Quality you can taste starts with consistent data

Lorenz optimizes material creation processes in SAP with Master Data Cockpit from valantic

Lorenz Snack-World was looking for a solution that was fully integrated into SAP. The decision was made for the Master Data Cockpit from valantic.

Friends sitting on sofa eating potato chips

The company Lorenz-Snack-World is a growth-oriented European branded goods company with an international orientation. The traditional products Crunchips, ErdnussLocken and Saltletts as well as innovations such as Naturals are among the most successful in the snack market and are consumed in over 60 countries worldwide. A total of around 3,000 employees are committed to the success of the company. As a medium-sized company, Lorenz is able to act flexibly at all times thanks to lean structures, flat hierarchies and short decision-making paths. In a highly competitive, rapidly changing market, this is a prerequisite for lasting success.

Lorenz Snack-World was looking for a fully SAP-integrated solution that both optimizes material maintenance processes and increases workflow flexibility. The decision was made for the Master Data Cockpit from valantic.

Project goal

The project at a glance

The requirements for a new solution for SAP master data management were clear: The article creation process in SAP was to be simplified and above all accelerated. A further objective was the clear definition of responsibilities for the different field definitions and a verifiable dual control principle over the article master and environment data such as bills of material or routings. In this way a high data quality should be continuously ensured. In addition, the solution should also be applicable to other areas of master data management, such as the administration and maintenance of customer or vendor.

Project Scope

The project requirements included:

  • Shortening of processing times
  • Automatic filling of the appropriate values instead of the template material
  • Flexible design of the workflow even with parallel steps
  • Influence on workflow steps during the running workflow
  • Setting of deadlines
  • Use of control functions to monitor the status quo
  • Involvement of the applicant in the deadline control
  • Automatic information to the applicant when the material is completed
  • Simple adjustments directly in the production system
  • Integration of dependent master data (for example, bill of material and routings)
  • Final inspection including material release
picture of two potato chips bags from Lorenz, Crunchips and Naturals, valantic Case Study Lorenz Chips

Results

Today, a new material is created in the Master Data Cockpit with predefined values in one step in SAP. The individual applicant will be identified. An SAP workflow is now started, which sends its task to the relevant clerks by SAP mail. With one mouse click, the corresponding transaction is started directly in SAP. To simplify processing, only the fields to be maintained are displayed. At the end of the workflow, a check is automatically started to ensure that the material and its dependent master data are fully maintained. Only then is the material released and the applicant informed at the same time. With the MDC, it is now also possible to set deadlines and control the status quo of the individual work steps.

There are steps in which you do not know before the start whether they are necessary or not. With the MDC, the responsible agent now decides during the workflow whether certain steps are to be called. For example, a “Maintain prices” step is only necessary if the prices of the corresponding components are still missing before a BOM is costed.

With the flexible workflow concept, separate processes can now be defined for each material type. All settings, e.g. the agents of workflow steps, can be changed directly in the production system without any effort.

 

Mario Kernjak
Project Manager Lorenz Snack-World

”In our structure, responsibilities and the sequence of the individual work steps within a workflow are constantly changing. With the help of the Master Data Cockpit (MDC), we can now design the workflows flexibly and adapt them to our needs. Even new material types or new plants can be quickly integrated into the MDC with little effort. This is our desired framework for flexibly expandable and integrated processes“

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Mario Kernjak
Project Manager Lorenz Snack-World

”Over time, the combination of material master maintenance in SAP and workflow support in another system has proven to be too cumbersome and error-prone. Also, the necessary adjustments of the workflow to the changing business processes would have involved too much effort“

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Benefits for Lorenz

Reduction of the total workflow duration

Change workflows flexibly in every phasern

Automation of the work steps

Setting and monitoring deadlines

Reduction of manual errors

About Lorenz Snack-World

Lorenz Snack-World is an independent family business that is one of the leading suppliers in the European snack market. It sells crisps, pretzel sticks, flips, crackers and nuts in over 80 countries around the world. This is ensured by around 2,400 people at the headquarters in Neu-Isenburg (near Frankfurt) and in other locations in Germany, Austria, Poland and Russia. The range includes Saltletts, Peanut Curls, Crunchips, Naturals, HofChips and other snacks.

Your Contact

Wiebke Brigel, valantic

Wiebke Brigel

Authorized Officer and Member of the Executive Board
valantic ERP Consulting