By modernizing its internal processes, Guntamatic wants to do justice to the technical innovation that has been at the heart of the company's self-image for years: As one of the first manufacturers, the company with its almost 250 employees also offers innovative hybrid heating systems that combine energy sources such as pellets with an air heat pump and independently select the most efficient, economical method depending on the season or energy requirements.

The robust and durable products are manufactured at the 20,000 square meter plant in Peuerbach, Upper Austria. Production takes place in a two-stage process: while the boilers on which the systems are based are initially manufactured in series as standard, they are then adapted to the customer's individual requirements on an order-specific basis, for example by adding additional components and taking into account the customer's existing hydraulic diagram on site.

Isolated legacy system

Over time, this combination of basic series production and contract manufacturing based on this has made comprehensive digital process support essential - a requirement that the existing ERP solution can only fulfill to a limited extent. It has been in use since 2005 and is therefore no longer state of the art. Modern functions such as mobile support for sales and service are not available in the system. There are also media discontinuities in numerous places: for example, there is no automated interface to adjacent systems such as the accounting software used. Data must be transferred manually for further processing there.

"An upgrade would have been possible," recalls Alexander Dietach, Head of Work Preparation at Guntamatic. "However, using the old solution would only have been possible on a subscription basis in future - a billing model that is not in line with our company philosophy."

APplus with native mobility

In the search for an alternative, four systems on the market were finally selected, which the heating specialist took a closer look at. The choice fell on the ERP system from Asseco Solutions.

"APplus made a very contemporary and modern impression on us right from the start," reports Dietach. "We particularly liked the web-based nature of the solution. With APplus, it doesn't matter whether I'm working on the move with my tablet or sitting at my desk on my Windows computer. All I need is a browser and I can use the system from anywhere. This is a key benefit for our incoming and outgoing goods staff, not to mention our colleagues in the field. No other system could offer us such complete mobile usability."

One for all

The solution's wide range of standard functions also played a decisive role in the selection process. In future, Guntamatic wants to cover the entire business process integrated with APplus: from purchasing and sales to order processing and production through to accounting and service. Alexander Dietach explains: "The extent to which we will benefit from this can be illustrated by the example of production planning. Almost 40 percent of our processes there are currently handled via the ERP system, with the rest based on separate Excel lists. With the go-live of APplus, we plan to achieve 80 percent coverage straight away, with the aim of gradually achieving full coverage."

To achieve this goal, all relevant third-party systems will also be connected to APplus via an interface in the future. For example, the company's CAD system will automatically use master data such as article numbers, materials, weights and blanks from the ERP system. Created drawings are then returned to APplus and stored there. This allows employees to immediately identify the part in the article master. "This is a decisive advantage, especially for new employees or colleagues from non-technical areas of the company," emphasizes Dietach.

Warehousing also becomes part of the overall process thanks to APplus: Guntamatic keeps a good 17,000 different items for its orders in four fully automated warehouses: in two sheet metal high-bay racks, a paternoster rack and - a good 75 percent - in an automated guided vehicle system. However, the associated warehouse management systems have so far only been connected to the ERP system to a limited extent. APplus provides a remedy here too: in future, the various systems will be seamlessly integrated into the ERP system so that stocks and their storage locations are available in APplus at all times.

The future is getting smart

In the medium term, APplus will also provide the basis for the further journey into the age of smart manufacturing: Already today, sheet metal cutting at Guntamatic is carried out by smart Trumpf laser machines. As soon as orders are released in the system, the Trumpf software automatically takes over the optimal arrangement of the parts to be produced so that as little waste as possible is produced. In future, it will receive the necessary information on plans and materials directly from APplus via an interface - and automatically report key parameters such as process duration and material quantities used back to the Asseco solution at the end of the production process.

The introduction of APplus at Guntamatic is currently in the testing and optimization phase. The go-live is planned for the fall.