In 2021, the ERP system at the Dorfen production site was changed to SAP. The transparent and standardized database in real time ensures full end-to-end traceability and enables outstanding customer service. Schreiner Group has set the course for a successful future in this way. At the site in the Upper Bavarian town of Dorfen, the SAP rollout was completed in April 2021 as scheduled. Assessing the rollout one year after the conversion, the high-tech company can now say that the outcome has been very positive. In addition to improvements on the factory floor, Schreiner Group was able to gather valuable experience supporting SAP rollouts at the company’s other locations.

On April 26, 2021, SAP at the Dorfen site went live—without entailing any appreciable machine downtimes. Long and complex preparations had preceded this success. Employee training in the new ERP system at the production site began as early as in November 2020, followed by data migration in the middle of March 2021, while production on the 15 machines using the old system continued throughout this period. That ensured a smooth transition—the planned production volume was achieved just three weeks after the SAP rollout.

Experience gained with previous SAP rollouts in other areas of Schreiner Group, no doubt, helped make the process of going live at Dorfen run as smoothly as it did. Even so, there were numerous challenges: screen printing processes, printing plate production for screen printing, and production of the “Pharma-Tac” hanger-dispensers were converted to SAP for the first time. In addition, there were processes, some of them new and very complex, such as production logistics that had to be migrated as well.

All this was achieved due to the hands-on support by the internal project team and external consultants that jointly invested a lot of work in stabilizing and optimizing all processes also in the following months.

A year after the rollout, Dr. Christoph Jung, SAP rollout project leader at Schreiner Group, provides an extremely positive assessment: “We’re very happy with our SAP operations and have noted numerous improvements as a result of the conversion. We now have higher and more up-to-date data transparency, better inventory management, and, above all, centralized knowledge and master data management.” This enhances the transparency and time-related relevance of data across the entire supply chain, from production planning and material procurement through to customer deliveries. Among other factors, the solid training and preparation of employees as well as their acceptance of the change were decisive for success. “The experience we gained during the rollout at Dorfen is particularly valuable for us,” says the project leader. “It will be of great help in our other processes of going live at Oberschleissheim and the international locations.”