VORWERK FOLLETTO: An integrated ERP for the production and distribution of electronic devices

The success of the project lies in its reconciliation of Italian management requirements with the Group's international constraints and strategic choices.
An integral part of the international Vorwerk Group, manufacturer of the famous appliance that revolutionised housework, Vorwerk Folletto produces appliances and accessories with innovative technologies.

The group's leading position has been consolidated over the years thanks also to its use of door-to-door sales, which has enabled it to market the high standards of quality and innovation of its products to a large number of customers. In Italy, the sales network can count on the professionalism and presence of over 3,300 agents who, together with another 20,000 worldwide, employ direct contact with potential customers to demonstrate, without any obligation, the solution to any specific problem in the field of housework.

The ERP project at a glance
The need to install an integrated product such as SAP was born as a strategic decision of the group, with the aim of having a single system to standardise the processes of its different national branches as much as possible. The project is classified as a roll-out, albeit with complete local customisation of the main SAP functions:

• Finance and Controlling
• Sales & Distribution
• Material Management
• Production Planning.

The implementation was also characterised by the implementation in SAP of all the functions required to support the processes typical of a manufacturing company, with particular attention to managing work account processes, whether passive (towards external suppliers) or active, from Vorwerk Germany towards Folletto Manufacturing Italia.

The roll-out project at a glance
The project was implemented on time and as specified.

The project was challenging, on the one hand because of the strong integration with the SAP environment already in place at the Group’s other companies, and on the other hand because the consultants were working in a single, integrated environment, having to take into account the tax, legal and market specificities of their own country, without creating conflicts with the processes of other country branches.

The production start-up was also particularly delicate, as Folletto Manufacturing became part of a production environment already used by other European companies. Teamwork and the ability to fit into an international group of consultants and users with different needs, methodologies and cultures certainly contributed to the success of the project.

One of the elements that contributed to the successful outcome of the project was the company's ability to understand the significance of introducing an ERP system.

As in most successful projects, the client understood the importance of not making changes to SAP's standard processes.
Although in some cases this resulted in an overhaul of certain business processes and their adaptation to SAP’s processes, it had the advantage of providing a stable application environment that is easy to maintain over time, and also enabled the company to understand the philosophy of the product and reap the greatest benefit from it.