Seamless warehouse integration at hameln - thanks to Yaveon 365

“Good morning, Mr. Sebald, can we move our appointment to another day? We’re putting in extra shifts to make even faster progress.” With these words, Dr. Stefan Bartsch, Director Sales Germany/Austria at hameln pharma gmbh, greeted Yaveon consultant Matthias Sebald. Of course, no problem—day-to-day operations naturally take precedence over a reference interview. What we did not realize at the time was the reason behind the overflowing order books: Sufentanil-hameln—an opioid used in the treatment of COVID-19 patients.

Hameln pharma gmbh is a specialist in narcotics with over 125 years of experience. The company focuses on the marketing of injectable parenterals for acute hospital therapy. Parenterals are sterile preparations, for example, for injection into the human or animal body.

To make optimal use of its office space, avoid the need for in-house machinery, and flexibly expand or reduce storage space, hameln pharma gmbh relies on a specialized pharma logistics provider. Here, the medical products—some of which fall under the Narcotics Act—are securely stored. The logistics partner also handles part of the order entry. Scheduling and backorder resolution are managed by the system, Yaveon ProE-SCM, in a highly automated way, and the shipment of goods is notified to the logistics provider. For Dr. Bartsch, invoicing presented a particular challenge: “Originally, invoicing was to be handled via the logistics partner through a custom interface. However, this would have been very expensive and time-consuming,” recalls Dr. Bartsch. “The idea to realize the warehouse integration through a standard interface and to fully automate invoicing within the ERP system came from Yaveon.”

As early as 2015, hameln pharma gmbh implemented the ERP system Microsoft Dynamics NAV. Because the joint project experience was positive, hameln pharma gmbh quickly opted for another project round with Yaveon.

“When we began our discussions with Dr. Bartsch, it quickly became clear that a custom solution wasn’t necessary,” explains Matthias Sebald. With the EDI module of the Yaveon ProE-SCM solution, it is possible to connect the logistics partner directly and in a highly automated way to hameln pharma gmbh’s ERP system.

Yaveon ProE-SCM is an add-on module for Microsoft Dynamics NAV. The industry-specific ERP solution Yaveon ProBatch extends the system with industry-relevant functions.

• Fully integrated into Microsoft Dynamics Business Central
• Enhanced with industry-relevant functions, such as batch management and batch tracking, split and merge, and barcode scanning
• Simple, intuitive operation and user-friendly design
• Expandable with various modules, for example for production, trade, warehouse & logistics

Hameln particularly relies on the ProBatch trade functions in purchasing and sales, especially the pharma-compliant lot tracking and delivery restrictions.

• Fully integrated into Microsoft Dynamics NAV/Business Central
• Automates system-wide data exchange
• Seamless integration of suppliers, partners, and customers
• Can be expanded with additional modules if needed

• Complete integration of the logistics partner in standard without custom interface
• Customer- and supplier-side EDI communication
• Technical status tracking up to acknowledgement of receipt by the recipient
• Automated backorder resolution and delivery allocation
• Automated invoicing
• High degree of automation in the document chain
• Time savings and reduction of complexity at hameln itself
• Journal logic with editing option
• Monitoring tools
• Rapid setup possible thanks to ready-made setup templates

The EDI interface provides extensive direct warehouse integration. Specifically, this means: As soon as hameln pharma gmbh receives an order, availability is calculated and then the goods issue is notified to the logistics provider. The provider picks, assembles the requested products, and ships the goods. Electronic invoicing is fully automated: The system pulls the required information directly from the ERP system and sends it, depending on specifications, by e-post, by EDI, or by email. hameln pharma gmbh hardly has to worry about anything.

The experience of hameln pharma gmbh has been confirmed: “Just as with the NAV project a few years ago, collaboration with Yaveon during the implementation of the EDI interface was also based on trust. It was also pleasant that the consultants coordinated directly with our logistics provider. That saved us a great deal of time,” reports Dr. Bartsch.

Were there challenges during the project as well? Yes, for example the many technical terms at the beginning. Communication journals or activity lines were unusual at first, but soon became part of everyday language. In addition, the project period of around four months was ambitiously set—it was supposed to move quickly. “We wanted to be fully up and running by October 1, and that was quite tight toward the end. But with a joint final push, we were ultimately able to meet the timeframe.”

Matthias Sebald also reports positive cooperation: “Just as Dr. Bartsch says, there were challenges—as in every project. What’s important is to act proactively and respond appropriately and in time when needed. This way, we can always optimally support the customer.” What stuck with him especially positively was the interaction with the logistics provider. “Coordination went very well, we always received timely feedback on tests and were able to save hameln pharma gmbh a lot of time,” he summarizes.

In addition to the logistics provider, the pharmaceutical wholesale trade was also connected directly via EDI. Orders are automatically made available in the system without manual entry, delivery notes and invoices are sent by EDI. The entire invoicing process no longer has to be manually reworked. Hameln no longer has to stuff envelopes, affix postage, or send PDFs manually.

Dr. Bartsch is convinced it’s not only the connection to the warehouse and the wholesale trade that the project achieved. It also brought about a new perspective on the ERP system Microsoft Dynamics NAV. It was a kind of “wake-up call” for hameln pharma gmbh to engage more deeply with the possibilities of NAV. Step by step, the hameln team became more familiar with the ERP system and today appreciates it even more and knows how to use its potential.

As one of the very few companies worldwide, the hameln pharma group manufactures the opioid Sufentanil itself and thereby distributes numerous finished pharmaceuticals, for example for use in COVID-19 patients.

In the interview for the reference report, Dr. Bartsch explained the production and the current situation at hameln pharma gmbh. What particularly impressed us was the company’s desire to help people and its goal of using every possible resource to make the health situation around COVID-19 a little better.