Digital advancements
for Swabian tradition
New dimensions for reporting and analysis
2.8 million Maultaschen come off the conveyor belt at BÜRGER every day, along with Schupfnudeln and Spätzle: the traditional company with its two sites in Ditzingen and Crailsheim produces everything that a Swabian’s heart desires. The chilled convenience products are also popular outside of the region, however, which explains the continuous growth enjoyed by the food manufacturer. The requirements that come hand-in-hand with this growth also mean that the IT landscape has to be restructured. The foodstuff producer has therefore decided to take a big step – switching its ERP system from Charisma and DCW accounting directly to SAP S/4HANA. BÜRGER has therefore opened itself up to the world of digital transformation.
The challenge
More efficient processes, more reporting options and thus better control possibilities for the management – BÜRGER wanted to realign its record-to-report processes (R2R) in finance and controlling and set itself up for future-proof development. To be specific, the company wanted detailed contribution margin analyses, for instance. The company also values sustainability, for example, an energy-efficient production process. Up until now, BÜRGER used the ERP system pair Charisma and DCW on an IBM i system. The task was to switch from Charisma and DCW to SAP and SAP S/4HANA in order to replace both systems and allow the creation of a standardized platform. The particular challenges included transferring all accounting transactions of the last three years coherently to the new SAP system.
© BÜRGER GmbH & Co. KG
With our partner, consolut, we were able to realize the particular challenges of finance data migration from our old system on one hand, and, on the other hand, in addition to a seamless and perfectly orchestrated process migration, we were also able to build a platform which gives us a new level of transparency of our company’s key performance figures and which forms the basis for further, successful steps along the path of digitization.
The solution
BÜRGER opted for a FICO greenfield project as part of an overall strategy for the migration to SAP S/4HANA. Greenfield means that the SAP system is rebuilt as if from scratch: all processes are scrutinized, newly implemented, and bundled in the integrated SAP system. The new design of the controlling system in particular was important to BÜRGER. Once the FICO project is complete, the company can use SAP S/4HANA as its digital core and gradually reshape all other processes in purchasing, sales and QC, and implement further digital solutions.
We established a shadow production process to ensure a gentle and gradual transition to SAP S/4HANA and in order to minimize risks. To do this, we added all the data from production, such as material movements or recipes, to SAP even though the production was not yet running on SAP. This meant that there was so much production data in the system, allowing BÜRGER to prepare detailed material calculations and contribution margin analyses at this early stage.
To transfer history documents such as invoices, delivery notes or orders to the new system – normally a very laborious process – we use the SAP technology IDoc (Intermediate Document). The format for the data exchange between any two processes uses in-house containers to transport documents. We could also use IDoc to link and monitor the bonus management data.
A further criterion for success was our agile project methodology: the iterative process in which we developed and tested solutions together with BÜRGER allowed us to adapt all processes to suit the client’s requirements perfectly.
© BÜRGER GmbH & Co. KG
© BÜRGER GmbH & Co. KG
About BÜRGER
© Stephan Melz
In southern Germany, BÜRGER is practically a synonym for Maultaschen and Swabian specialties. The traditional company is a market leader of chilled and frozen filled pasta. BÜRGER, with its approximately 1,200 employees, has been producing at both Ditzingen and Crailsheim sites since its establishment in 1934. There, over 395 tons of foodstuffs leave the conveyor belt each day. In addition to Swabian specialties, many international country-specific specialties are also produced with success, such as gnocchi, tortellini, lasagna, pelmeni, and pierogi and many more. And there are ever more BÜRGER specialties also available as vegan versions.
As part of the FICO greenfield project, we have implemented many special features, including our custom controlling concept which forms the basis for an excellent reporting system. At the same time, the logistics processes on the integrative platform can also be optimized. With SAP S/4 HANA, BÜRGER now have all digitization options open to them.
The result
The replacement of the old ERP systems and their consolidation on the modern SAP S/4HANA platform is an extensive reorientation for BÜRGER which does not just affect the IT, but also the company as a whole. Now the road to digital transformation is open. In finance and controlling, SAP S/4HANA forms the basis for a comprehensive reporting system and detailed analyses. The financial accounting system can follow every material movement, for instance. SAP S/4HANA has also proven to be very helpful in the production controlling processes specific to the food industry. After the already successfully implemented migration of the finance, logistics, technical maintenance and production areas, BÜRGER is now planning to implement the sales processes and the extensive integration of SAP CCM, a solution for managing retroactive payment reductions, as the next stage of the SAP S/4HANA project.
Advantages
S/4HANA is opening up a new world of controlling with much more transparency when it comes to production or manufacturing costs, for instance
New analysis options, such as detailed contribution margin analyses
An integrative platform for everything as a basis for the digital transformation instead of different systems as before
Access to history documents and linking of bonus management thanks to a tool, the IDoc interface
Client benefits
Faster and easier decision-making based on a substantiated and detailed data situation and analyses
Low time cost thanks to a standardized system
The perfect starting point for further digitization projects
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