Success Story
Digital approval of orders

Case study

Completely digital approval of orders by MailCenter – approval procedure

1. Avoidance of long release paths
2. Savings on additional shipping costs
3. Unified ordering processes for all plants

PDF-Download Success Story | EWR GmbH

company

EWR GmbH

• Headquarters: Remscheid
• Industry: Energy
• www.ewr-remscheid.de

Project Objectives

1. Avoidance of long release paths
2. Savings on additional shipping costs
3. Unified ordering processes for all plants

Choosing MailCenter

1. Simple solution that can be easily implemented
2. Can be used for various types of documents, including accounting
3. The platform enables extensive digitalization of purchasing

Solutions and Services

1. Digitization platform MailCenter
2. Solution partner: munich enterprise software GmbH
3. www.munich-enterprise.com

Implementation Highlights

1. Solution was quickly up and running
2. Rapid response of the munich-enterprise team
3. Ease of use ensures high acceptance

Main benefits for the company

1. Massive acceleration of approval workflows
2. Orders leave the house much faster
3. Monitor function notifies about orders to be released
4. Paper is no longer required in the ordering process
5. Emails are no longer printed
6. Transparency in e-mail correspondence on the SAP process

Environment

1. SAP ERP 6.0 – EHP8

Case study in detail

“Our goal is to always ship an order on the day it is produced. This is now possible in 95 percent of all cases.”

Annette Schicht, Head of Materials Management at EWR GmbH

Five signature folders used to find their way onto the desk of Annette Schicht, Head of Materials Management at the energy and water supply company EWR GmbH – every day. Orders had to be approved by signature, and all this by paper. EWR has been using munich enterprise software’s MailCenter for this purpose for some time now, and has completely digitized purchasing processes in this way. In the meantime, the company also processes other types of documents via the platform.

EWR GmbH’s purchasing department has four employees. You work with SAP MM and send orders to a large number of suppliers from the materials management module, around 5,000 units per year. These must first be approved within the purchasing department according to the four-eyes principle, and if certain value limits are exceeded, by other management levels. Only then can an order leave the house – in the past, of course, by post. “It was an old-school process that was characterized by long approvals and additional costs for shipping,” says Annette Schicht.

In the meantime, things are different at the EEA, namely completely digital. Back in 2018, the company decided to use the MailCenter platform from munich enterprise software. The purchasing department sends its orders via the central MailCenter; The add-on module “Outlook Integration” is used to store incoming e-mails in their corresponding SAP documents. After receiving the order, suppliers send back an order confirmation, nowadays usually by e-mail. Purchasing can attach this directly to the purchase order via the Outlook Integration module

“The feedback from the purchasing department on the MailCenter is more than positive: it makes work much easier, everyone is enthusiastic. Today, paper is no longer produced in the ordering process.”

Storage of incoming e-mails on the SAP document

In Outlook, you click on the MailCenter button, enter an order number and the e-mail is automatically stored for the corresponding order. Many order confirmations used to come in the mail and had to be scanned first. Today, order confirmations or correspondence are received by e-mail and can be assigned and stored directly to the order.
Annette Schicht came across munich enterprise software’s solutions in the course of intensive market research. “Even the first talks were very promising. We were credibly told that there is a simple solution to our problem that can be implemented quickly,” she explains. This is how it happened: “We are very satisfied with the service provided by munich enterprise software. munich enterprise has always supported us well and was quick to help with any problem.

Dispatch of orders on the day they are created

Today, MailCenter dramatically accelerates approval workflows in companies. Orders leave the company much faster, 95 percent of them on the same day they are generated. Via a monitor function, the software independently notifies the respective parties involved about orders to be released and that a signature is due. “The feedback from the purchasing department is more than positive: a complete relief, everyone is enthusiastic,” says Annette Schicht happily. Today, paper is no longer produced in the ordering process.

Credit notes and invoices as additional document types

In the meantime, the solution has been supplemented by another document type: credit notes that are sent via the MailCenter. Services purchased from the EEA are listed in a bill of quantities in SAP. At the end, after acceptance of the service, a credit note is generated and sent to the service provider. This saves the service provider from having to do invoicing.
The three employees from finance and accounting now also send invoices via the munich enterprise software solution. In addition to the 5,000 orders, a further 13,000 invoices and credit notes per year are processed via the solution

EWR GmbH

EWR GmbH, with around 260 employees, is the energy and water supply company of the Stadtwerke Remscheid group of companies. Every day, EWR supplies the approximately 112,000 inhabitants of the city of Remscheid with electricity, gas, water and heat around the clock. Technical energy services round off the range of services.