Customer Report
Integration of keytech PLM in CAD/ERP enables Process Optimization Sennebogen Maschinenfabrik GmbH is a quality leader in many market segments of the construction machinery and industrial material handling industries thanks to many technical innovations and continual product improvements. Every new product – a medium-sized crane, for example, consists of about 70,000 parts – increases the volume of project relevant data, documents or workflow elements resulting in an enormous administrative challenge. For Sennebogen when choosing a PLM (product lifecycle management) solution, “keytech PLM was convincing not just as an individual solution for engineering but also as an integrated information basis for our entire company including deep CAD and ERP integration,” says Markus Holzapfel, keytech administrator at Sennebogen. The department-wide data management and organization quickly showed benefits for the
family-run company from Straubing: The product development process has become more effective, comprehensive and more secure.
Sennebogen Maschinenfabrik GmbH: Innovative Advantage Sennebogen Machinenfabrik was founded by Erich Sennebogen in 1952 in Straubing, Germany – the small company that originally specialized in producing machines for the agricultural industry has now established itself as a full service provider and quality leader in crane technology and material handling with three locations in Germany, a steelwork factory in Hungary as well as sales organizations in the USA and Singapore with a total of around 1,000 employees. The production program of this still family-run company in-
Complex customer requirements can thus be met faster, safer and more efficient cludes complete model ranges for duty cycle crawler cranes, crawler-, telescopic- and harbour cranes, material handling machines, multiloaders as well as base carriers. In addition to flexible machines from series production, Sennebogen also designs individual specialized machines in close collaboration with its clients - the final assembly of the machines is carried out to the highest level of quality exclusively in Germany at the Straubing and Wackersdorf locations.
Around 70,000 Parts, BOMs with up to 1,300 Positions “As a full service provider in crane technology and material handling we can deliver our standard machines in many variations, but our strength is also our ability to creatively and accurately deliver fine-tuned solutions to complex and often very specific customer requests,” says Florian Attehauser, PR manager at Sennebogen. keytech administrator Markus Holzapfel explains, “ Every new product can increase the volume of data: A medium-sized crane, for example consists
of about 70,000 parts, bills of materials can have up to 1,400 positions. To easily, efficiently and securely edit, document, update or archive project-relevant documents, data and information presents a huge data management challenge from purchasing, to manufacturing through after-sales-service.”
Selection Prerequisites for a PDM Solution To accommodate rapid business growth also in the IT department, traditional island solutions from self-developed Access or Excel programs have been replaced at Sennebogen Machinenfabrik GmbH over time with professional CAD and ERP systems. The basis of this new IT landscape should be a modern PDM (Product Data Management) solution. When choosing this solution the following criteria should be taken into consideration: • •
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keytech PLM - seamless integration into the existing ERP system The connection of a PDM (Product Data Management) solution with the business processes of the ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system and the resulting set up of an integrated and uniform platform is becoming more important. Data is created just once and automatically forwarded on – which saves time and reduces errors. Up-to-date data is available companywide, quickly, transparently and securely. One of the significant requirements from integration is the bi-directional synchronization of the item base between the PDM and the ERP systems. Both PDM and ERP users can access valid manufacturing documents without requiring them to be stored redundantly.
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Seamless integration with the proALPHA ERP system Open interfaces to other systems such as SolidWorks, AutoCAD, EPLAN or Adobe Can be configured individually Item-based management of product information BOM management and plot management
“There’s no such thing as can’t!” keytech completely covered all requirements of a PLM solution The intensive selection process decided in favor of keytech Software GmbH from Recklinghausen – for Markus Holzapfel an essential prerequisite was that the requirements regarding functionality and flexibility were completely covered. In comparison to the
competition, keytech was convincing “as not just an island solution for engineering, but as a company-wide information base including deep CAD and ERP integration as well as the possibility to serve all factories via a Microsoft remote desktop server. keytech also showed the commitment to open dialog as well as industry, product and project competence which set them above the competition.” Following the transfer of the old data, company-specific customizations and training in a test environment, about 300 seats keytech PLM have been implemented in the three German Sennebogen Maschinenfabrik GmbH locations in Straubing and Wackersdorf – the previous computer island solutions have given way to a professional, company-wide accessible IT structure. “With reference to our company slogan ‘there’s no such thing as can’t’ we will continually develop our PDM system further in line with the market, the modular and scalable growth enables implementation on an asneeded basis according to changing requirements,” the keytech administrator explains.
Electronic “Job Card” leads to around 20% Time Savings Sennebogen has their own specific order structure where the production of the machines is divided into individual projects. A ‘job card’ generated by keytech PLM accompanies the relevant item from its first design through engineering and manufacturing right to leaving the warehouse. Markus Holzapfel: “With the electronic job card the employees involved manage and control each process and can clearly follow the entire production process and see the workflow status in real time. With this process we were able to make around a 20% time saving, but almost more important is the improvement in security and transparence in comparison to the earlier manual way we did things, which often led to false and/or incomplete information entered or even job cards getting completely lost on a regular basis.”
