Integrated planning process with conOS at Zumtobel Group
Increasing planning reliability through integrated and holistic production planning
Goals
In the course of switching to SAP ME and EWM, the Zumtobel Group also wanted to change its production planning in the SAP GUI. The previous planning was very time-consuming and work-intensive. In addition, there had been gaps in planning in the past, which led to material bottlenecks, among other things. The lack of planning certainty also caused a high rate of change in orders. The new system should therefore ensure holistic, integrated and realistic production planning, which also takes into account material and capacity availability as well as possible breakdowns.
Solution
The increase in planning reliability and the integration of the planning tool into the new system landscape was achieved through the SAP add-on conOperationScheduling (conOS for short). The planning tool integrated in SAP includes all relevant planning aspects that are necessary for successful production. Especially short-term planning changes are easy to implement and the resulting effects on the overall planning are immediately displayed. There is no need to switch transactions or manually refresh them. This flexibility enables efficient and accurate planning even in a turbulent market situation.
Challenge
In order to make production planning as efficient as possible, changes were also made to the structures and processes within Zumtobel in the course of implementing conOS. In addition, conOS was to be used before the introduction of SAP ME and EWM, which meant a temporary integration with the previous ERP system. This was an in-house development for which there was limited documentation.
Benefits
Integrated and holistic production planning, taking into account all aspects relevant to planning, has enabled Zumtobel to significantly increase its planning reliability. As a central planning system, conOS is also fully integrated into the SAP ERP landscape and, together with SAP ME and EWM, offers end-to-end digitalisation of all planning processes. It is used in both planning control and production and enables the teams to be more agile in the event of order changes.
