The Würth Group is the global market leader in its core business – the sale of fastening and assembly materials. It currently consists of more than 400 companies in over 80 countries with over 77,000 employees on its payroll. In 1994, the Group created Würth IT, a global IT service provider supporting all 400+ companies in 80 countries. Würth IT’s goal is to invest in modern systems and innovative solutions that can help digitize the Group’s processes.
To achieve this goal, Würth IT has introduced Würth System One (WS1), an enterprise resource planning system based on SAP. WS1 forms the foundation for Würth Group’s enterprise management and includes interfaces to a number of support systems within logistics and production, including labeling. In time, the entire Group will use this system.
Würth IT was looking to standardize their labeling, yet their current labeling system had its challenges. "We had a labeling solution that was custom-built by a small company with only a few employees," relates Simon Koch, Project Lead/Manager. "The system was based on labeling software they had programmed. It consisted of a locally installed database, label design software and a label print interface. Everything was installed locally with CDs, and every time we had an update to the software, we would have to send new CDs with the updates to all of our suppliers."
This approach created multiple challenges for the Würth IT team. First, the manual updating process made it impossible to have an overview of which label software version Würth’s suppliers were using. "With such a large number of users, it was impossible to keep track of who was using what version of the system," Simon explains. "Some CDs would get lost in transit when we were sending updated versions and some partners would continue to use outdated versions."
Every time we had an update to the software, we had to send new CDs with the updates to all of our suppliers
Simon Koch
Responsabile di progetto/Responsabile
In secondo luogo, il sistema locale rendeva più complicate le operazioni di supporto. Il programmatore di sistema responsabile non lavorava più presso l'azienda, il che significava che gran parte delle competenze iniziali sul sistema erano andate perdute. La società che aveva progettato il software fu successivamente acquisita da un'altra società di software. Ciò significava che l'azienda che aveva realizzato il sistema di etichettatura cessò tecnicamente di esistere. Ciò fece sorgere ulteriori timori circa la sua capacità di sostenere la piattaforma in futuro.
Würth, inoltre, dovette affrontare molte delle problematiche tipiche dei vecchi sistemi. Le etichette venivano applicate in modo errato, il che rendeva necessaria la rietichettatura dei prodotti, con conseguenti ritardi nelle spedizioni. Inoltre, si verificavano dei ritardi anche a causa della mancanza di dati.
Tutti questi eventi fecero giungere Würth alla conclusione che era necessario trovare un'altra soluzione di etichettatura. I requisiti erano molto chiari. "Volevamo un sistema che fosse disponibile 24 ore su 24, che potesse offrire un database centralizzato, che potesse essere messo a disposizione dei nostri fornitori senza installazione e che fosse in grado di gestire diverse marche e modelli di stampanti", ricorda Simon. Per l'adozione da parte dei fornitori è stato fondamentale che il nuovo sistema di etichettatura potesse utilizzare l'infrastruttura di stampa già esistente.
Würth implemented Loftware's web printing solution for their supplier labeling. Approximately 180 suppliers in 15 countries are using Loftware's web printing solution. "Our suppliers weren't pleased with the old system," comments Simon. "They knew it wasn't optimal." By using logic similar to the one used in the old system, Loftware was able to ensure a smooth transition to the new system. The system contains 10 label layouts that were designed in cooperation with Loftware. As of September 2018, Würth’s suppliers print approximately 8.5 million labels a year using Loftware's web printing solution.
