News

SAP software expertise from FalkenbergIGZ is the Business of the Month at Oberpfalz Regional MarketingAround 180 employees are now coding and developing software in the three "software barns" that make up the corporate premises of IGZ Logistics + IT GmbH, based in Falkenberg in the district of Tirschenreuth. The two-man operation founded by brothers Wolfgang Gropengießer and Johann Zrenner has grown over the past 13 years into an international and highly specialized software company for SAP software. "IGZ provides secure jobs for highly qualified employees in Bavaria's eastern Oberpfalz region and its innovative company premises are also something of a local architectural landmark," commented Christoph Aschenbrenner, Director of Oberpfalz Regional Marketing, when presenting the award for

With the EWI (Electronic Work Instruction) module, IGZ has expanded its SAP MII (SAP Manufacturing Integration and Intelligence) Best Practices to include a further integrative component for interfacing with production facilities by using SAP MES.Electronic work instructions used for the presentation, processing and confirmation of process manufacturing instructions include the following: Process instruction sheetsProcess messagesDisplay process standard values or pass these to machineryQM inspection lot processingDisplay of hazardous material notices and symbols from SAP EH&S Local data retention in SAP MII (SAP Manufacturing Integration and Intelligence) enables autonomous processing. Operators benefit from the deployment of EWI, and especially from the system-assisted guidance of person

With support from SAP Logistics integrators IGZ, Hansgrohe has set a new standard in logistics: From autumn 2011, SAP EWM/MFS (SAP Extended Warehouse Management/SAP Material Flow System) is now managing all of the processes at the company's existing highly-automated logistics centre in Offenburg.In the sanitaryware segment, Hansgrohe enjoys the reputation of being an innovation leader in technology, design and sustainability. And these efforts have paid off: in 2011, the Hansgrohe Group posted new record figures for sales and earnings of approximately €764 million. This success can also be attributed to a logistics setup precisely tailored to the needs of the markets. "We call it 'customer logistics'," explains Volker Weisenhorn, Head of Customer and Distribution Logistics at the Offenbu

It's familiar to any automated warehouse system owner (high-bay warehouse, small part AS/RS, conveyor systems, etc.): There's often a "hitch" at the same old places in the PLC/plant system. The usual approach is a daily struggle to cope with the symptoms. As wear and attrition worsens over the years, however, so too does the risk of an increasing frequency of system downtime. Specialised interventions can help to restore the reliability of plant systems – but only if such interventions are performed in a timely and targeted manner.One of the daily challenges facing a warehouse owner is retaining the value of the automated logistics system currently installed while safeguarding both availability and system performance. Yet the "ravages of time" are felt after only a few years of using the

Looking to meet the challenges and cost pressures of an ever-changing market, the family-owned business Mehler decided to invest in a centralised and automated high-bay warehouse in Tirschenreuth.The objective of this new-build project was to consolidate the local warehouses to achieve the greatest possible storage density. Mehler brought the IGZ subsidiary IGZ Automation onto the project as the general contractor for handling the areas of planning, project management, structural steel, plant and control systems.The end result of the project was a new dual-aisle warehouse with 2,016 tote bays and a single-aisle warehouse with 648 Euro pallet bays, plus a conveyor-based handling system. Mehler was particularly keen to ensure that the physical work of employees in the warehouse was made

For some years now, SAP has been offering a powerful MES system in the form of Manufacturing Execution (SAP ME), which represents a perfect addition to the existing functionality in SAP ERP. In this way, existing production planning is extended by making SAP-integrated production control and handling available to the shop-floor.A host of new features in SAP ME (SAP Manufacturing Execution) 6.1 makes it clear that it has established itself as a "global player" in the broad-based market for MES systems.In comparison with the previous version, SAP ME (SAP Manufacturing Execution) 6.1 offers additional improvements such as: Ergonomically improved touchscreen interfaces for intuitive system operationAdditional standard integration scenarios with SAP ERP modulesExtended documentation with how-to

Highly-automated shuttle storage systems are currently "in", as demonstrated by the numerous ongoing implementation projects in collaboration with well-known German and international corporations. Nevertheless, experts in the sector disagree on how to concretely assess the advantages and disadvantages of shuttles in comparison with stacker cranes with regard to operating efficiency and performance.The notion that proprietary material flow systems are required for the control of shuttles because of specific control strategies –  as some plant system providers  still argue – has long been refuted:IGZ | The SAP Project House for logistics and production and certified SAP Special Expertise Partner has developed several successful implementations of designs and solutions for shutt

Due to the necessity of process changes and the ever-increasing requirements facing manufacturing, Aspöck Systems GmbH has decided to introduce a deeply integrated all-in-one IGZ solution based on SAP ME (SAP Manufacturing Execution) with SAP EWM (SAP Extended Warehouse Management).Based in Austria, Aspöck Systems GmbH is Europe's leading manufacturer of complete lighting systems for all makes of towed vehicles. Convinced by the SAP strategy and the added value of an open IT platform, Aspöck has decided to retire the current production and warehouse management system, and model the functionality within SAP ME (SAP Manufacturing Execution) and SAP EWM (SAP Extended Warehouse Management).A specific, sophisticated and close integration of the company's production, warehousing, picking, ass

By now, various technologies in the field of "augmented reality" or "Pick-by-Vision" have found their way into in-house logistics. With Smart Glasses (e.g. Google Glass), various technology providers have succeeded in demonstrating how a pair of glasses can be used as a multifunction device for employees in a warehouse. In the picking area (Pick-by-Vision) at IGZ's customers, real-time orders – here via SAP EWM (SAP Extended Warehouse Management) – are overlaid onto the operator's field of view via an embedded micro-display housed in the glasses.Thanks to this online technology, which is linked to the SAP EWM (SAP Extended Warehouse Management) system in real time, the user is presented continuously with the current system state of the SAP order needing to be processed and can be deplo

The tyre retreading process at Continental's new lifecycle plant requires close collaboration between production and logistics. To manage workflows on the factory floor and warehouse, the tyre maker has therefore opted to interface the warehouse and production management systems together. Reducing emissions of the CO2 greenhouse gas and careful management of our resources are important topics of our time. Continental is stepping up to this challenge with what is to date its unique hot- plus cold-process approach to re-treading HGV tyres, whereby significantly less energy is consumed than when manufacturing new tyres. Customers such as trucking companies can thereby benefit from significantly lower prices. The operational basis for the business is the new ContiLifeCycle Plant, which th