Overview

Efficiency in project management

TOX® PRESSOTECHNIK: Continuous flow of information from sales to service

With the help of the ECM product suite top xRM, TOX® PRESSOTECHNIK is establishing digital customer, project and test report files based on SAP. The employees of the specialist for pneumohydraulic and electromechanical drives and presses not only find all project documents and information much more quickly. The files have also created standardized workflows that accelerate business processes and simplify collaboration.

From Audi and Mercedes-Benz to ZF Friedrichshafen – ^TOX® PRESSOTECHNIK’s customer list reads like a “Who’s Who” of the automotive industry. But companies from other sectors also rely on the products for sheet metal processing from the family business. And this has been the case since 1978 – when Eugen Rapp founded the company.

Today, the company generates a three-digit million turnover with around 1,100 employees worldwide. Around half of this is accounted for by the business with special machines, which are planned and manufactured individually for each customer. This begins with sales staff recording the specific requirements. On this basis, the design department designs the desired machine. Only when the plans have been agreed with the customer and everything has been approved does the order go into production. Finally, the special machine is delivered.

High communication requirements and numerous documents

There is an extremely high need for communication in such projects. Many people are constantly exchanging information both internally and externally. As a result, a large amount of data and documents accumulate over time: emails, Word and Excel documents, CAD drawings and documents from the SAP system. For larger projects, the number can easily grow to 1,500. Every employee and every department at ^TOX® PRESSOTECHNIK stores the documents in the file system on the server according to their own logic. The way in which projects were handled was also very different. And that had consequences: Employees repeatedly spent an unnecessary amount of time searching for documents. Sometimes they could not even access the required folders. Phone calls and emails were necessary to get the information – and to coordinate the tasks. “We were a long way from a harmonious and consistent flow of information. The process was not efficient,” says Dr.-Ing. Hinrich Dohrmann, Managing Director at ^TOX® PRESSOTECHNIK.

Harmonized file storage and binding workflows

^TOX® PRESSOTECHNIK had been aware of this situation for several years, and the vision of lean projects without any paper or emails had been formulated time and again. In autumn 2013, the company set out to make the idea a reality. An ECM (Enterprise Content Management) solution was to be introduced to systematize and harmonize file storage and information exchange across the company. At the same time, the solution was to create binding workflows in order to better control and accelerate processes. As SAP ERP had already been in use for years, it was clear to ^TOX® PRESSOTECHNIK early on that no isolated solution should be introduced, but that only SAP-based ECM software could be considered – ideally one that uses SAP Folders Management. This would ensure that all data – with direct SAP reference and from other sources – would be available in a central system. Another advantage for ^TOX® PRESSOTECHNIK was that SAP Folders Management allows all kinds of documents to be linked to each other and to the workflows.

After researching the market, the decision was made in favor of top flow. Dr.-Ing. Hinrich Dohrmann: “On the one hand, we liked the fact that the consultants responded exactly to our needs right from the start. Secondly, the top xRM solution absolutely convinced us. Not only can it be used to systematically set up and manage file structures. top xRM also offers very convenient handling – the full-text search is just one example. We are also very flexible in designing workflows according to our ideas.”

Continuous flow of information from sales to service

The customer and project files based on top xRM were realized and implemented within four months. After a short training session for around 50 users from various departments, the new system has been in use since February 2014. Since then, the customer files have contained all important information and data on the respective customer – such as master data or contracts – and present them clearly. A new project file is usually initiated by a sales employee when a customer is interested in a special machine. All documents that are subsequently created – such as orders, deliveries or invoices – have their fixed place here. A project does not end with delivery. Even if service employees later carry out maintenance or repairs at the customer’s premises, they document this in the project file associated with the machine. And: customer and project files are linked. So if a ^TOX® PRESSOTECHNIK employee has just opened a project, he can call up all the information on the customer with just a few clicks. Conversely, they can access all of a company’s projects via the customer file.

The new workflows were also quickly established. For example, a project manager – usually the responsible sales employee – can use a function within the file to instruct the design department to deliver a design by a set deadline. Further workflows are planned and will be set up successively.

Test report files document tests

As ^TOX® PRESSOTECHNIK quickly had positive experiences with the digital customer and project files, the desire to also manage the process engineering tests via a test report file soon arose. The company uses these tests to determine for its customers how certain sheets can be joined. Precise documentation of the procedure and the results is important, as this assures customers that the tested materials can be reliably joined using a ^TOX®-Press, for example. ^TOX® PRESSOTECHNIK previously used Microsoft Access for this purpose and stored the numerous and very different documents on a central drive. As with the projects, however, there was a lack of transparency here too, and finding the necessary information was laborious.

After ^TOX® PRESSOTECHNIK implemented this third type of file and migrated around 40,000 data records for older tests, employees from the sales and technology departments have been using the digital test report file since September 2015. This documents the results of several related tests. In addition, two workflows – one for material provision and one for carrying out the test – guide them through the procedural test. Each step is documented automatically and centrally, and all responsibilities and planned deadlines can be seen at a glance. The documents assigned to each process step, such as drawings and acceptance reports, are stored in subfolders. This means that all information can be found quickly at any time. Dr.-Ing. Hinrich Dohrmann: “Another advantage for us is that we now always know exactly where we stand – what the situation is in the warehouse and what phase a test is in. Another plus point: we can link the test report files with other files – so not only is the reference to the customer clear, but also to the projects that usually follow on from successfully completed tests.”

 

“Thanks to the digital files based on top xRM, we not only have an efficient, paperless flow of information. Employees now have an overview of processes across departments and are able to contribute critically and constructively. That is very valuable for us.”

Dr.-Ing. Hinrich Dohrmann, Managing Director

Standardized processes bring changes to the workflow

The introduction of digital files naturally involved changes to the employees’ work processes. “Initially, some colleagues had reservations. In the meantime, however, everyone has noticed very clearly how the files make daily work easier,” says Dr. Hinrich Dohrmann. “Employees in all departments can now find what they are looking for directly. Follow-up is no longer necessary. This saves time and is easy on the nerves.” Accordingly, those responsible at ^TOX® PRESSOTECHNIK are already planning the next steps. On the one hand, even more processes are to be organized via workflows. Another is to introduce digital files for other areas.

Success Story top xRM – TOX (PDF)



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Overview