(openPR) - Ferdinand Bilstein goes full throttle with SAP expertise from itelligence

Bielefeld (Germany) August 4, 2009 – Ferdinand Bilstein GmbH + Co. KG (febi), international market leader for vehicle replacement parts based in Ennepetal, Germany, is building upon the SAP expertise of its new consulting house itelligence and its industry solution it.trade.

Starting in 2010, febi intends to have a total of over 550 users work with the new ERP system, with downstream connections to foreign subsidiaries. In the first phase, the itelligence consultants will implement the preconfigured, customary logistics processes for Sales and Purchasing as well as the multistage production processes at febi. In addition, the new warehouse which was established just a year ago, along with the warehouse management system installed at that location, will be connected to it.trade via EAI processes.

With around 70 branch offices worldwide, febi is among the international market leaders in the open vehicle replacement parts sector. That is no coincidence, since febi stands for high quality, innovation and quick response with regard to the more than 20,000 articles that can be ordered by its international customers in more than 130 countries. In addition to the mapping of service functions and specific pricings, itelligence also supports the company in production management for in-house production. The goal of the company is clear – further, sustainable growth, supported by a future-proof ERP system and a strong implementation partner.

Increased data transparency is already planned for this further growth. Jan Siekermann, Executive Assistant at febi, formulates the requirements placed on the system and the consultants: "We are now planning a complete modernization of our IT infrastructure with itelligence. With our knowledge of the industry and the expertise of itelligence, we want to develop a holistic and integrated ERP solution based on it.trade that optimally supports both our needs and most importantly, the requirements of our customers.

Wolfgang Harbaum, responsible for industry solutions in retail at itelligence AG: "With an SAP ERP system and our it.trade solution, febi can consolidate its processes and represent them in a standardized platform. Third party systems and business partners will be connected via NetWeaver PI as the central data exchange system. The result is a standardized ERP environment with a very user-friendly interface, also for central monitoring and control of the data streams."

The introduction of the industry solution it.trade at febi is planned for the timeframe of April to December, 2009; afterwards, all corporate divisions including Sales, Purchasing, Production, Accounting and Human Resources will be connected with SAP. A specialty of this project is the extensive EAI requirements such as the introduction of NetWeaver PI with around 50 interfaces to external systems like warehouse management, the production information system including management of the central article master as well as the connection to external business partners.

Another specialty is the connection to the industry platform TecCom for exchange of master data and documents. This platform provides an industry standard for the exchange of data in the area of the open replacement parts market, of importance for the automotive sector. The introduction of SAP Business Intelligence (SAP NetWeaver BI) and the connection of the febi sales force via the SAP CRM are already scheduled to start in 2010.

itelligence is one of the leading international full-service providers of solutions in support of SAP solutions, employing about 1,450 highly qualified employees in 17 countries and in five regions (America, Asia, Western Europe, Eastern Europe and Germany/Austria). As a frequently awarded SAP partner itelligence realizes complex projects in the SAP solution-based environment for over 3,000 customers worldwide. In 2006, itelligence obtained gold-level status as an SAP channel partner as part of the SAP PartnerEdge™ program in Germany, and in the U.S. in 2007. The company’s services in support of SAP solutions range from consulting and licensing to outsourcing and services to proprietary industry-specific SAP. In 2008, itelligence generated total sales of EUR 216 million.

Silvia Dicke
Public Relations/Presse

itelligence AG
Königsbreede 1
D-33605 Bielefeld

e-mail: silvia.dicke@itelligence.de
phone: +49 (0) 521 / 9 14 48 - 107
fax: +49 (0) 521 / 9 14 45 - 201

www.itelligence.de