Double delivery capacities through automated processes

Handle around twice as many shipments as before with the existing team - an enormous increase in orders that a HELM company in the USA expected in 2019 due to the acquisition of another company. The declared goal: to handle the additional order volume with the existing team. Feasible?

HELM AG, headquartered in Hamburg, has been around for over 120 years. The company is still family-owned and proud to uphold the traditions that have grown over the years. As a multifunctional sales organization in the fields of chemicals (feedstocks and derivatives), crop protection products, active pharmaceutical ingredients, pharmaceuticals and fertilizers, HELM AG is an integral part of the corporate landscape. HELM is represented in over 30 countries worldwide and is one of the largest international chemical marketing companies.

HELM has a broad base, as affiliated companies expand its scope of action. One of these companies is headquartered in the USA and specializes in the purchase and sale of raw materials in the fertilizer sector. The company also produces new formulations at the request of customers - the composition of the products is customized as required. With numerous branches in the USA, the company is widespread and impresses customers with its experience, expertise and specialist knowledge. An extensive global network expands the possibilities of the company, which is currently expanding its own product line with additional specialty products.

The partnership between HELM and Yaveon goes back a long way. With such a long partnership, the question arises as to what makes the collaboration so special. Gerry Wallner, Head of Department IT Business Applications, and Andreas Lübbe, IT Business Applications, at HELM see it this way: "The decision in favor of Yaveon at the beginning of our partnership was based on the industry solution. Yaveon offers the batch management we were looking for. Over the years, we have then implemented many individual developments with Yaveon. Of course, there is a certain dependency as a result. But that's not the real reason why we've been working so well with Yaveon for so long." He sees the advice as particularly positive: "The Yaveon employees simply know HELM 100%, which is incredibly valuable. We also really appreciate the advice. Instead of blindly implementing an order, our contacts tell us honestly if they see another way of achieving our goal. For me, that's forward-looking advice." HELM also appreciates Yaveon when it comes to project implementation. "Yaveon thinks along with us and really wants to understand our requirements."

When HELM acquired the Fertilizer division of another company, it had to process around 60,000 shipments a year - this was not possible manually. HELM handles its supply chain with the ERP system Microsoft Dynamics NAV, whereby direct warehousing is not used - only purchasing and sales processes are in use. However, as a weighing scale integration had already been implemented at the acquired company, it was only logical to implement one for the company's own ERP system. The scales and the ERP system were therefore to be connected via an interface. "It was important for us to be able to handle the order volume with the existing team. To achieve this, we needed a way to connect our NAV with the scales," recalls Mr. Wallner.

The first step in the project was to integrate the new company into the system in order to give users access to all the functions they needed. This was easy to implement thanks to the existing combination of various functionalities from Yaveon software and HELM's own developments. The weighing scale integration itself was then carried out via a Yaveon app.

• Industry-specific ERP solution fully integrated into Microsoft NAV or Dynamics 365 Business Central
• Extends the ERP system with industry-relevant functions, such as batch management
• Can be combined from different apps as required
• Intuitive to use thanks to typical Microsoft design

• Fully integrated in Microsoft Dynamics NAV or 365 Business Central
• Automates cross-system data exchange
• Connection of suppliers, partners and customers
• Connection of a scale to your own ERP system

In practice, this looks like this: All users work in one system, but since not every terminal communicates with a scale, a separation is made here. Depending on the terminal with which the goods are shipped, i.e. the storage location in NAV, the system checks whether communication with the scales is required. If this is the case, the required information, including a release number, is sent to the scales and the corresponding terminal, where it is ready for collection. When a truck arrives, the driver logs on to the terminal with the release number and receives authorization to pick up the goods. Once the driver has loaded the goods, he drives to the scales, where the delivery quantity is determined. The weight of the filled goods is then transferred directly back to the ERP system together with the corresponding release number. NAV uses this information to book the respective shipment appropriately, automatically and immediately.

With a further function, known as "automatic blending", the interface enables the precise blending of fertilizers directly on site. Once the mixture has been put together, it can be loaded directly onto the truck. The message indicating which quantity of which product was used is automatically recorded in the ERP system - a kind of automated production.

Does it really work to connect the terminals - especially the third-party terminals? It was clear from the very first second that this was not a standard project. "Building an interface is always more complicated than it looks at first. There are peculiarities in other systems that you simply don't know about beforehand. Only experience shows what needs to be converted," explains Andreas Lübbe. In addition, there was a special constellation of four companies involved: In addition to Yaveon and the US-based HELM company, HELM AG and the acquired company were also involved. The challenge of coordinating four parties involved was met with different time zones and mentalities. With targeted planning and well thought-out organization, it was possible to turn a task into a joint project. "From the very first second, everyone worked flat out to complete the system on time. Despite different time zones, cultures and companies - we stayed exactly on schedule," says Andreas Lübbe.

After on-site appointments at the headquarters in the USA, the real launch took place completely online - and with success.

Thanks to the interface between the scales and the ERP system, the HELM company in the USA is experiencing significant time savings, as the results are fed back in real time. In general, day-to-day work is made easier, as the automated production postings eliminate the need to create and post production orders. Recipes are created directly in the system and consumption is booked based on this recipe.

Managing around twice as many orders as before with the existing team sounds like a daunting task. "There were doubts at first, the challenge was not without its challenges. So we were all the more pleased when everything worked out. We managed it with Yaveon," summarizes Gerry Wallner.