Spare parts ordering on an SAP NetWeaver 7.0 basis

SAP service provider UNIORG supports BPW Bergische Achsen KG at launch of the their new Internet shop system for spare parts ordering on an SAP NetWeaver 7.0 basis

BPW produced 470,000 truck trailers and modules in 2007 alone. More than 12 million are in use around the world. This also means: every day, numerous distributorships, service partners and commercial partners throughout Europe quickly require spare parts. This is managed from BPW's head office in Wiehl.

With the introduction of a new online shop and portal system in early 2008, set up with support from Uniorg's SAP specialists, operation of the spare parts business (orders, price and availability checks, delivery time queries,....) will be decisively improved.

"On the basis of SAP NetWeaver, in five months, we created an Internet-based information and order platform for our international subsidiaries and German business. It allows very fast availability and pricing checks, handles the supply chain in an completely automated manner and is entirely integrated into our system landscape", explains BPW IT manager Jörg Kuhlmann, citing the new portal's crucial advantages.

As a precondition, all business administration article and partner data of the SAP system, along with spare parts lists and graphic information (e.g., exploded views) administered in a Cross Media Publishing system, had to be made simultaneously available in consolidated form within an information system. Order data entered into the online shop are automatically taken over in SAP customer orders, thus triggering all required ordering process steps. This allows very rapid delivery of products ordered from the online shop. An order-tracking system will also be put in place in the current year. This important and fully-integrated function allows customers a 24-hour view of current order status, all in real-time.

UNIORG has set up the online shop system on an SAP NetWeaver 7.0 (2004s) basis. Here, the Enterprise portal serves as the central entry point for the customer: this is where authentification and authorization occur. Central applications, such as the online shop and order-tracking, along with additional queries (article master data, spare parts lists,...), were created for JAVA with the help of Web Dynpro.

Web Dynpro overcomes language barriers

The information portal is already available in several languages. In order to further simplify the Web Dynpro application, a specific UNIORG development will soon be deployed for localization (translation); also web-based, it will allow translation into the desired target language. An important advantage yielded by this supplementary development is the ability for BPW itself to execute translation of contents into each target language. "Today, if a company strives for international success, a multilingual Internet platform is indispensable"; this is Jörg Kuhlmann's view of the future; and he's got reason to be optimistic: "Uniorg's integrated solution offers an excellent basis for this".

Founded in 1898, BPW is the largest chassis system manufacturer in Europe, with a production volume of over 470,000 axles, for axle weights of over 5.5 tons. The owner-managed family business headquartered in Whiel, near Cologne, employs about 5,000 people worldwide at 12 manufacturing plants and 20 sales offices. With the heavy axles sold over the head office in Wiehl, BPW achieved sales of over 940 million euros in 2007. Special axles for farm machinery and automobile trailers round out the product range. Research and development in the areas of chassis and brake technology is actively pursued. In 2005 and 2007, BPW won the "Best Brands" prize in the "Trailer Axle" category.

The companies of Dortmund-based UNIORG Group (www.uniorg.de), with their roughly 150 employees, offer businesses of any size and industry a wide array of products and services for the solution and implementation of all requirements arising in design, development, modernization and operation of company-wide IT systems. Among these are all aspects of classic SAP consulting, computer center services, managed services, E-business solutions and cross-company integration of business administration information systems. For over 30 years, the certified SAP partner has enjoyed a sterling reputation with its clients. These include well-known groups such as Moeller, Yazaki and Philips, along with numerous medium-size companies in various industries, e.g., Denon/Marantz, Dr. R Pleger Pharmaceuticals, VEKA, or Wilo.