Growing digitally: integrated solution for documents at Cremer Oleo

CREMER OLEO GmbH & Co. KG is a manufacturer and supplier of oleochemical specialties that are used in pharmaceutical products, cosmetics, and food. But the oils and fats, all of which are derived from plant-based sources, are also applied in technical fields.

Like the CREMER Holding, CREMER OLEO has experienced strong growth in recent years, expanded its business activities, and generated 239 million euros in revenue at three sites in Germany and international sales offices. With growth and the integration of various production and administrative sites, the demands on process efficiency also increased.

The integration of new sites and the interaction of workflows require greater digitalization of business processes than before. Christian Reich, Head of IT at CREMER OLEO, relies on integrated, future-proof software solutions that support the company’s long-term growth strategy.

The main goals for the process optimizations are therefore:

• Seamless integration of processes and document exchange across sites
• Faster and more secure workflows
• Efficient invoice processing
• Ability to store and retrieve documents related to specific transactions
• Archiving all ERP documents from Microsoft Dynamics NAV
• Organization of documents in file structures in SharePoint

CREMER OLEO uses Microsoft Dynamics NAV at its German sites, with separate tenants that are currently still on different version levels. At the two production sites, the industry solution from Yaveon extends the ERP system. In Wittenberge, this solution has been in use for some time. In Witten, the Yaveon ERP industry solution based on NAV 2009 was implemented in just three months as a replacement for the previous SAP system. Regardless of any future standardization of the ERP versions, CREMER OLEO wanted to consistently organize document management along its business processes.

For this purpose, CREMER OLEO chose a document management solution from Yaveon based on SharePoint. With this, CREMER OLEO is not only relying on a consistent Microsoft platform, but also has the advantage that all applications can be implemented and supported by Yaveon. “Through this close collaboration, we can ensure that the synergies between the applications and the cross-functional workflows really work,” says Mr. Reich. The experienced NAV senior consultant and process advisor is well aware that some of the upcoming tasks can only be handled by the company itself. Only in this way can friction be reduced in the long term, processes accelerated, and training requirements minimized.

CREMER has made significant progress with the consistent archiving and management of all ERP documents and transaction-relevant files. All documents now generated in NAV are electronically archived and filed in records. Digital filing takes place largely automatically by generating the corresponding metadata, which enables SharePoint to build the record structures. It is entirely possible to have different views and record structures for the same data.

A direct link from the masks in the ERP system allows access to all documents related to the transaction. For example, the order, quotation, pro forma invoice, delivery note, and invoice of an order can be displayed. Likewise, it is also possible to jump directly to all documents assigned to a customer. In SharePoint, all documents are structured into corresponding folders. Other documents not generated from the ERP system, such as emails, can be added to the records via a drag-and-drop sidebar from Ecspand and are also retrievable from the ERP system. Depending on the context, metadata is added partly automatically and partly through menu navigation. This ensures that files are always easy to find, grouped by transaction, and directly accessible.

In addition, with the help of the SharePoint environment based on Yaveon’s ideas, CREMER built a so-called “House of Quality,” in which all documents related to quality assurance, quality management, REACH, and work instructions are stored.

“We use a secure workspace in which quality documents are created and finalized through an approval process. They are then published in the employee portal, ensuring that employees always have access to the most up-to-date documents. In this way, nearly all documents created at CREMER—from product development to the product life cycle, inventory management, order processing, and quality management—are structured, securely archived, and easily accessible.”

Another area of digitalizing business processes is incoming invoice processing. “The invoice approval process across locations was too slow, so we often couldn’t take advantage of cash discounts, and it wasn’t transparent where invoices were in the approval process,” explains Mr. Reich about the initial situation. Likewise, audit-proof archiving was to be integrated into this process. For this purpose, Mr. Reich decided to introduce invoice processing with ecspand and SharePoint. Yaveon also provides the interface to Microsoft Dynamics NAV and offers cross-company workflow support. This ensures that CREMER OLEO has a unified process across all sites. Supplier invoices in Witten, Hamburg, or Wittenberge are now scanned, or in the case of electronic invoices, stored in the electronic inbox. The invoice data is then read electronically, and the invoice header is generated with reference to the purchase order.

After verification by the clerk, a defined workflow ensures that the invoices in NAV are forwarded for approval to the requester, then for posting in accounting, and finally for payment release in central financial management. At any time, the original invoice can be accessed, which has since been stored in the document archive in compliance with audit requirements. Invoice processing is now a closed, media-consistent process in which the current status of each invoice can be retrieved, and approvals and postings can take place without delays.

To enable the system to largely automate the reading process, master data first had to be checked and updated. In addition, the system gradually learns to recognize the various supplier invoices better. Fields that are not recognized are simply marked in the PDF and assigned to the correct field in the NAV system. After a few invoices from the supplier, the system automatically recognizes the field. Of course, errors still have to be corrected, especially with poorly printed invoices, which is why every invoice is checked before it is entered in NAV.

CREMER OLEO has taken an important step toward digitalizing business processes and has reduced approval cycle times. Another advantage is that implicit processes become explicit, making existing knowledge digitally available to everyone. New and younger employees, in particular, appreciate when relevant documents are linked directly to the transaction in the application, eliminating the need for lengthy searches. Even though the digitalization of documents initially triggered skepticism among some employees, the advantages of this digital, always-accessible way of filing were quickly recognized. It soon became apparent how much time could be saved by eliminating the tedious task of searching for documents – all thanks to this modernization of the process.