German cosmetic maker gains 35 pc with IT make-over

US: Software AG announced that it has achieved a milestone in a strategic project involving process-driven IT transformation with the Kneipp Group, a German manufacturer of health products and cosmetics.

Kneipp is already enjoying cost savings of up to 35 per cent from the successful automation of an initial subprocess in the main Product Launch business process, as a press release adds.

Kneipp's transition to automated process control has led to improved innovation expertise, shorter time-to-market, and therefore to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty

Software AG and the Kneipp Group say that they have reached the next milestone in their long-term collaboration on a strategic project for implementing process-driven IT transformation. The Product Launch segment of Kneipp's main business processes that was modeled using ARIS has been migrated into webMethods Suite, Software AG's product line for business process management, and is now automated. ARIS is a modeling software for business processes from IDS Scheer AG, and Software AG has been working on integrating ARIS and webMethods since acquiring that company last year. Thus the project with the Kneipp Group represents an important milestone in the integration of both product lines.

A company with a long tradition, Kneipp began collaborating with Software AG back in 2006 on a phased transition to become a business process-driven organization. This midsized enterprise aims to improve its agility and competitive performance in the global consumer market with the help of Software AG. Three main business processes modeled with the ARIS platform offer the health products manufacturer transparency and end-to-end business control, from the initial idea for a product throughout its entire lifecycle, from the supply chain through distribution. The first segment of the business process for handling product launches has already been transitioned from the ARIS model to the webMethods suite and is now automated.

“The successful automation of this first process segment was very important for us from a number of different perspectives,” explains Christian Schulze, CIO and member of the executive board at Kneipp. Specifically, it deals with the destruction process, which previously required a great deal of effort because many signatures had to be gathered, reports prepared and value adjustments for all raw materials taken into account. “Now we have the necessary transparency at the push of a button — a complete overview of all costs, status information and the remaining value of a raw material,” noted the CIO. “Thanks to the automation, we are achieving a solid cost savings of 35 percent. And no less valuable is the experience we have gained in 'thinking in processes,' which has replaced strictly departmental thinking at Kneipp.” Software AG and Kneipp are currently in the process of implementing the ARIS platform and webMethods scenario for all the main business processes.