The Würth Group is the global market leader in its core business – the sale of fastening and assembly materials. It currently consists of more than 400 companies in over 80 countries with over 77,000 employees on its payroll. In 1994, the Group created Würth IT, a global IT service provider supporting all 400+ companies in 80 countries. Würth IT’s goal is to invest in modern systems and innovative solutions that can help digitize the Group’s processes.
To achieve this goal, Würth IT has introduced Würth System One (WS1), an enterprise resource planning system based on SAP. WS1 forms the foundation for Würth Group’s enterprise management and includes interfaces to a number of support systems within logistics and production, including labeling. In time, the entire Group will use this system.
Würth IT was looking to standardize their labeling, yet their current labeling system had its challenges. "We had a labeling solution that was custom-built by a small company with only a few employees," relates Simon Koch, Project Lead/Manager. "The system was based on labeling software they had programmed. It consisted of a locally installed database, label design software and a label print interface. Everything was installed locally with CDs, and every time we had an update to the software, we would have to send new CDs with the updates to all of our suppliers."
This approach created multiple challenges for the Würth IT team. First, the manual updating process made it impossible to have an overview of which label software version Würth’s suppliers were using. "With such a large number of users, it was impossible to keep track of who was using what version of the system," Simon explains. "Some CDs would get lost in transit when we were sending updated versions and some partners would continue to use outdated versions."
Every time we had an update to the software, we had to send new CDs with the updates to all of our suppliers
Simon Koch
项目负责人/经理
其次，这套自主研发的系统面临支持工作上的难题。原来的系统开发人员已不在公司工作，这意味着很多原始的系统知识已经丢失。设计该软件的公司随后被另一家软件公司收购。代表其标签系统背后原公司的系统技术已经不复存在。这些挑战导致他们未来对该平台的维护能力感到担忧。
Würth 同时对原有系统经常发生的很多问题也很挣扎。他们经历过标签信息错误的情况，导致产品需要重新粘贴标签。这意味着装运延误。他们也出现过因缺少重打标签数据而造成更严重的延误情况。
所有这些情况使Würth 做出总结，他们需要寻找另一种标签解决方案。他们的需求很明确。“我们想要一个系统，它能够每天24小时工作，可以提供一个集中式数据库，无需安装即可提供给我们的供应商，并且可以适用各种打印机品牌和型号。 ”Simon回忆说。对于供应商而言，新标签系统可以沿用供应商现有的打印设备极为重要。
Würth implemented Loftware's web printing solution for their supplier labeling. Approximately 180 suppliers in 15 countries are using Loftware's web printing solution. "Our suppliers weren't pleased with the old system," comments Simon. "They knew it wasn't optimal." By using logic similar to the one used in the old system, Loftware was able to ensure a smooth transition to the new system. The system contains 10 label layouts that were designed in cooperation with Loftware. As of September 2018, Würth’s suppliers print approximately 8.5 million labels a year using Loftware's web printing solution.
