Fuchs Petrolub SE
Speeding up the global Raw Material Introduction Process
Occupational health, safety and chemicals handling are subject to ever stricter regulations worldwide. Companies like FUCHS, a multinational manufacturer of lubricants, have built up worldwide networks of specialists to ensure that their raw materials comply with the corresponding national regulations. In order to accelerate and improve the complex process of introducing new chemicals into the company, FUCHS decided to digitalize it by implementing a SAP Fiori based web application.
About FUCHS
FUCHS is a global Group that develops, produces and distributes lubricants and related specialties. Its headquarters are at Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, where the company was founded in 1931. Today, it employs almost 6,000 people in 50 countries under the umbrella of FUCHS PETROLUB SE. FUCHS is the world’s largest provider among the independent lubricant manufacturers. Its product program comprises more than 10,000 products and related services and serves more than 100,000 customers from different industries like automotive, OEM, mining and exploration, metalworking, agriculture and forestry and many more.
Digital workflow instead of paper-based data collection
FUCHS PETROLUB SE manages master data on all globally used raw materials centrally through the Know-How Transfer (KHT) department in Mannheim. This central approach was well-established, but due to the increase of regulatory demands not efficient enough. For example, the creation process to introduce new raw materials required a high level of manual effort: from completing various paper forms to forwarding them via email and manually entering all data into a Microsoft Access database.
Thus, FUCHS decided to digitalise the paper-based part of the process. They chose SAP Fiori as solution platform to ensure the easy integration into FUCHS’ existing SAP environment.
When searching for a suitable partner for the project, they looked for a consultancy with broad experiences in SAP EHS and SAP Fiori technology, but also a clear understanding of global regulatory processes.
“With HELASOFT we found the competent partner for both”, said Tatjana Spahl, Global SAP EH&S Department at FUCHS PETROLUB SE. “Their internationally experienced consultants were very helpful to discussing possible solutions and supporting us. Furthermore, they implemented defined next steps in an extremely timely manner!”
Accessible information for all related processes
Solution Overview
The SAP solution replaces the previous PDF-forms to request Test Raw Material and to request Full Raw Material.
The app covers the complex approval process with a status-driven workflow. Due to using Fiori Apps, no interfaces are needed to process data.
In addition to the data from the KHT department, the app includes correspondences, attachments and other EHS data needed for the introduction process.
Integration of archive system used to store attachments. A separate SAP Fiori tile enables users to search document type specific for attachments belonging to a certain raw material.
“To improve the efficiency and quality of our Raw Material Introduction Process, we wanted to eliminate its paper-based part. With HELASOFT, we found the right partner to discuss, design and implement a fully integrated solution, based on SAP Fiori technology – even within a tight schedule.“
Tatjana Spahl, Global SAP EH&S Department, FUCHS PETROLUB SE
BENEFITS
Increased productivity, since data no longer need to be entered multiple times.
Improved data quality, since no errors can occur when copying data.
Error reduction through four-eyes principle in the release process.
Integrated availability of data for other SAP processes, due to the storage of data in SAP.