Fully Automatic Generation of Parts Catalog Markus Holzapfel sees a significant ease in the work process with the implementation of keytech PLM, specifically with the fully automatic generation of the parts catalog. All filed and linked order data in the PDM system, such as base data, BOMs, graphics like 3D exploded views and other documents, flow – as a complete data file or just for specific parts (for example, for machines from a specific production year) – into the parts catalog. “This means that universal use of one and the same product data base even for the catalog creation area is secured. We merely define the filing structure in the keytech folder module, determine the language, into which catalog the items will be stored, determine the desired catalog medium such as CD, DVD or print and deliver the customer a machine-specific, clear and precise part documentation with the push of a button.”
Increased Marketing Efficiency with keytech DMS Even in their standard version keytech PLM provides a comprehensive portfolio of functions for product data and product lifecycle management (PDM/PLM). The growth of keytech to a DMS and ECM system means for marketing at Sennebogen “a huge leap, for example with the optimization of the old, previously unstructured filing system for relevant media for sales enquiries like photos, videos, prospects, presentations, graphics or pictograms,” says Florian Attenhauser. The entire press and photo archive is now filed and indexed in keytech so items can be sorted according to every possible detail such as model, motorization, field, color or person which means you can find items easily with just a click of the mouse. This results in quicker, more efficient, secure and targeted information management.
Markus Holzapfel: „In our company, keytech PLM is much more than just a solution to manage engineering data“ Company-Wide Process Optimization with PDM Solution Markus Holzapfel draws a final conclusion: “In our company, keytech PLM is much more than just a solution to manage engineering data. The deep integration of PLM, ERP and CAD brings all the processes clearly together department-wide, whereby the entire process chain is supported and optimized: Complex customer requirements can be filled more quickly, securely and efficiently and we can identify customerspecific modifications more easily. Data redundancies, occurrence of errors with data management, duplicate data entries or lengthy search for current documentation or information are all a thing of the past.”
Contact Information Autor Matthias Holzapfel Johannesstrasse 51 78056 Villingen-Schwenningen Germany Tel.: +49 7720-959096 E-Mail: redaktion@maxximum-pr.de
Sennebogen Maschinenfabrik GmbH Markus Holzapfel Hebbelstrasse 30 94315 Straubing Germany Tel.: +49 9421-5400 E-Mail: info@sennebogen.de Internet: www.sennebogen.com
keytech Software GmbH Daniela Galik Suderwichstraße 68 45665 Recklinghausen Germany Tel.: + 49 2361 985 80 0 E-Mail: info@keytech.de Internet: www.keytech.de/en
The SENNEBOGEN Material handler 870 Mobile
Sennebogen Maschinenfabrik GmbH
keytech Software GmbH
Sennebogen Maschinenfabrik GmbH was founded in 1952 to develop and produce machines for the agricultural industry. The company headquartered in Straubing, Germany, has now established itself as a full service provider and quality leader in crane technology and material handling.
keytech Software GmbH was founded in 1993 and specializes in the optimization of business process within the product lifecycle. With more than 1,000 successful implementations worldwide and more than 30 years experience in software development, keytech is a leader in the German-speaking PLM market. keytech works with their customers as they integrate their PLM ideas in their company and take into account existing processes during implementation.
The production program of this still family-run company includes complete model ranges for duty cycle crawler cranes, crawler-, telescopic- and harbour cranes, material handling machines, multiloaders as well as base carriers. In addition to flexible machines from series production, Sennebogen also designs individual specialized machines in close collaboration with its clients. The machines are manufactured in three factories in Bavaria and Hungary - the final assembly of the machines is carried out to the highest level of quality exclusively in Germany at the Straubing and Wackersdorf locations. Sennebogen also has a presence in key regions with subsidiaries in the USA and Singapore. The company has around 1,000 employees worldwide and supplies customers on all continents.
Sennebogen Maschinenfabrik GmbH Hebbelstrasse 30 94315 Straubing Germany Tel.: +49 9421-5400 E-Mail: info@sennebogen.de Internet: www.sennebogen.de
As one of only few independent PLM vendors keytech offers a large number of interfaces with well-known CAD programs such as SolidWorks, CATIA, Inventor, Solid Edge, AutoCAD, EPLAN and others. keytech’s years of experience with many ERP connections is the basis for successfully linking systems. In the past keytech has implemented several interfaces to well-known ERP systems such as SAP, PSI, Microsoft Dynamics, NAV, SIVAS, ABAS and ISSOS. At the beginning of 2010 keytech expanded their portfolio to become a full-value DMS system that enables real-time, interdepartmental access to revision-safe data. With this expansion keytech unified the two worlds of PLM and DMS into one system.
keytech Software GmbH SuderwichstraĂ&#x;e 68 45665 Recklinghausen Germany Tel.: +49 2361 985 80 0 Fax: +49 2361 985 80 23 E-Mail: info@keytech.de www.keytech.de/en