sauder woodworking co.
SAP PROCUREMENT IMPLEMENTATION
SAP solutions case study
CHALLENGES
SAUDER WOODWORKING CO.
IBM AS/400 environment required
migration to SAP
Project:
SAP Procurement Implementation
Industry:
Manufacturing
Project Location:
• Two legacy systems running in an
• Sauder and its suppliers sought increased
• Successfully implemented all Procure to
Company Headquarters Location:
• Tight timeframe of eight months from initial
planning to project completion required
quick decision making and issue resolution
SAP® Solutions & Services:
Company Website:
www.sauder.com
Case Study Summary:
Sauder Woodworking Co., North America’s
leading producer of ready-to-assemble furniture
and the nation’s fifth largest residential
furniture manufacturer, wanted to gain
efficiencies in purchasing, vendor evaluation
and managing vendor relationships. The
company worked with Dickinson + Associates
to integrate Procure to Pay functionality with
its existing SAP Order to Cash environment,
launch a full FI rollout and deploy the
SNC module to facilitate vendor collaboration.
The project went from initial planning
stages to successful go-live in an eight
month timeframe.
RESULTS
planning (MRP) system necessitated
interfaces between IBM and SAP
Archbold, Ohio
• Materials Management (MM)
• Financial Accounting (FI)
• Supply Network Collaboration (SNC)
conclusion of each phase ensured
deliverables and critical success factors
were met
• AS/400-based material requirements
visibility into supply base, inventory and
future demand
Archbold, Ohio
• Administered quality checks at the
WHY SAP?
• Sauder selected SAP for its dynamic
power, functionality and proven track record
serving manufacturing companies
• SAP allowed Sauder to bundle and
package applications to be rolled out to
the organization over time
• Procure to Pay functionality provided
greater visibility from purchasing, inventory
management and accounts payable
• SNC module provided the supplier
collaboration and vendor evaluation solution
Sauder required
METHODOLOGY
• Utilized the Dickinson + Associates
rapid deployment methodology that
aligned with Accelerated SAP (ASAP)
implementation methodology
• Implemented in five phases: project
preparation, business blueprint, realization,
final preparation and go-live with support
• Replaced two legacy planning systems
Pay functions in SAP
• Gained full insight into every stage of
the Supply Chain from schedule sharing
and purchase order processing to
accounts payable
• New vendor collaboration module
provided suppliers with detailed visibility
into raw material demand
WHY DICKINSON + ASSOCIATES?
• Offered a flexible approach without a rigid
template that enabled the team to contend
with and resolve challenges
• Provided a team of senior consultants,
each with specific senior-level expertise in
a particular module
• Collaborated with D+A colleagues outside
the project team to acquire specialized
insight and additional expertise
• Understood Sauder’s business processes
and worked seamlessly alongside Sauder’s
internal project team
SAP solutions case study
SAP PROCUREMENT IMPLEMENTATION
sauder woodworking co.
in search of new efficiencies
and unified erp system
SAP Procure to Pay enabled Sauder to:
After years of rapid growth, Sauder Woodworking
Co. had earned its place as North America’s
leading producer of ready-to-assemble furniture
with more than 2,100 employees, 4 million
square feet of manufacturing and warehouse
space and shipping nearly 48,000 cartons daily.
• Gain full insight into inventory of raw materials
and finished goods
Sauder first began using SAP’s Order to Cash
solution to manage production scheduling as
well as SAP Advanced Planner and Optimizer
(APO) to manage the supply network by
integrating the purchasing, manufacturing and
distribution functions. Sauder looked to gain
efficiencies in purchasing, managing inventory
and managing vendor relationships. They
engaged Dickinson + Associates to lead a roll out
of SAP MM, FI and SNC modules. Dickinson +
Associates steered the project from initial
planning to go-live in eight months.
• Integrate accounts payable with procurement
SAP MM provided a platform that managed the
entire Procure to Pay process in Sauder’s supply
chain. It started with the vendor master database
and purchasing of goods and materials and
extended to planning, invoice verification and
vendor management.
SAP FI allowed Sauder to gain full, real-time
visibility of accounts payable, accounts receivable
and the general ledger. SAP SNC enabled Sauder
to share information with its vendors, extend
visibility into supply and demand, and work with
suppliers to gain better inventory control.
sap mm interfaces
with as/400 sap
The first stage of the project involved the rollout
of SAP Procure to Pay. The current Procure
to Pay functionality and master data resided in
the AS/400, and the IBM platform was still
used for requirements planning, purchasing
and accounts payable processing. Material
requirements planning would remain in the
AS/400. Requirements were sent to SAP as
purchase requisitions for Procurement to analyze.
All Accounts Payable functions would move
from the AS/400 environment and be performed
in SAP.
• Increase visibility of procurement lifecycle
• Evaluate vendors on key performance indicators
• Reduce time spent managing discrepancies
between invoices and POs
empower suppliers to engage
Dickinson + Associates built the system
architecture and implemented the SAP SNC
module. SNC facilitated a highly communicative,
system-driven level of communications among
Sauder and its suppliers. It allowed vendors
to tie directly into Sauder’s planning horizon.
Additionally, suppliers could log in to view
raw material requirements to better plan their
own purchasing and production timetables,
thus lowering their costs.
“SNC gives suppliers the ability to really engage
in their portion of the business,” said Sue
Rakes, Sauder Manager of Supplier Development.
“They aren’t just the victim of a purchase
order; rather, they can partner with us in a
working environment.”
d+a: flexible,
short learning curve
Sauder chose to work with Dickinson +
Associates primarily for the quality of its
experienced SAP professionals.
Cindy Fritch, Process Assistant, Procurement
for Sauder, said, “With any project, there’s
time at the beginning where we have to educate
the consultants, but Dickinson + Associates
had a very good understanding of what we do
on a daily basis and what the issues are.”
Sauder Vice President of Procurement Norm
Hoeppner said, “Looking back, the P2P project
was really a precursor to what we’ve done here
at Sauder with SAP. P2P laid the groundwork, but
SNC allowed us to dramatically change the way
we do business and transact with our supply base.
It’s improved how we share information and
helped our suppliers become more responsive.”
To us, ECC served as the introduction,
then we progressed to P2P. But
SNC is really the launch pad that
has enabled us to completely
transform the way we do business
with our suppliers.
~ Norm Hoeppner
Vice President of Procurement
Sauder Woodworking Co.
about dickinson + associates
Since 1998, Dickinson + Associates has been
a leading systems integrator and SAP Value Added Reseller that delivers transformational SAP business solutions to corporate and
public sector clients. The firm is a trusted SAP Gold Partner with global delivery experience extending into Europe, Asia and the Americas.
Dickinson + Associates offers deep expertise in SAP Business Suite (ECC), Business Intelligence, HANA and Enterprise Mobility
as well as seasoned industry experts in
Financial Services, Manufacturing, Consumer
Packaged Goods, Retail and Public Sector.
Our team designs and implements strategic
and operational programs that leverage and integrate SAP with various platforms. Our business-driven approach puts the emphasis on measurable business results versus just the technology.
One North LaSalle Street
Suite 800
Chicago, Illinois 60602
312.419.9600
www.dickinson-assoc.com
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