Video reference

Quick overview

Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG has been a reliable and highly innovative partner to the global printing industry for more than 170 years. With a market share of over 40 percent, the company is the leading supplier of sheetfed offset presses – a technology used in the production of high-quality, high-volume print products. In addition, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG has expanded its position in flexographic printing for the packaging market and in digital label printing in recent years. The company employs 9,500 people at 250 locations in 170 countries worldwide.

Initial situation

Overcoming the challenges of forms:

Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG was faced with the task of integrating various sales companies (known as SSU sales and service units) into the SAP system. Forms were therefore also an issue. Although the number of requirements for the forms in day-to-day business was manageable, implementation took a very long time due to the complexity and large number of forms. A solution was needed here.

Partnership with Softway for innovative form development:

Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG was looking for a strong partner for forms development that offered a flexible solution. The choice fell on Softway AG, whereby the decision in favor of Adobe forms technology and implementation in S4 had already been made.

Challenges before the changeover:

The initial situation comprised around 800 forms in SAPscript and Smartforms. Historically grown structures and different requirements in the sales companies led to this large number of forms, the actual necessity of which was unclear. The complexity of the forms resulted from the diverse processes at Heidelberg, from machine sales to spare parts supply. The different requirements in the sales companies led to a large number of forms in the SD, MM and FI/CO modules.

Specifications & implementation

After a kick-off workshop, Softway form templates were adapted to the CI and the requirements of Heidelberg. The changeover took place in 4 migration waves, with a standard form serving as the basis for all SSUs. Heidelberg employees were introduced to form development with SSP Forms in a coaching session.

The changeover took place in several phases, with colleagues from Heidelberg already actively involved in the integration of new company codes in the second phase. The employees were able to quickly familiarize themselves with the new forms technology.

The development of forms has been sustainably improved. Structured forms and the ability to react quickly to requirements led to more efficient processes. Softway AG kept its promise that implementation would be significantly faster after the rollout phase.

Results

Maintaining the forms is now much easier. Uniform specifications and transparent customizing allow requirements to be implemented quickly. Softway AG is also always available as a fixed point of contact for questions.

The number of forms has been reduced from 800 to 15. Each application in the module now has one form, which leads to considerable simplification and transparency.

During the changeover, special requirements, such as the implementation of a digital signature in Hungary, were successfully implemented. E-mail dispatch from SAP was optimized to enable individual adjustments according to SSU requirements.
The successful collaboration between Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG and Softway led to efficient form development and optimized business processes throughout the company.