Dräger Medical B.V. gets more out of SAP with Every Angle

About Dräger Medical B.V.
Dräger Medical B.V. in Best, in the province of Brabant in the Netherlands,  specialises in small and portable breathing equipment, these devices can be found in ambulances and trauma helicopters, for example. They are mostly used in emergencies.
The site in Best with 150 employees is part of the global Dräger concern, which is headquartered in Germany. Dräger is active in over 190 countries and currently employs approximately 10,000 people. The company consists of two parts: Dräger Medical and Dräger Safety.

Need for information
Dräger's IT policy is geared towards automating as many processes as possible using SAP technology. The current SAP version in Best was installed in 2000.
‘To keep abreast of the developments in the logistical processes and to meet the targets we were set, we felt an increasing need in Best in 2007 for an extra tool time to add more functionality to SAP and in particular to get a better overview of the data.
We wanted to be able to make quality analyses and reports quickly, generate forecasts for suppliers and keep track of KPIs efficiently. Dräger Medical B.V. could do this by investing more in SAP itself, but that would require a big investment. Investing in Every Angle proved to  be an easier and faster way to fulfil our wishes’, said Arjen Staal, Supply Chain Manager at Dräger Medical B.V.
‘For the financial department, Every Angle was a big help in speeding up the production of reports. Before Every Angle was used, data tables from SAP were exported and linked to each other in Access and Excel. This is something that Every Angle does for us now’, said Brigitte van der Vleuten, Business Controller at Dräger Medical B.V.

Implementation
Because an Every Angle implementation has a low threshold in terms of outlay (no big investments, not many man hours), two years ago the head office approved this investment in the local SAP environment. This brought the following improvements for Dräger Medical B.V.:

• Saving on SAP accounts;
• Reduce stocks;
• Improved supplier performance;
• Good liquidity planning.

‘Once the decision had been made, it was only a matter of weeks before Every Angle was up and running. We went to work with it enthusiastically without delay. We enjoyed good and professional support from Every Angle during this period. The questions we had were answered quickly. All users were surprised by the simplicity and the ease of use. With Every Angle, data can be linked to other data in one list or matrix much more quickly. The planning department and the financial department in particular use Every Angle intensively’, reports Brigitte van der Vleuten.

Implementation of Every Angle
Every Angle is now used in a structural way within Dräger Medical B.V. Below, you will find a few examples of the ways Every Angle is used:  Stock analyses and cycle turns analyses;

• Creating a Supply Chain Cockpit with the five top KPIs;
• Cleaning master data;
• Creating monthly supplier forecasts;
• An insight into order portfolios;
• Loss and profits reports;
• Evaluating and determining standard prices.

KPIs and financial reports can now be presented much faster and are even available on the first day of the new month.

Every Angle was introduced in Dräger Medical B.V. at a very low threshold. ‘Every user is allowed to create and use his own angles. There is one administrator and there are two key users. They maintain the system and keep in touch with Every Angle. The two key users also validate the angles that are used for official reports and they are the experts other users can turn to with their questions. However, these two key users are hardly ever called upon, as Every Angle is very user-friendly. Another advantage is that you can view and use other people's angles, so that you don't all have to make the same angles’, according to Arjen Staal.

More time to improve performance
Therefore, Brigitte van der Vleuten is convinced that Every Angle enables Dräger Medical B.V. to make better use of its SAP system in a more conscious way. ‘The provision and distribution of information has been improved and in particular speeded up no end. This saves us lots of time and ensures we have more time to improve our logistical performance and levels of service to our customers', said Van der Vleuten.