New SAP ERP system for the Koller Group

The Koller Group, a family-managed technology company with an international orientation and sphere of activity, has firmly established itself as an automotive industry supplier for virtually all European car manufacturers. The Bavaria-based company's experts develop and produce injection moulding and pressing tools, PUR honeycomb sandwich boards and ready-to-install components and systems as well as injection-moulded parts in small and large series. Koller is Europe's market leader in the field of load-bearing lightweight construction elements, which are mainly used as cargo floors in more than 60 models from various manufacturers.

"Due to the dynamic growth of our company in recent years and the requirements resulting from that growth, our old system could no longer keep up," recalls Max Koller, who founded the Koller Group together with his brother Thomas back in 1994, looking back on the period prior to the SAP implementation. For one, the old solution required too many manual activities which were frequently prone to errors. In addition, the company's financial accounting processes needed to be adapted to fit the structure of the group, which includes a number of companies, and its production site in Pécs, Hungary. Max Koller also mentions a further crucial reason for replacing the old system: "Our previous solution at the time was intended for mold and die production but not for series production, which we use to generate a significant portion of our sales today." Given its focus on customer benefits, it was important to the Koller Group that the implementation of the new ERP system would establish the basis for a close integration with the IT processes of its customers. At the end of the selection process, the company made the decision to implement SAP ERP (Version 6.0) together with IT service provider Sycor. "Sycor won us over with the right combination of midsize business, industry and SAP expertise," says Koller.

Complex requirements – clear solutions

"Our goal was to create a tailored software solution that met the Koller Company's needs with the help of a standardized SAP solution," says Sycor project manager Dietmar Lohr, describing Sycor's approach. The solution needed to cover all processes involved in the value chain from purchase, production and sales up to accounting. Mapping production at the Koller Group was a particular challenge. "We set up three production types in the system: production orders, series production and project production for mold and die production. Integrating project production, including scheduling and cost planning, with the link to series production proved challenging," Lohr continues. "These are two completely different logistics process models." Thanks to the SAP ERP system which Sycor tailored to the company's needs, all of the Koller Group's production processes are supported today, including small and large series as well as individual project production of injection molding and pressing tools. The company's small parts storage system and time recording terminal, which are third-party solutions, are also linked to the SAP ERP system. All of Koller's factories and locations have gone live with the new, centralized company solution. Hubert Schwer, project manager at the Koller Group, is happy with the results: "Complex inter-company processes function across national borders and support operations in our Hungarian factory in Pécs. All controlling processes, the consolidation of data from all booking areas in accounting, as well as financial planning in compliance with bank requirements, are running smoothly.

"The implementation of the SAP ERP system has been a success for us. Sycor did excellent work. Our IT landscape needed to be restructured. Our delivery times will also be far shorter than those of our competitors in the future," says Max Koller, describing the project's impressive results.