Integrated SAP ERP/PLM solution for improved collaboration in the laboratory
Sartorius’ Global Harmonization Project, known by the catchy nickname “shape-IT!,” was launched in January 2012. The central focus of the global consolidation venture is SAP ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning). Having been put into operation at the company’s Göttingen headquarters in 2012, SAP ECC 6.0 has been rolled out successively at Sartorius facilities worldwide since 2015. Michael Bogus, manager of the Product Lifecycle Management department, reports, “We are integrating all 19 production plants and 90 percent of our sales locations.”
Single source of truth
A small team of Sartorius IT experts has been working with the Product Lifecycle Management department since December 2013 to move forward with the next steps of integrated data management, the introduction of SAP PLM (Product Lifecycle Management). Why SAP PLM? “Because it makes sense,” explains Bogus. Because PLM is already incorporated in anything labeled SAP ERP—external PDM (Product Data Management) systems are becoming just as redundant as maintaining external interfaces between decentralized systems. Make no mistake, other solutions were also under consideration.
“In the final analysis, however, SAP PLM offers Sartorius the best system for integrating all its environments without system interruptions,” says Martin Bentin, Sales Manager at implementation partner Cideon. “When you rely on the single source of truth in a single system, you’re working with physically identical information. That, of course, is the strongest argument when data consistency is the goal.”
Indispensible: The Conversion Engine
In 2014 Cideon provided Sartorius AG with its Conversion Engine universal converter. This data hub makes all kinds of documents readable for everyone in the company. Anytime, anywhere. According to Cideon consultant Matthias Demuth, “When Procurement needs to access CAD data, they can do this using the conversion results from Conversion Engine.” At Sartorius, Conversion Engine’s backbone process automatically creates neutral, exchange and Web formats—including data preparation—from Creo, Catia, Inventor and Office (Excel, Word or Powerpoint) documents, including stamping and authorization concepts, and makes them available for company-wide access. This makes life easier and the process faster, since Sartorius does some of its business in the regulatory environment (FDA).
Sebastian Slomczyk recalls, “Before, drawings were created and printed by the Design department; the printouts were stamped, scanned and uploaded to SharePoint; only then could manufacturing begin. Documentation was completed in part using routing slips, if you can imagine it! Now, digital signatures are much more effective.”
