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 "Some CDs would get lost in transit when we were sending updated versions and some partners would continue to use outdated versions."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
Jefe de proyecto/Gerente
En segundo lugar, el sistema propio era un desafío que había que respaldar. El programador del sistema original ya no trabajaba para la empresa, lo que significa que gran parte del conocimiento del sistema original se había perdido. La empresa que diseñó el software fue posteriormente adquirida por otra empresa de software. Esto significó que la empresa detrás de su sistema de etiquetado técnicamente dejó de existir. Esto sumó más inquietudes sobre su capacidad para apoyar la plataforma en el futuro.
Würth también enfrentaba muchos de los desafíos típicos relacionados con los sistemas heredados. Se encontraban con etiquetas mal aplicadas, lo que llevaba al reetiquetado de los productos e implicaba retrasos en los envíos. También tenían retrasos por falta de datos.
Todos estos desarrollos llevaron a Würth a la conclusión de que necesitaban encontrar otra solución de etiquetado. Sus requisitos eran bastante claros. "Queríamos un sistema que estuviera disponible las veinticuatro horas del día, que pudiera ofrecer una base de datos centralizada, que pudiéramos proporcionar a nuestros proveedores sin instalación y que pudiera tratar con varias marcas y modelos de impresoras", recuerda Simon. Para la adopción del proveedor, fue determinante que el nuevo sistema de etiquetado pudiera utilizar la infraestructura de impresión existente del proveedor.
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.
