How Schnellecke Logistics built a digital solution for end-to-end data transparency, with a systemic digital culture approach.
The empty store shelves of 2020 taught us a lot. Those bare shelves made a statement—this is what can happen when the global supply chain is suddenly disrupted. The world has spent a long time optimizing global supply chains—but it also rendered the system vulnerable. And it’s much bigger than empty store shelves.
Your t-shirt has likely traveled worldwide before it even became a t-shirt. The cotton is sourced in one country, and the fabric is produced in another. Then the t-shirt is manufactured in yet another country and starts the long journey to your closet via warehouses, distributors, and retailers.
A disruption at any point can cripple the whole process. While COVID-19 illuminated the fragility of the global supply chain, it’s just one of many ongoing hazards that could cause you to “lose your shirt”. The Suez Canal blockage or Brexit also required lots of changes that have jeopardized businesses, even industries, worldwide.
But everything becomes less daunting for organizations that have invested in digital transformation, and a clear vision of their data and operations. Schnellecke Logistics did that, and more, with their Digital Control Tower (DCT).
They developed a digital solution that enables integrated, end-to-end, and real-time monitoring of their logistics processes. Most importantly, they established a new level of customer service for their core business by providing the tool to their customers.
They selected
SAP Business Technology Platform as a platform and designed their DCT to deliver:
- real-time insights into company-wide operational data
- automated KPI reporting
- digital incident management
- digital shift protocol
The solution’s advanced visibility empowers users to make quick decisions, avoid disruptions, and reduce profit loss.
In this episode of Better Together: Customer Conversations, we explore how
Schnellecke Logistics transformed their business for themselves and their customers.
The episode features:
- Karsten Keil, Member of the Management Board (Vice President Group IT & Digitalization), Schnellecke Logistics
- Denis Wirries, Head of Competence Center IoT, Schnellecke Logistics
- Michael Stollberg, Business Architect, SAP
They discuss the Schnellecke DCT and share how it paved the way for a streamlined IT landscape and next-gen supply chain visibility.
The Pain Point
As a leading professional services company, Schnellecke Logistics understands the value and essentials of efficiency. They provide logistics solutions to automotive businesses worldwide, and customers rely on them to, with no margin for error, meet production goals with speed and precision, and transparency.
Schnellecke operated on a heterogeneous IT landscape, making it difficult for employees to obtain vital information and retrieve key data points. They wanted to centralize their internal processes to deliver optimized customer solutions with high quality and low costs.
Their goal was to develop a control center to replace the five IT interfaces and 20+ transactions needed to access their organizational data.
The Design Process
Schnellecke met with employees to get a clear and complete grasp of their needs and then used a Design Thinking approach to build a solution, transform the processes, and engage and support the user. They decided to develop a solution that would provide end-to-end and critical data insights, all in one location. They decided to create the future of their data today.
The design team chose to build on SAP Business Technology Platform because of its standardized yet flexible approach to innovation and its integration with existing SAP and third-party applications. Schnellecke developed its Digital Control Tower by aggregating and processing data from many internal and external sources.
They started with their existing smart container technology, built on SAP Extension Suite and SAP Internet of Things. Then they created their DCT using SAP Integration Suite, SAP Fiori, and SAP HANA. Schnellecke built role-specific apps with the SAP Fiori design system that delivered data from the DCT to the users.
The Final Results
Now, employees from manufacturers to C-suite executives have access to a single data source. Customers can also obtain dynamic insights on their desktop, mobile, and tablet devices. Users can monitor machine performance, determine order locations, and make informed decisions in a blink. The dashboard provides immediate access to data and has eliminated the original 20+ transactions.
Schnellecke has achieved:
- 70% faster availability of operational insights and impact analysis
- 25% more predictive issues identified
- 2 hours per day saved with automated reporting
- 3x faster issue resolution
Their Digital Control Tower delivers complete transparency into their enterprise-wide data with seamless integration throughout their company and beyond.
Tune into the Episode
In this episode of Better Together episode we hear all about Schnellecke’s innovation story, from thought-leadership to practitioner’s pointers:
- Podcast: Karsten Keil meets with Tamara McCleary, CEO of Thulium, to explore how Schnellecke created a culture of digitalization and what this means today and tomorrow.
- LinkedIn session: I sit down with Denis Wirries and Dr. Michael Stollberg to dig into their design process and brilliant solution. They share their vision for what’s next and some sage advice for those thinking about going down the same road.
Check out more stories about real-time data and streamlined operations:
- La Poste: Improving Customer Service with a Unified Technology Platform
- ITOCHU: Reinventing Business and Work with an Enterprise-Wide Integrated Data Infrastructure
Visit
sap.com/btp to find all our Better Together: Customer Conversations episodes.
I’m always interested in hearing your input; let me know which topics you would like us to discuss further. Please
contact us if you would like to be a guest on a future episode.
