Bayerische Staatsforsten Leaner Processes and Better Customer Relations with Sap® Software

BAYERISCHE STAATSFORSTEN LEANER PROCESSES AND BETTER CUSTOMER RELATIONS WITH SAP® SOFTWARE

QUICK FACTS “Thanks to SAP NetWeaver and SOA, Company Implementation Highlights • Name: Bayerische Staatsforsten (Bavarian • Connected highly specialized in-house our project team was able to connect state forestry company) developments to the SAP software the geographic information system to • Location: Regensburg, Germany landscape • Industry: Mill products • Transitioned from an administrative organi- the SAP solution in just two days.” • Products and services: Production and zation to a business enterprise in a very sale of raw timber, hunt management short amount of time Matthias Frost, Head of Information and Commu- • Revenue: €340 million • Rapidly developed interfaces for connect- nications Technology, Bayerische Staatsforsten • Employees: 2,900 ing the geographic information system • Web site: www.baysf.de (GIS) to the SAP application • Implementation partners: SAP® Consulting, ESRI Why SAP • Enhanced functionality to correctly map Challenges and Opportunities financial processes • Map forestry-specific business processes • Improved integration of in-house with SAP solutions developments • Integrate a large number of small locations • Future-proof investments thanks to regular and many mobile users with a broad appli- technology updates cation spectrum Beneﬁ ts Objectives • Lean logistics business processes • Transition from an administrative organiza- • Legal certainty for internal and external tion to a business enterprise on the IT side audits thanks to legally watertight posting • Integrate geographic information into the processes SAP ERP application • Reduced document volume • Increased profits SAP Solutions and Services • Correction postings implemented directly • SAP ERP in the standard software • SAP NetWeaver® technology platform • High acceptance among users • SAP NetWeaver Business Intelligence, • Better customer relations through the functionality that is now known as the business-to-business process SAP NetWeaver Business Warehouse • Larger percentage of vendor-organized component delivery • Foundation for future-oriented geographic processing Existing Environment • GIS from ESRI • Third-party databases • Mobile data entry with Panasonic Toughbook

SAP Customer Success Story Mill Products Timber production follows its own rules and has few standards with Legally Watertight which to comply. Bayerische Staatsforsten (BaySF), the Bavarian Frost is particularly proud of the fact state forestry company, manages its business processes with SAP® that BaySF manages its complicated software. Where standard functions cannot map forestry-specific core processes for production, materials management, and sales and distri- requirements, the company uses homegrown applications that bution in SAP ERP. The company communicate with the SAP ERP application. utilizes the functions for production management, purchasing, inventory accounting, and sales and distribution. Managing a forested area of 720,000 had with the Walldorf, Germany–based “Our postings are all legally watertight, hectares, BaySF is one of Europe’s software vendor from the very early because the transactions we use meet largest forestry enterprises. Some days of their association. Back in all the applicable internal and external 2,900 employees work to preserve and 2000, BaySF implemented commercial auditing requirements,” says Frost. care for the Bavarian Forest. BaySF accounting with functions for financial generates the lion’s share of its €340 accounting, controlling, and cost and The company was able to map forestry- million annual revenues from the pro- performance accounting based on SAP specific processes more easily by em- duction and sale of timber. After major software. “SAP software provided the bedding the SAP application within its investments in forest cultures, forest best coverage of our requirements own solutions. BaySF’s in-house devel- management, and equipment mainte- for commercial accounting,” recalls opments fit perfectly with the stable nance, the company’s profits stand at Matthias Frost, head of information and and powerful back-end processes €52 million. communications technology at BaySF. supported by the SAP software. This “What’s more, the project was a re- makes it easier for users to complete Growth Brings Responsibility sounding success and finished up 30% work processes on a daily basis. Busi- below budget and ahead of schedule.” ness application programming interfac- BaySF describes itself as a modern es make the job of connecting in-house company with a long tradition. BaySF Gradual Expansion of the SAP developments to SAP ERP very began the transition from an adminis- Landscape straightforward. trative organization to a business enterprise in 2005 – a transition that was After taking this initial step, BaySF Logistical Precision with reflected in the IT setup. The company gradually expanded its SAP landscape Geographical Data set up a tailored SAP software land- by adding real estate management scape in just nine months, integrating functions, with which it now manages The production and sale of raw timber all in-house development and develop- all of its land holdings: approximately is BaySF’s core business. But this is ing new procedures for paying its for- 60,000 parcels of land, 400 service also the area in which the company estry workers. At the same time, it buildings, and some 1,000 refuge huts. differs most significantly from other completed a release upgrade to SAP The company was even able to map production companies − due to the ERP, further demonstrating its commit- forest law requirements into the SAP nature of the forestry business. Unlike ment to trust in SAP for the design of application. “German forest laws are industrially produced goods, trees vary its business processes in the long term. a very tricky area,” says Frost. “Some in size and quality. What’s more, they of the usage rights to the forest date are distributed over a wide area and The key factor in BaySF’s decision to back 200 years; they can be very com- cannot be produced, packed, and dis- opt for SAP software was the positive plicated and often involve very specific patched from a single location. experience that the forestry company requirements.” “The integration that SAP software offers is a major advantage for us. Users find it much easier if they can always work with the same tool.”

