Would you like to find out what our satisfied customers have to say about us? We would be happy to arrange an appointment with you to talk to one of the more than 250 renowned companies that rely on apsolut's specialist knowledge and IT expertise.
‘Many become ONE’ – that’s the vision at STIHL. When applied to the transformation of procurement, this means standardised tools and processes for the procurement of direct and indirect goods and services, as well as for supplier and supply chain management in eight production facilities around the world and numerous marketing and sales branches with a total of 31 ERP systems.
In order to implement this mammoth project, the project team headed by Laura Schimanek and Simon Bohn – who are responsible for the business/IT side of the project at STIHL – drafted a combination of a complex multi-matrix structure and a ‘growing template’. This growing template includes four phases for each roll-out: from analysis and development to deployment and live operation. The go-live marks the start of the hypercare phase, in which new requirements are fleshed out once again; they are incorporated directly into an analysis, so the existing template grows with every roll-out.
Finding a suitable consulting and implementation partner for this approach proved to be a challenge for STIHL. Laura Schimanek explains:
„In apsolut, we finally found an SAP consultancy that offers more than just unparalleled SAP and procurement expertise; they can also mirror the multi-matrix structure of the project and react flexibly to dynamic changes.“
apsolut’s multi-lingual near-shore structure allows it to support the international core team at STIHL as well as the regional sub-teams.
According to Simon Bohn, there is another factor behind the project’s success that deserves a mention:
„Despite all the digitalisation and automation, we still work in a people business. During this project, we have grown into such a resilient, unified team that we’ve managed to meet all of our deadlines up to this point, even though some of them were quite ambitious. Ultimately, that also motivates everyone involved to do their part in driving the project forward!“
The matrix structure has thus far proven a rousing success. It brings together international teams and employees who have very different roles. In keeping with the goal of ‘Many become ONE’, apsolut will continue supporting the development of this project.
Multi-matrix organisation: the apsolut team mirrors the complex project structure.
Growing template: a model for the target architecture that grows with every roll-out.
"Of course, we are immensely proud of how we implemented this complex transformation together. The always competent and more than punctual execution moved us to initiate a parallel project for partial process innovation in the ongoing project. Actually a no-go, but with apsolut no problem! With this positive experience, it was easy for us to initiate another project, which is currently being implemented. One thing remains to be said: Without the team around Bodo Hempelmann, this journey would definitely have been more difficult!”
"As our experiences with apsolut were so positive across all national companies, we have already doubled the number of monthly support days twice. Thanks to apsolut, we now have the resources we need to implement rollouts in other national companies. At the moment, they are ongoing in Spain, Portugal, Italy, and France.”
Sandra Mancino, Application Consultant, C&A
“To be quite honest: I have experienced so many IT projects in the past where the ambitious original goals were eroded bit by bit. But this time, it was different because apsolut worked very systematically and always intervened promptly when something threatened to get out of hand,”
“We knew that this was apsolut’s first project for a health insurance company, but that didn’t matter. Because apsolut always listened to us, understood our requirements and finally delivered solutions. We could design different processes for direct and indirect purchasing. Together we work professionally in state-of-the-art mode.”
"Together with apsolut, we started as a pioneer in Central Procurement and we are very pleased that we were able to reap the first fruits of this pioneering work so early on.”
„We were able to roll out Ariba very quickly, because we established a pragmatic and open culture of cooperation with the apsolut team from the very beginning, and we were prepared to systematically align ourselves with the standard“,
"Although personal contact was very limited due to Corona, a strong team formed during the intensive project phase. The decision-making paths at BITZER and apsolut were always short so that issues could be dealt with promptly and the planned go-live date achieved. The home office was not an obstacle, but also gave us the necessary flexibility for a project of this size.
All team members have done a great job, I have rarely worked so well with a consulting firm!"
