SAP EWM (S/4HANA) implementation for retail fulfilment supply chain
Supporting the optimisation of warehouse processes for a leading European foodservice business as part of a wider Digital cloud transformation to SAP S/4HANA.
Introduction
Digital transformation to SAP S/4HANA and digital supply chain for a nationwide network of cash-and-carry and delivery service wholesale outlets, serving large and small-scale companies in the hospitality industry, leisure facilities, caterers, large-volume users, company restaurants, petrol stations, small and medium-sized enterprises, small retail businesses, and the institutional market.
The challenge
Supporting the business strategy to continue scale-up and stabilise operating margins, the supply chain required an overhaul to overcome current challenges, introduce greater controls and move towards common ways of working in order to ensure more consistent output, productivity and predictability.
The solution and approach
Working as part of a wider SAP S/4HANA transformation project led by a global system integrator, Rocket are providing specialist supply chain operations and SAP digital supply chain software expertise to this project.
Updating the current supply chain solution will bring greater reliability and consistency to the customer supply and provide greater controls and management to the warehouses. However, this project impacts significant change across all areas:
Systems - moving to SAP Extended Warehouse Management (SAP EWM).
Technology - moving to SAP HANA and modernisation of operational technology.
Operations - improvement and standardisation of business process and ways of working.
People - change management across multiple sites.
Acknowledging the Change Management challenges, the project is using an MVP (Minimal Viable Product) approach, first targeting the core requirements and mitigation of priority pain-points currently impacting the supply chain.
The MVP approach provides a short time to value without deviating from the longer-term strategic needs and supporting the SAP HANA roadmap.
SAP Extended Warehouse Management will be used. Running on SAP HANA this WMS will be deployed as a decentral architecture to the SAP S/4 HANA ERP system, ensuring scalability and responsiveness in the digital supply chain operations.
Creating an efficient mobile workforce is an essential aspect of the project. The supporting warehouse mobile infrastructure will be updated, including modern android based industrial mobile (RF) devices and printers allowing them to support new labels.
Other operational technology, such as the warehouse automation, will be addressed with alignment to standard SAP EWM business processes and greater integration of system and operational activities.
Accurate representation of the warehouse layout will drive up customer service by using layout-oriented processes and the creation of system driven work allocation.
Areas included in the MVP are:
- Goods receiving optimisation
- Replenishment planning and execution
- Quality inspection
- Mobile workforce
- Advanced outbound planning and execution
- TM integrated inbound and outbound processes
- Automation integration
- Batch management
- Intra-company warehouse transfers and sales
Managing Change Management is a key success criterion with a prioritisation of mitigating current pain points while building a platform for longer term capability supporting the SAP HANA roadmap.
Business outcomes
- Greater process planning and management information and tools
- More consistent output, productivity and predictability from common ways of working across supply chain
- Optimised warehouse processes according to current business need
- Efficient mobile workforce
- Improved customer services from work prioritisation and a system-guided approach to task allocation to warehouse operatives
- Improved throughput with fully integrated third party automation
- MVP approach to streamline future rollouts within the company