Matthias Frost, Head of Information and Communications Technology, Bayerische Staatsforsten

Partner companies move the felled and concept is the requirement to use GIS- ployees sometimes have difficulties debranched trees to the edge of the based, geographic referencing to sup- with new technological innovations, our nearest forest track, where they are port all of its business processes. For IT setup receives good ratings in inter- stored in stacks until they are trans- this reason, the company is currently nal satisfaction surveys. The solutions ported to a saw mill. This vendor- developing two new applications for support our work very effectively and organized delivery process requires entering data on raw timber. With their they are very stable.” More than 1,300 a high degree of logistical precision. help, master data will be entered faster BaySF employees use the SAP applica- After all, there are no fixed shipping and error free and transmitted in a tions. Frost also appreciates the long- points. The foresters and preserve straightforward manner to the SAP term security of investing in SAP soft- managers work with a geographic infor- ERP application. ware, because he benefits regularly mation system (GIS) from leading GIS from innovations and can always rely solution developer ESRI to locate the To realize its geographic referencing on having state-of-the-art technology timber stacks. The GIS transmits the concept, the company is integrating a available. data to SAP ERP so that the timber is new mobile GIS solution developed in easy to find at any location. conjunction with the mobile application Value Added Through Vendor- Organized Delivery

“Our postings are all legally watertight, because the transactions we use meet all A unique feature of the forestry indus- the applicable internal and external auditing requirements.” try is the process of factory-side mea- surement. Here, customers make their Matthias Frost, Head of Information and Communications Technology, Bayerische Staatsforsten own measurements of the goods they receive. The forestry companies are obliged to post their own measure- Link-Up in Record Time development framework from ESRI. ments in advance for legal reasons. If BaySF is profiting from the fact that there are discrepancies in the measure- The data from the ESRI solution is this solution can also be easily linked ments made by the sawmill and by the transmitted to the SAP application via up to the SAP application. At the same forestry company, then the latter must Web services. The technology enabling time, the company is paving the way for correct its original postings. If invoices the transaction is supplied by the a modern platform for mapping further have already been issued, then credit SAP NetWeaver® technology platform, mobile work procedures in the future. memos must be created accordingly. which supports a service-oriented BaySF also maps this complicated architecture (SOA) providing the nec- Improved Integration, Enhanced procedure in SAP ERP. essary flexibility. “Thanks to SAP Progress NetWeaver and SOA, our project team A more straightforward procedure is was able to connect the geographic When it comes to integration, says “vendor-organized delivery.” Although information system to the SAP solution Frost, the benefits of the SAP applica- this practice is not widespread in the in just two days,” says Frost. “That tion are very apparent – in terms both German forestry industry, BaySF has really was sensationally fast − and it of the system technology and of the already achieved good results with it. works perfectly.” application, business processes, and The advantage of this procedure is that user interface. “The integration that the company only enters approximate, Geographic referencing is a central SAP software offers is a major advan- provisional measurements and quality theme when it comes to managing data tage for us. Users find it much easier data before delivering timber to the and processes in the forestry industry. if they can always work with the same sawmill. The forestry worker fells the Firmly rooted in BaySF’s sustainability tool,” says Frost. “Although our em- tree. Once it has been moved to the www.sap.com/contactsap

edge of the forest track, the estimated Better Customer Relations quantity and location are entered into a mobile device. A positive side effect is that this business-to-business process is very This data is then transmitted via an in- popular with customers. That is one terface to the SAP ERP application at of the reasons why BaySF wants to BaySF, so that the transportation plan- increase its delivery volume from 1.8 ning department can trigger the trans- million cubic meters to 3 million cubic portation process. The customer meters by 2010. “The vendor-organized makes their measurements when the delivery process leads to greater customer satisfaction and thus to better customer relations,” says Frost “The vendor-organized delivery pro- confidently. cess leads to greater customer satisfac- BaySF is one of the first forestry enter- tion and thus to better customer prises to increasingly manage its busi- relations.” ness processes with SAP solutions. By so doing, the company is keeping to its Matthias Frost, Head of Information and Commu- strategic plan of creating generic solu- nications Technology, Bayerische Staatsforsten tions that solve more than one prob- lem. “We aim to build tools that we can use to handle a whole lot of issues. The timber reaches the sawmill and sends technology and integration functional- this data back to SAP ERP. Based on ities of the SAP software complement this information, the forestry company this objective ideally,” explains Frost. then makes a material posting and is- The company is continuing to expand sues an invoice. This procedure re- its IT landscape with SAP software. moves the need for complicated cor-

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