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Key data at a glance
About the company
GDW Süd – Cooperative for Disabled People South eG
Cooperative network of social enterprises
Headquarters in Stuttgart; member institutions in seven federal states
Approximately 31,500 employees in the member institutions (figure from 2020)
SAP Business One
No third-party systems connected to the reference are mentioned.
Apps in use
Apps in useGDW Süd uses these core functions of SAP Business One for its daily operations.
Initial situation
The GDW South is a cooperative association of organizations working with people with disabilities. It pools the services of its members and serves as a central point of contact for clients in industry, trade, and commerce. The network undertakes a wide range of tasks – from assembly and garden and landscape maintenance to office support.
For the cooperative, business processes must be transparent and efficient. At the same time, the member institutions are expected to support people with disabilities and secure jobs. GDW Süd therefore sought an ERP system that could map various processes, be easy for the team to use, and be expandable to meet future needs.
Acute challenges before project start
- Coordinating different services within the network
- Reliably track orders and process chains
- Clearly map purchasing, goods receipt and warehousing.
- Distribute work among several employees
- Adopt existing processes without major adjustments
- Keep options open for future expansions
Customer requirements
„"Efficiency is particularly important for social enterprises, as they must guarantee not only economic performance but also educational support and development."“
Project progress
Project progress
Discuss the cooperative's requirements and its various business processes with conesprit
Examine how existing processes can be mapped as comprehensively as possible using standard functions.
Setting up order processing, purchasing, goods receipt, warehousing and bills of materials in SAP Business One
Review processes within the system and prepare employees for its use.
Manage business processes with SAP Business One and add further functions as needed.
The e-book describes consultation and introduction, but does not mention any dates for the individual project phases.
Audio interview with Werner Block
Werner Block talks about inclusion, digitalization and his experiences with SAP Business One and conesprit.
Solution & Conclusion
Together with conesprit, GDW Süd implemented SAP Business One for its core business processes. The e-book describes four advantages for daily work:
Track orders and purchases
GDW Süd uses SAP Business One for order entry, order confirmations, and supplier orders. Werner Block emphasizes that service and process chains can be tracked within the system.
Map incoming goods, warehouse, and parts lists.
Initially, functions such as goods receipt, warehousing, and the breakdown of bills of materials were also used. These provided the cooperative with a common structure for different processes.
Distribute tasks within the team
Werner Block describes SAP Business One as easy and intuitive to use. This allows GDW Süd to distribute work among several employees without each person having to specialize in a single area.
Starting with existing processes
Before implementation, GDW Süd and conesprit examined how existing processes could be adapted using standard functions. Werner Block describes the implementation and training as swift and requiring manageable effort. Service and production were not yet in use at the time the e-book was written, but can be considered if needed in the future.
The result in comparison
Previously
- Coordinating diverse services
- Overview of order and process chains
- Structuring purchasing and goods receipt
- Map inventory and parts lists
- Distribute tasks among several people
- Remain open to new requirements
Afterward
- Order processing in SAP Business One
- tracking performance and process chains
- Orders and goods receipt in the ERP system
- Inventory management and bills of materials in the system
- Clear operation within the team
- Modular expansion to meet future needs
Customer voice
"The collaboration with the SAP partner conesprit was very pleasant from the start. I was particularly impressed by the fact that we speak the same language."
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