"We want to advise our customers holistically"

SSI Schaefer is one of the world's leading providers of intralogistics solutions and matching software solutions. Around 70 operating companies and over ten production sites worldwide ensure the greatest possible market proximity to customers and sales partners worldwide. SSI Schaefer's services range from concept development and warehouse equipment with products from its own production to the realization of complex logistics projects as a general contractor. The importance of IT has increased significantly in recent years. And this has also had an impact at SSI Schaefer: In addition to the numerous logistics professionals, more than 1,000 employees worldwide now work in IT - and the trend is still rising.

With its own logistics software Wamas, SSI Schaefer offers customers transparent monitoring and control functions, full coverage of their logistics requirements and optimum integration of the systems into intralogistics processes.

Understanding business processes is crucial

"We supply industrial software for logistics systems with high performance and availability," says Franz Bauer-Kieslinger, CEO of SSI Schäfer IT Solutions GmbH. "Each system has its own individual character, tailored precisely to the customer's requirements." This requires very different skills and expertise at SSI Schäfer IT Solution GmbH: the spectrum of specialists employed ranges from programmers, database experts and software architects to analysts and consultants.

"Each system has its own individual character, precisely tailored to the customer's requirements"

Franz Bauer-Kieslinger CEO SSI Schäfer IT Solutions GmbH

Concept solution geared towards the sustainability of the customer

SSI Schaefer places particular emphasis on holistic and complete customer support - being an active companion and consultant throughout the entire duration of the project. Each customer has its own business model and pursues its own strategic and operational goals. Of course, the respective requirements for the IT system of the logistics solution also depend on this. "The conceptual design of the solution is always geared towards the sustainability of the customer," says Bauer-Kieslinger. "It is crucial for them that we offer them real added value and increase their competitiveness in the long term." To achieve this, it is necessary to understand the customer's business processes and offer holistic logistics advice. As part of the specification phase with the customer, the experts from SSI Schaefer analyze the process flows in detail in order to be able to map them accordingly in the software. After all, increasing efficiency is the prerequisite for sustainable economic success. Regardless of the complexity, this applies to very small companies as well as medium-sized or large companies.

SSI Schaefer

The SSI Schaefer Group is the world's leading solution provider of modular storage and logistics systems. The company employs over 8,500 people at its international headquarters in Neunkirchen, Germany, in around 70 operating companies worldwide and at over ten production sites in Germany and abroad. Spread across six continents, SSI Schaefer develops innovative concepts and solutions for its customers' industries, thus shaping the future of intralogistics. The company plans, designs and produces systems for setting up warehouses, factories, workshops and offices, manual and automatic storage, conveying, picking and sorting systems as well as solutions for waste technology and recycling. SSI Schaefer has developed into one of the largest providers of release-ready software for internal material flow. More than 1,000 IT experts develop high-performance applications and advise customers on solutions for the intelligent linking of software and hardware components. The comprehensive software portfolio with Wamas and SAP covers all processes from warehouse to material flow management. At the same time, SSI Schaefer optimizes the productivity and work performance of its customers with its own solutions and creates the opportunity to actively manage the warehouse by measuring and evaluating with the help of KPIs. As a globally active general contractor, SSI Schaefer implements complex logistics systems, from system planning and consulting to turnkey systems and customized service and maintenance offers.

"In addition to consulting and process evaluation of our customers' entire supply chain, we orchestrate and synchronize the entire material flow of intralogistics solutions with the functionalities of the Wamas logistics software," says Bauer-Kieslinger. "At the same time, we provide a solution that makes logistics processes in the warehouse more efficient by visualizing and evaluating the relevant key performance indicators (KPIs) and helps customers to optimize their planning." To this end, the customer has access to a comprehensive product portfolio on the market and a global service network. And as a strategic SAP service partner, SSI Schaefer supports its customers in the selection, implementation and operation of SAP products for warehouse management.

Industry 4.0 should create concrete added value

Industry 4.0 or digitalization is a hot topic that many users are currently addressing. However, there is still a great deal of uncertainty on the market as to what this means in individual cases and how individual companies can benefit from the trend towards Industry 4.0. "Here too, we clearly see our task as supporting companies and highlighting specific potential benefits," explains Bauer-Kieslinger. It is important to take a 360° approach and go beyond standard solutions. These can be data glasses, sensors or robots, as well as self-controlling agents or a big data solution - the decisive factor is always the customer benefit. When it comes to big data, for example, the trick is not to collect information, but to draw the right conclusions from the right information for the customer.

Users have high expectations of new technology. "Our task is to reconcile the customer's expectations of the technology with its benefits in order to ensure sustainability," says Bauer-Kieslinger. "Only then is the technology not an end in itself, but serves to make logistics more efficient." In any case, a high level of IT expertise and intelligent linking with logistics processes is also a basic prerequisite for being able to successfully deal with the trending topics in the future. This is often a question of the right communication and the compatibility of all components used. Here, too, SSI Schaefer sees itself well equipped with its holistic consulting and implementation approach.

www.ssi-schaefer.com