Wiha is characterized by high-quality connections - in every respect. As a highly developed supplier and performance leader, Wiha manufactures metallic fasteners and components that meet the highest requirements and certification standards for globally active customers in the B2B sector.

Wiha also places these requirements on the ERP provider. It is essential to have a good connection to and with the ERP system. The ERP provider must be both a solution provider and a development partner for Wiha. This is why WiHa opted for proAlpha ERP in 2019.

In addition to in-house production, Wiha also operates as a procurement service provider for technically sophisticated fasteners and components. The company uses its extensive market and manufacturing expertise to reliably cover the required product portfolio for its customers.

Customers from many industries are served in both business segments, although the focus is on the mobility sector. To ensure planning reliability, automotive manufacturers demand strict quality management and cost-effective standardization in all processes from suppliers such as Wiha. The unprecedentedly high requirements are defined in a standard of the International Automotive Task Force (IATF). Wiha fulfills them and is IATF-certified. "A high-performance ERP system is essential for compliance with the specifications and the continuous improvement of all processes," says Managing Director Katrin Seidemann and confirms: "That's why we decided to completely renew our ERP landscape and opt for proAlpha ERP in 2019."

Producing and procuring up to 280 million parts a year
A look at the production volume gives an idea of what the ERP system at Wiha has to achieve. Between 250 and 280 million parts are produced each year in the two southern German plants at the site, which has just 180 employees. Most of these are produced by cold forming and then further processed. The machinery comprises a total of 100 machines, all of which are connected to an MDE. The massive systems press metal blanks into the desired geometry using shaping press tools.

The advantages: Unlike turning or milling, no material is removed during the cold extrusion process. This ensures significantly lower raw material consumption, high strength and very homogeneous part surfaces. Thanks to a high level of vertical integration, Wiha is able to further process the pressed blanks using various methods as required.

Production: time-, process- and cost-optimized
Competition among automotive suppliers is fierce. Everyone has to meet the quality requirements of the IATF, there's no getting away from that. This makes it all the more important for production to be as dynamic and flexible as possible in terms of delivery times and prices. Wiha has contractually agreed with its OEM customers, including many Tier 1 and 2 customers in addition to the major German car manufacturers, delivery windows of just two weeks in some cases between parts request and delivery. In order to be able to guarantee customers such short planning cycles, the processes in the company and especially in production must be intelligently interlinked.

The linchpin here is the ERP system. The experts at proAlpha have adapted it in close coordination with those responsible at Wiha to ensure effective resource planning for the extremely overlapping production. This takes place in two stages. Stage 1 is cold forming. "We need larger quantities here for reasons of efficiency. That's why we press semi-finished products individually for a customer and in stock for specific projects," explains Lena Küpferle, Team Leader in Planning at Wiha. Depending on the customer call-off, the required quantities of parts are sent for further processing. The semi-finished products are initially stored in the so-called supermarket until the customer calls off the next batch - usually via Electronic Data Interchange (EDI). The semi-finished products are then processed further according to the call-offs. It is not uncommon for seven to eight work steps to follow before delivery: from thread insertion and coating to customer-specific sorting and packaging.

In the procurement of merchandise and raw materials, the supplier deadline must be coordinated with the customer deadline. In addition, an intensive incoming goods inspection is carried out for all parts and raw materials. Only when the parts or raw materials are declared "OK" can they be made available for planning via the system. This is ensured with the help of proALPHA via various warehouse locations.

EDI partners bring speed, transparency and consistency

A special feature of the ERP setting at Wiha is the exceptionally high number of EDI partners. Few companies of Wiha's size have such a complex ERP landscape networked with customers. The company exchanges data and documents with its customers in the automotive industry via EDI. Wiha expects an increase of 20 percent in this area over the next year.

Wiha's OEM and Tier 1 customers transmit call-offs, stock movements and credit notes via EDI. In return, the required shipping and logistics data is sent to the customers. The processes are highly automated: On the one hand, customer requirements transmitted via EDI go directly into the availability calculation and production planning. On the other hand, scanned delivery documents trigger the outgoing EDI messages directly via DMS and workflow.

The different message standards and requirements, which are unavoidable given the high number of customers connected via EDI, are processed by a converter. This was installed by an EDI partner and translates all incoming and outgoing messages into proAlpha's standardized pAI format. "For us, there are only the categories 'works' or 'doesn't work'," emphasizes Seidemann and sums up: "With our new proAlpha ERP, we have successfully implemented all the connections and are now well equipped for the future - even if there is still room for improvement here and there nine months after commissioning."

Better overview and planning in scheduling The company is already noticeably better positioned in scheduling with proAlpha ERP. The latter is particularly dynamic when working with car manufacturers. It is not uncommon for call-offs to be changed spontaneously via EDI or for additional requirements to be set - depending on the order situation. Today, the dispatchers at Wiha can see immediately whether a change request has been received within the agreed
"frozen zone" (lead time). It is then up to Wiha to check how these customer requests can be implemented. "This works much better than with the old system," says Küpferle.

A decision for the future

The previous solution came from a renowned ERP provider and had already been in use at Wiha for 20 years. After countless adaptations, the solution had become so far removed from the standard that general updates could no longer be installed. A comprehensive update would have been like a new installation. Wiha therefore looked around the market to see who would be the best partner for the company in the future. After a year of intensive evaluation, the decision was made in favor of proAlpha. To ensure practical suitability and a high level of acceptance among users, 26 key users were involved in the selection process right from the start. In the end, 25 of them voted in favor of proAlpha.

"Many criteria were decisive. We were looking for an ERP partner with automotive expertise and with whom we could grow," reports Seidemann and adds: "In addition, our future ERP system should be characterized by very good update capabilities, already offer comprehensive options as standard and be expandable with additional functions if required. With proAlpha ERP and the many extra modules that have already been developed, we have found the best solution for us."

Wiha opted for some of the modules and additional functions right from the start, such as proAlpha Profit Center Accounting. The advantage: in the past, the company recorded and analyzed the financial data for the two locations separately. With the "Profit Center Accounting" module, it is now possible to record the data for all operating units in a single ERP system and evaluate it both as a whole and individually for each operating unit. The installed Business Intelligence (BI) module and the integrated Document Management System (DMS) also ensure greater efficiency and a better overview.

The ERP expansion continues

With over 80 years of history, Willi Hahn is now more dynamic than ever. The company has recently achieved annual growth rates of over five percent on a regular basis. This is not set to change even after the coronavirus crisis. Especially as the company has laid the foundations for further process automation with proAlpha ERP. Specifically, for example, it plans to set up additional EDI interfaces for connecting suppliers. In addition, the proAlpha DMS is to be better linked to the processes in order to digitize workflows and make the required information available regardless of location.