Since 2002, WebCIS has been helping Drägerwerk AG & Co. KGaA bring together purchasing data from different ERP systems centrally and evaluate it reliably.
The Company
Drägerwerk AG & Co. KGaA is an internationally active medical and safety technology company headquartered in Lübeck. Since its founding in 1889, the family-owned company has developed products and solutions used, among others, in hospitals, by fire brigades and rescue services, in public authorities and in mining and industry. Under the guiding principle “Technology for Life”, the company combines technological innovation with the aim of sustainably improving safety and health. As a globally positioned company, Dräger needs a powerful and reliable data foundation in order to manage complex purchasing structures across different systems transparently. For more than two decades, WebCIS has been helping the purchasing team bring purchasing data together centrally, evaluate it quickly and use it as a basis for planning, supplier discussions and strategic decisions.
The Challenge Before WebCIS
At the beginning of the collaboration, Dräger did not have a homogeneous ERP landscape. Different systems, manual reconciliations and media breaks made a consistent and standardized process in purchasing difficult. This created additional effort for consolidating, checking and evaluating purchasing data. At the same time, there was no central view with which developments could be analyzed and compared across the board. Dräger therefore looked for a solution that could be integrated flexibly into the existing system landscape. The company was looking for a flexible solution that integrates different ERP systems reliably, creates transparency and enables both overarching evaluations and detailed analyses quickly and in a practical way.
„In SoftconCIS we saw a reliable partner who understood our situation and offered a suitable, practical solution.“
Matthias Purwin - Division Controlling Safety, Drägerwerk AG & Co. KGaA
The Solution with WebCIS
With WebCIS, Dräger was able to bring purchasing data from different ERP systems together in a central analysis and reporting environment. Despite the heterogeneous starting situation, a uniform process for the evaluation, planning and management of purchasing activities emerged. Besides the flexible system connection, the clear structure of WebCIS and SoftconCIS’s partnership-based approach were decisive for the decision. Today Dräger uses WebCIS mainly for fast and reliable evaluations of purchasing data. The solution helps the team recognize developments, understand changes and make concrete fields of action visible.
„I used WebCIS almost daily – for example to prepare supplier discussions, for benchmarks or to check price increases. The combination of aggregated evaluations and detailed analyses at the level of individual postings made many analyses practical and efficient in the first place.“
Matthias Purwin - Division Controlling Safety, Drägerwerk AG & Co. KGaA
Besides data analysis, purchasing planning in WebCIS also plays an important role. Dräger creates the annual plan for production material in different scenarios and updates it on a rolling basis over the course of the year. This allows new developments to be taken into account promptly and existing assumptions to be adjusted regularly. The plan therefore remains up to date and meaningful even under changing market conditions. Scenario planning not only improves the quality of the forecasts. It also creates a reliable basis for coordination with internal departments and external interfaces. Developments become more transparent, effects can be assessed earlier and necessary measures initiated in good time.
„With WebCIS we can map developments flexibly, adjust assumptions regularly and keep planning quality high throughout the year.“
Matthias Purwin - Division Controlling Safety, Drägerwerk AG & Co. KGaA
The Added Value for Purchasing
WebCIS significantly reduces the manual effort of preparing and reconciling purchasing information. As a result, the team can focus more on interpreting the results and deriving concrete measures. Particularly valuable is the ability to recognize negotiation leeway and optimization potential early. Price developments can be traced, supplier discussions prepared in a more targeted way and purchasing decisions made on a sound basis.
„What we particularly value about WebCIS is its high practicality, the transparency in the processes and the ability to evaluate complex purchasing data in a structured and reliable way.“
Matthias Purwin - Division Controlling Safety, Drägerwerk AG & Co. KGaA
A Partnership-Based Collaboration Since 2002
The long-standing collaboration between Dräger and SoftconCIS is based not only on the performance of the software. Equally important are the personal exchange, reliability and an understanding of the company’s individual requirements. SoftconCIS has accompanied Dräger for many years in the further development of the solution and the implementation of new requirements. The focus is on creating practical approaches that fit sensibly into existing processes and system landscapes. In the future, too, the collaboration is to be continued in a trusting and solution-oriented way and WebCIS developed further together.
The Result
With WebCIS, Dräger has a solution that connects different ERP systems and creates a sound basis for analysis, planning and purchasing management. Fast evaluations, detailed analyses and flexible planning options help the purchasing team assess developments early and act in a targeted way. The collaboration that has existed since 2002 also shows how important, besides powerful software, a reliable partner is who understands the requirements of purchasing and supports it in the long term.
„What we value most about working with SoftconCIS is the partnership-based exchange, the reliability and the good understanding of our requirements and conditions.“
Matthias Purwin - Division Controlling Safety, Drägerwerk AG & Co. KGaA