"apsolut led us in a very cooperative and super-competent manner throughout all phases of the project! Above all, the open collaboration between all project members kept motivation high throughout. The project team gets on very well with each other. We were also impressed by the solution-oriented approach and the ability of the entire project team to make quick decisions!"
“apsolut impressed us in the project work with McKesson above all through the open and cooperative partnership. The project team gets on very well with each other. But we were also impressed by the solution-oriented approach and the fast and efficient enablement of our support staff.”
“For the new Ariba system, wewere able to onboard more than 1,400 users in three national subsidiaries with only little training effort. With regard to our Procurement processes, we have gained significant transparency and control.“
„Every time we came up against an unexpected challenge during the course of the project, apsolut immediately showed up possible options to resolve the issue. We always knew to what extent we had freedom of movement within the constraints of the cloud solution.”
‘With its flexible and transparent procedure, apsolut perfectly complemented our own limited personnel resources. Together, we were able to address topics like multi-line items or dependencies with other tools. It’s unbelievable how much knowledge and expertise we were able to gain,’
"We have never regretted our decision to rely on apsolut as our implementation partner. The preparation, support, and transparent project progress at all times convinced us. We are delighted to have apsolut as our partner for all questions relating to our SAP Ariba tool."
„apsolut not only guided us through the project with the utmost professionalism and a proactive approach – the decisive factor was that apsolut enabled us to operate the new tool independently and to manage the next steps ourselves. apsolut’s employees quickly familiarised themselves with our system and processes, which made it easier for us to achieve the project goals within the given timeframe. I would also like to praise their flexibility in adapting to changes and their flexibility in implementation, with clear communication and excellent project management. We look forward to benefiting from this expertise more often.”
"When selecting a partner for our procurement transformation, a high level of technical know-how was of course also important to us. Here, apsolut was able to convince us with best practices from customers of a comparable size. The decisive factor in the end was the experience in change management! Only in this way were we able to introduce a fully-fledged procurement system that is also accepted by all employees."
"apsolut impressed us in our project , particularly because of the open and cooperative partnership. The project team gets on very well with each other. But we were also impressed by the solution-oriented approach and the fast and efficient enablement of our support staff!"
"The mix of virtual design discussions, system demonstrations and break-out sessions, supported by best-in-class tools that allowed us to annotate and track tasks and decisions during screen sharing, enabled us to work closely with apsolut even though distances of up to 12,000 kilometres had to be bridged. We were very pleased that both our projects could be successfully implemented with the help of apsolut."
„Despite all the digitalisation and automation, we still work in a people business. During this project, we have grown into such a resilient, unified team that we’ve managed to meet all of our deadlines up to this point, even though some of them were quite ambitious. Ultimately, that also motivates everyone involved to do their part in driving the project forward!“
“We had many specific requirements and together with apsolut we found a solution for each one of them. We used to search for supplier information, now we do find it. We are really very satisfied!”
"A transformation program of this scale needs a strong internal team from Procurement and Internal IT, but of course also experienced and committed external partners. The most important aspect is that everyone then works together with passion and conviction towards the common goal. In addition to the strong know-how of the consulting implementation partner – in our case apsolut – a strong line of communication from the partner to the software supplier SAP is also necessary."
"With apsolut, we have gained a partner who has implemented our requirements effectively and efficiently in the configuration of Ariba in a practical manner and in a breathtaking amount of time. The customer-oriented approach was one of the main reasons why we also chose apsolut for the implementation of SLP and Contract Management."
“In addition to the high level of expertise, what impressed me most about the apsolut team was the enormous commitment. We were very well supported throughout all stages and overcame all difficulties together”,
“The cooperation with the international apsolut project team from Germany and India was very effective despite the tough schedule. Due to the high degree of standardisation and automation, we were already able to realise potential savings and, in particular reduce process costs.”
