ERP, EDI and warehouse logistics from a single source at Schlumberger

Schlumberger GmbH & Co. KG and its subsidiary A. Segnitz & Co. GmbH are among the leading distributors of premium wines, champagnes, sparkling wines and spirits in Germany. As a partner to the retail and gastronomy sectors, the Meckenheim-based company stocks over 1,000 selected products. As a medium-sized company with around 130 employees, Schlumberger is the first address for stocking up on excellent wines from the best vineyards in a total of 16 countries. Private individuals can also order wines online via the subsidiary Bremer Weinkolleg.

As an intermediary and mail order company in the consumer goods industry, Schlumberger has a complex value chain in which various information logistics solutions have to be supported with the different suppliers, partners and customers. As part of the introduction of the new ERP system based on Microsoft Dynamics NAV and the Yaveon industry-specific ERP solution, the electronic supply chain solution from Yaveon was also introduced.

"Initially, we only wanted to map the electronic data interchange (EDI) with Yaveon, but it soon became clear that the solution would be the hub of the supply chain and therefore the heart of our ERP solutions," recalls Ivo Schiffmann, Head of IT at Schlumberger.

Yaveon's EDI-related tasks should not be underestimated: The messages for orders, DESADV, INVOICE etc. are generated, sent and received directly from NAV to all important food retail customers. Shipping companies are also integrated directly via EDI. A customs connection completes the set of EDI messages.

"We are pleasantly surprised by the performance of the Yaveon solution and are pleased that orders enter the system so quickly and automatically," says Ivo Schiffmann. The monitoring of orders is also made easier by the fact that pre-orders are scheduled backwards and automatically executed on time. In addition to the EDI interface, the Yaveon solution also organizes the interface to the existing warehouse management system. A major benefit is that customers are now only charged for what is actually delivered, as the feedback from order picking is taken into account. In addition, order entry ensures that the purchase orders that can be logistically bundled to Schlumberger and its subsidiary Segnitz are sent together while remaining separate for accounting purposes. Similarly, all intercompany postings triggered by the subsidiary Bremer Weinkolleg are booked correctly and the documents are created and processed automatically.

On this basis, it is also possible for Schlumberger to act as a pure logistics service provider for other wine merchants and take over all logistical processes and document creation without their customers realizing that another partner was involved.

Another special feature that is solved very well with Yaveon is the consignment warehouse. The 'Pay on Click' concept means that Schlumberger's customers only pay for the goods when they are scanned at the checkout. An automated summary of the individual dispatch notifications enables Schlumberger to create monthly collective invoices. Schlumberger also solves the problem that no new EAN codes may be assigned to the wines despite different vintages, as otherwise a new listing procedure would be necessary. Internally, the EAN code can be linked to the article numbers and vintage information so that the batch can be precisely assigned.

Schlumberger can also increase transparency in the logistics chain for suppliers via the Yaveon solution. Finally, Schlumberger also uses it to serve the purchase order systems of large consumers such as hotel chains or purchasing associations, so that these orders can be recorded directly in the system. "Due to the specific working methods at Schlumberger, we were able to extend the plausibility check and the automated checks beyond the usual level in Dynamics NAV," says Schiffmann. At the same time, full control of all bookings is always possible and tasks are assigned by the workflow via direct link.

Conclusion: For a trading company like Schlumberger, the Yaveon solutions are the central information logistics hub in which a highly automated, workflow-controlled supply chain has been established. "Thanks to the good cooperation with the consultants and developers from Yaveon, we were always able to deliver from the very start and got off to a picture-book start, which I have rarely experienced in IT projects," says Schiffmann, praising the cooperation with Yaveon.