The challenge
The pharmaceutical company works closely with logistics service providers. As the order business in this sector is very volatile, it was not possible to make precise statements about capacity utilization, which repeatedly led to problems with the service providers during collection. The service providers have to be informed promptly about the volume of goods and where and when the goods have to be collected and by which means of transport. During the collaboration, there was the challenge of providing transport data in real time. Another critical challenge was the tracking and tracing of the goods. Although a warehouse management system was in place, it was not always used optimally due to the lack of connection to individual areas. In addition, real-time monitoring for internal and external departments and service providers needed to be integrated in order to optimize the logistics processes.
The solution
To improve the logistics processes, edpem was implemented as an end-to-end monitoring solution. The monitoring guaranteed a complete overview of the delivery process: from the SAP order document and invoice to the delivery of the goods. Connecting and monitoring the warehouse management system was also part of the task. Consistent goods tracking across the entire supply chain made it possible to obtain information quickly without having to involve other departments. This saved valuable time and resources. The optimal choice of vehicle for the carrier when collecting the parcels and ensuring product tracking on a batch basis was achieved. The security of the internal IT systems was guaranteed, as external partners only had access to edpem and no access authorizations were required for internal applications. By scanning the parcels, customer orders could be tracked and traced. The result: problems were detected early and process owners were notified in real time. edpem enables the company to track the entire shipping process from the packaging of the product to the actual delivery to the customer. The electronic data interchange (EDI) and the resulting automation have created new opportunities for better service and higher quality - both for the customer on site and for the logistics service providers.
Our customer
a pharmaceutical company treats patients worldwide with its "Made in Germany" products, almost all of which are manufactured at the main site in Baden-Baden and distributed via an extensive network. The focus is on the development and production of medicines made from natural ingredients. The company has thus grown globally and is active in 50 countries around the world.