Spanflug now offers its customers the option of connecting their ERP system to the manufacturing platform and trigger orders for manufacturing parts directly from there. The connection is made via OCI (Open Catalogue Interface), which enables data from both systems to be exchanged. This makes the ordering process much easier, especially for companies with larger purchasing volumes.
"The benefits for the customer are clear," as Lucas Giering, ERP integration specialist at Spanflug, explains. "By automatically transferring data from one system to the other, users avoid typos, save time and can comply with internal approval processes. So overall, ordering at Spanflug is even easier and faster."
Ordering at Spanflug has been fast since the launch of the manufacturing platform a year ago. Customers need just one minute to upload their CAD data to the platform, immediately receive a price for their parts and send off the order.Currently, customers have two options for placing an order with Spanflug via their ERP system: Either he has Spanflug create a quote in PDF format, manually transfers the data to his ERP and then triggers the order there. Or he uses OCI to automatically transfer the data and orders directly from the ERP system.
This is because OCI can be used to transfer not only static catalog data, but also dynamically priced items from a shopping cart. "The advantage is to quickly and easily link the configuration of custom parts on a manufacturing platform with standardized purchasing processes," explains Lucas Giering. "The customer can access the Spanflug Shop directly via the ERP system and is already logged in there. This procedure is often called punchout. After all the parts are in the shopping cart, the customer can jump back into the ERP system at the push of a button. The entire contents of the shopping cart, including quotation prices, delivery times and part descriptions, are automatically transferred to the ERP system."
The quotation, which has been transferred via OCI from Spanflug to the ERP, is properly released in the system. The customer can then initiate the order directly in the ERP. Spanflug finds the optimal subcontractor for each of the components in the Spanflug manufacturing network. Each subcontractor specializes precisely in the parts assigned to it, and thus competitive prices can be achieved.
So far, Spanflug has implemented projects with the e-procurement solutions SAP SRM and Tradeshift. The Open Catalogue Interface is an open and standardized interface for the exchange of catalog data records and was developed by SAP AG. However, the interface offers the possibility to connect almost any other system to Spanflug as well.
