basis for electronic file management. It can also be set up as an SAP add-on – and easily integrated into an existing SAP landscape. “We had finally found a potential solution for the use of a digital project file,” recalls Peter Merz. “To find out more, we invited top flow to a joint workshop.”

At this meeting, employees from top flow and Röhm discussed the exact requirements for the new solution – and which individual adaptations to top xRM might be necessary. The automated SAP approval workflows proved to be a particularly complex topic: In these workflows, all documents associated with a process in the digital project file should be automatically forwarded to the person designated for approval. This applies, for example, to project applications, cost calculations, actual and planned cost comparisons, information on current project statuses or technical project descriptions. But top flow also found a convincing solution for this. Peter Merz: “This eliminated all ambiguities – and the actual implementation could finally begin.”

 

Starting signal for digital project management

To ensure the successful implementation of the new solution, Röhm and top flow employees formed a joint project team that defined milestones that built on each other:

1) Introduction of top xRM and creation of a digital project file

Initially, top xRM was implemented as a new component of the IT system architecture at Röhm. In this context, the team defined exactly what role top xRM should play within the overarching PRIMA solution – and in particular which records, documents and SAP objects it should import and archive from there. To do this, the team focused heavily on the requirements catalog drawn up in the workshop, but supplemented it in collaboration with important key users in those areas where they still saw a need for additions.

2) Create intelligent SAP approval workflows

As digital document management is one of the core tasks of top xRM, the first step was quickly completed. Setting up the SAP approval workflows posed a greater challenge, as several approvals are sometimes required within a project. In order to speed up such procedures in the future, the workflow needed to be able to request approvals in parallel – as far as possible – and provide the decision-makers with all the necessary documents in top xRM. This was made possible by a completely new logic that recognizes which approvals are currently required and which person needs to be addressed. Peter Merz: “This required some very specific adjustments and extensive customizing in top xRM. In the end, however, we managed to implement this requirement as well.”

3) New Fiori apps for simple and intuitive user guidance

When developing the new “PRIMA” solution, Röhm GmbH wanted to retain all the functions and features of the old tool in a streamlined form. To achieve this, the joint team relied on newly developed Fiori apps, among other things. The aim was to provide all project participants with easy access to the current project status regardless of location, time and device. Corresponding access authorizations are now stored in the app for this purpose, which administrators can also assign in stages. This means that each person can only access the records and documents they need for their work.

 

Digital project file ensures speed and transparency

Thanks to the excellent cooperation between top flow and Röhm, the project team was able to put the new solution into productive operation after a preceding test phase. Thanks in part to the introduction of top xRM, the specialty chemicals experts from Darmstadt now have a state-of-the-art project and investment management system that gives everyone involved a quick overview of the current project status at all times, is easy to use and relieves employees of simple, monotonous tasks. Röhm was able to almost halve average approval times by introducing electronic document management and intelligent SAP approval workflows. Peter Merz is correspondingly satisfied:

“The digital project file helps us to achieve significantly more order and transparency in our project management. The accelerated approvals are just one prominent example of many. At the same time, the tool is characterized by an excellent user experience – and is very popular with users. We would therefore also like to use top xRM for other application scenarios in the future – for example, for the commissioning documentation of technical systems. We will be happy to draw on top flow’s outstanding expertise again!”

 

The highlights for Röhm

• New, fully digitized project file
• A single point of truth for all important information on past and current processes
• Interface-free connection to SAP S/4HANA
• Clean embedding in PRIMA, the project roof solution from Röhm GmbH
• Fiori apps for fast and location-independent access
• Graduated authorization control when using top xRM

 

“The digital process file provides us with a new level of order and clarity in project management. The SAP approval workflow introduced with top xRM also significantly speeds up approvals and eliminates interfaces.”

Dr. Peter Merz, Head of Technical Controlling at Röhm GmbH

 

Röhm GmbH

• Location: Darmstadt
• Portfolio: Chemical base materials for applications such as paints, coatings, medical products and plastics, etc. The best-known product is PLEXIGLAS®
• Turnover: approx. 1.6 billion euros (2023)
• Founded: as an independent company again since 2019, originally in 1907
• Employees: approx. 2,850
• Internet: www.roehm.com/de/

SucSt_2024-05_Röhm WEB final



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Overview