Explore BSH’s journey with SAP
Wouldn’t it be great to know exactly where an order was at any given time? Producing and distributing high-quality home appliances, BSH turned this vision into reality to better serve its customers and optimize its business processes. By employing SAP Business Network Global Track and Trace, the company can access and share real-time information about the precise location of shipments and deliveries.
| Industry | Region | Company size |
| Consumer products | Munich, Germany | 62,000 employees |
perspectives on the data, with both external customers and internal employees benefiting from the solution.
countries in three continents benefiting from the global rollout in 2023.
Head of Systems and Applications, Logistics Transportation, BSH Hausgeräte GmbH
Improving available information on product orders and delivery
To prepare for the rapid technological change brought about by Industry 4.0 and its 2023 logistics strategy, BSH Hausgeräte Gmbh saw the strategic relevance to invest in digital transformation opportunities within the supply chain. This comprises other integrated software solutions for its factory and logistics operations.
BSH wanted an IT architecture with the capability to integrate data from different transport carriers into its business processes to know the exact location of customer orders and deliveries at any given time. By being able to share this information with customers and staff, it could greatly improve customer service.
Due to the company’s large size and its focus on data security requirements, it knew that it could take some time to set up a new technology environment. It therefore sought a solution that would work well with its existing SAP ERP application and allow it to quickly move from on premise to a cloud infrastructure.
Tracking orders and sharing precise, real-time data
BSH chose the SAP Business Network Global Track and Trace solution, part of SAP Business Network for Logistics, to integrate data from different sources, such as transport carriers, visibility providers, and IoT devices, using a customer-specific API and running a pilot project in Austria. The flexibility of the cloud solution meant it could be implemented and trialed quickly and combined with the SAP Software-as-a-Service Provisioning service to see if it was a good fit for the company.
The business process was modeled to include steps triggered by outbound deliveries recorded in the SAP ERP application and by its carriers into the solution. With developer capabilities, implementation knowledge, and ERP integration support from SAP Services and Support, BSH created internal and external Web applications to give customers visibility and transparency into their orders and deliveries in real time. For example, when a customer orders a product, they’re sent a link once the goods are dispatched, and they can conveniently track the progress of the delivery from there.
BSH is also using the solution to track truckloads and shipments of appliances moving from a manufacturing to a retailing region, onboarding 17 carriers so far. This tracking solution complements the company’s rollout of the SAP Transportation Management application that helps streamline transportation management processes.
Global Planning and Logistics Change Manager, BSH Hausgeräte GmbH
Keeping customers in the know and driving process digitalization
SAP Business Network Global Track and Trace is enabling access to real-time information about the current status of BSH products and services from dispatch and transportation until final delivery. Having more-precise tracking data, especially identifying individual ships for sea freight, is helping make logistics operations more resilient given supply chain disruptions such as the challenging situation over the last two years.
Rather than requiring high manual effort, such as having to call the carriers, the company can now automatically provide detailed data to customers to check order whereabouts and expected delivery. This has improved visibility for customers, enhancing customer service. Equally, integrating the information into its SAP ERP application has improved data quality and transparency, enabling better staff handling of customer queries and reporting and driving process optimization.
BSH has rolled out the solution in Central Europe and Spain, and the rollouts in Nordic countries and India are under way. The feedback about data quality and usability is positive, while the carriers are adopting well to sharing additional information through the application. SAP Business Network Global Track and Trace is the targeted solution for some transport processes, and therefore the requirements are an integral part of the tender processes.
Head of Systems and Applications, Logistics Transportation, BSH Hausgeräte GmbH
Future-proofing business operations through continued digitalization
Along with the seven countries that are using SAP Business Network Global Track and Trace, BSH is working on rolling out the solution to India, Hungary, and the United States. It’s working on the branding and design of its online shops and sales channels, with different styles for the customer tracking application depending on the channel. The company is looking at the further integration of data flows from the solution to the ERP application and on to its warehousing activity, “browse to warehouse,” focusing on global sea freight containers.
Rolled out in the beginning of 2023, it has developed a sea freight tracking solution with an external visibility provider and using SAP Business Network for Logistics. This tracks the transport of global sea freight containers from more than 10 shipping lines for the global transport of finished goods. SAP Business Network Global Track and Trace serves as the solution to upload container information for the partner and provides tracking events to BSH staff and to the productive ERP application.
BSH may consider SAP Business Network for use in freight collaboration as well as material traceability. The company is also interested in a yard logistics application to help shippers, carriers, and logistic service providers manage yard operations.
Building on the foundation of improved supply chain visibility and transparency through increased digitalization of its business processes will help BSH address important issues such as sustainability. Already, SAP Business Network Global Track and Trace can provide the insights into its carbon footprint by indicating exact distances traveled.