Ensure superior customer service to gain competitive edge
Implement solution without having to customize software
Enable online ordering/give customers online access to order information
Implementation Partner itelligence, an SAP global services partner
Solution and Services SAP® R/3® (now available as mySAP™ ERP)
Implementation Highlights
Used ASAP methodology to compress rollout time and keep costs down
Used SAP Best Practices to avoid having to tailor software
Key Benefits
Reduced lead times
Enhanced customer service
Provided infrastructure for Webenabling critical aspects of business
Sharpened competitive edge
Hardware Compaq
Operating System Microsoft Windows
MIDSIZE BUSINESS IMPLEMENTS SAP® SOFTWARE FOR ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING (ERP) IN NINE MONTHS TO GAIN STRONG COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
Schumacher Elevator Company manufacturers, installs, and services passenger and freight elevators. This midsize business needed a solution that would help it compress lead times, so it could provide exceptional customer service and gain a competitive edge in a price-sensitive business.
“Our strategic advantage is our ability to build specialty, maketo- order products within very reasonable lead times,” says Jeff Schumacher, VP and CFO of Schumacher Elevator. “We are always looking for opportunities to reduce lead times even further for our customers, as well as improve our service to them so we don’t have to differentiate ourselves strictly on price. SAP® software enables us to manage our operations more efficiently and provides an infrastructure for Web-enabling critical aspects of our business.”
Schumacher Elevator wanted to use the SAP R/3® solution for enterprise resource planning (ERP) – which is now available as mySAP™ ERP – to give its customers Web access to crucial account information.
“This was a big reason why we selected SAP® software – for its integration with the Web,” Schumacher says. “We want to provide our retail, wholesale, and service customers with the ability to access order status and other information online.”
Schumacher Elevator also selected the enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution because of SAP’s focus on the midmarket business segment.
“The SAP corporate commitment to the midmarket was a big factor for us,” Schumacher says. “Any time you hear a major vendor express its commitment to this marketplace, there is always the chance that it is artificial. Both during our implementation and after go-live, it became very clear to us that the SAP and itelligence commitment to our market size was sincere.”
itelligence Inc., an SAP global services partner, helped Schumacher Elevator get the solution up and running in nine months. A global IT consulting company and one of SAP’s largest business partners, itelligence provides end-to-end solutions for ERP software from SAP. Its offerings include consulting services, training classes, customer support centers, and outsourcing services.
“itelligence helped us accomplish a smooth implementation in a short time frame,” Schumacher says. “SAP Best Practices enabled us to implement the software without having to constantly tailor it to fit our business. The ASAP methodology helped us compress the rollout time and keep costs down. This was a big issue for a company of our size. We could not have afforded a solution of this scope if we had to face a year-and-a-half or two-year implementation.”
Schumacher Elevator runs its SAP solution on Compaq servers, using Microsoft Windows NT and an SQL Server database. The team implemented the solution at one site. Thirty employees began using the solution, with 50 users anticipated within five years.
COMPREHENSIVE BUSINESS FUNCTIONALITY Schumacher Elevator is a $19 million company headquartered in Denver, Iowa. The company, which has been in business since 1936, recently moved into a new, 60,000-square-foot manufacturing office facility. Schumacher Elevator employs 145 people, with 70 at its main location and the rest in the field, servicing and installing elevators.
Schumacher Elevator deployed the SAP solution to help it manage all of its business processes. For example, the company can easily track customer orders (projects) throughout their entire life cycle – from engineering to materials purchasing to production through to shipping and on-site installation – allowing Schumacher to keep close tabs on each project’s progress, payments, and delivery date. Schumacher Elevator also uses the SAP variant configurator to input parameters for each customized order – such as elevator capacity, travel, and speed – and quickly configure the product accordingly.
“We are able to manage projects around customer delivery dates much better now,” Schumacher says. “We have realized huge gains by automating processes associated with purchasing, production orders, and financial statements. With the SAP software, we can easily perform ad hoc queries and generate reports on payment status, corporate financials, job costing, and accounts receivables and payables.”
Schumacher also made plans to extend its SAP solution to its employees out in the field. It wants to equip its technicians with handheld devices so they can log working hours, requisition parts, and execute and manage other transactions that will flow directly to the back-office solution. Schumacher Elevator then plans to move additional capabilities onto the Web. “We now have a solution that can grow with us as our company grows,” Schumacher says.
