Challenge: Limited access to information
K.D. Feddersen Holding GmbH is the holding company of the Feddersen Group companies. The sole shareholder of K.D. Feddersen Holding GmbH is the non-profit K.D. Feddersen Foundation. The companies in the Feddersen Group used to work with a variety of ERP and financial accounting systems. As a result, a lot of information was only recorded based on departments or companies. In addition, the availability of key information for the companies and the holding company was limited by the large number of different systems and isolated solutions.
The main objective of a standardised and company-wide information and document management system was to create maximum transparency for the companies and the holding company. Another important goal was to promote collaboration in order to avoid redundancies, exploit synergies and improve the performance of the entire group.
Legally compliant archiving and new middleware development
The Feddersen Group is now pursuing a cloud-first strategy. In addition, as part of its enterprise-wide digitisation, it has set itself the goal of archiving business-critical information in a complete, legally compliant and transparent manner. Due to the growth of the Group, special emphasis is placed on scalability and the rapid implementation of the constantly changing technical requirements.
One challenge was to develop new middleware to integrate the different ERP systems INTEGRA and Infor COM. Master and transactional data as well as outgoing ERP documents (such as order confirmations and invoices) are transferred and stored in customer, supplier, quotation and order files. At one of the companies, quotations are not created via the ERP system, but in a user-friendly way via the document management system. Here, ERP data can be accessed in real-time via the middleware, ensuring efficient data entry.
Digital product file and workflows
This subsidiary has also implemented a product file in which all product-related data and documents are stored. Workflows complement the file solutions. These control, for example, the release and approval of quotations, the onboarding of external users or the release of data sheets in the product file. Planned follow-up projects include the migration of the business applications for contract and quality management, which are currently still based on SharePoint 2016/2019, and the processing of incoming invoices to SharePoint Online and thus to Microsoft 365.
Solution strategy with Microsoft 365 and Shareflex ECM Online
The Feddersen Group has a strategic focus on SharePoint Online and Microsoft 365. With the introduction of Shareflex ECM Online, the goal of providing a cloud-based ECM and document management system has been achieved.
Shareflex provides all the necessary ECM functions. These include file management, capturing, workflow management, ERP integration and services for electronic signatures or document generation. This is complemented by the seamless integration of Microsoft 365 functions, such as audit-proof archiving, document management, full-text search or collaborative working on documents.
Creation of a self-service customer portal
Another goal is the efficient exchange of data and documents between customers and the Feddersen subsidiaries. A self-service customer portal will help achieve this goal. It will integrate various systems within the Feddersen Group, digitise and optimise business processes and meet all compliance requirements.