"apsolut has been supporting us in the ope-ration of our SRM system for 10 years. It does not matter whether we report a problem in the production system or want to discuss change requests. We are contacted by apsolut in a timely manner to resolve our concerns or discuss our requirements in detail. apsolut always provides the important piece of securi-ty in the background - if anything goes wrong, they always help quickly and straightforwardly."
"Being able to design our purchasing processes flexibly, digitally and above all efficiently offers great added value. We will therefore continue to expand our system in the direction of SAP Ariba."
„We were looking for a specific solution that did not exist yet. We didn’t want to compromise. So we looked for the right partner to model a flexible tool so that we could configure the specific processes ourselves. We used our expertise and creativity to make Squando our global supplier management tool.“
"apsolut demonstrated a high degree of flexibility and commitment during the project. The structured working methods and the dedicated team enabled us to meet the urgently needed go-live deadlines."
„apsolut not only guided us through the project with utmost professionalism and a proactive approach – decisive was the fact that apsolut enabled us to operate the new tool independently and to control the next steps ourselves. In addition, thanks to apsolut, we have been able to establish the right network, including with the right contacts at SAP Austria. The project has been an overwhelming success and we have managed to foster an almost friend-to-friend relationship with the apsolut team."
"When selecting our implementation partner, apsolut was able to prevail over internationally active competitors thanks to its excellent understanding of our requirements, openness in partnership, and great flexibility. Thanks to the very good cooperation with the apsolut team, we successfully completed the project and signed a support agreement for future developments."
"From the beginning of the project, we have made a remarkable change together with apsolut. The Döhler employees find their way through the easy user interface without any prior knowledge of SAP. As a result, our purchasing department is no longer an operational procurement office, but a team of in-house consultants."
“With a partner like apsolut, not even a pandemic is able to stop us! When the project started, we were a little skeptical, due to the fact that the project team was unable to meet face-to-face. But we are now delighted to say that all our concerns have proven to be unfounded.“
‘We’re on the right track to being able to take full advantage of the potential that this transformation offers, as apsolut not only gives us the expertise that we need, but also has an incredibly agile and committed approach. apsolut no longer feels like an external partner to me, but more like an internal department, with whom I hope we can continue to work well into the future.’
Would you like to find out what our satisfied customers have to say about us? We would be happy to arrange an appointment with you to talk to one of the more than 250 renowned companies that rely on apsolut's specialist knowledge and IT expertise.
Discover how Kärcher and apsolut have worked together to deploy SAP Business Network Supply Chain Collaboration (short: SAP SCC), and how this has led to improvements in supplier collaboration and increased efficiency within Kärcher's supply chain.
30.08.2024 2024-09-17 https://ap-solut.zohobackstage.eu/WebinarKaercherSCC#/?affl=website OnlineWebinar: Discover how Kärcher enhanced efficiency and Supply Chain transparency with apsolut & SAP
Together with our partner Würth and the first user company BAUER, we will show you how to close the gap between goods picking from Würth's ORSY®mat and digital processing in your SAP Ariba suite. You will learn how you can make all screws, tools, safety, laboratory and construction site items easily accessible to your colleagues at the operating site and at the same time significantly reduce the administrative effort for procurement and accounting through digitalised document flows.
Language: German
19.08.2024 2024-09-26 https://ap-solut.zohobackstage.eu/AutomattrifftCloudEntnahmeamEinsatzortundnahtloseSAPAriba-Synchronisation#/?affl=website OnlineWebinar: Vending Machine Meets Cloud – Get Out C-parts at the Operating Location and Have them Seamlessly Synchronised with SAP Ariba
Save the date for our biggest virtual event of the year! The apsolut Global Procurement eConvention 2024 is all about closing the gaps in your SAP-based procurement processes. You can expect exclusive insights from us as well as our customers and partners, such as SAP, Würth and the Spanish multimedia company Mediapro.
05.09.2024 2024-11-20 https://ap-solut.zohobackstage.eu/apsolutGlobalProcurementeConvention2024#/?affl=website Onlineapsolut Global Procurement eConvention
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