případová studie

Creating end-to-end supply chain visibility to improve logistics transparency for partners and customers

Meraxis uses AX4 to digitalize processes, simplifying data exchanges, optimizing information flow and reducing costs

Creating end-to-end supply chain visibility to improve logistics transparency for partners and customers
Courtesy of Meraxis

Meraxis

Headquartered in Muri, Switzerland, Meraxis is a leading plastics distributor, offering customers support in procuring polymers and polymer-related products for production processes across diverse industries. Meraxis leverages its extensive experience and a global network of partners and suppliers to develop and process high-quality polymers and manage complex logistics processes.

https://www.meraxis-group.com/

Sídlo:
Muri, Switzerland
Produkty:
AX4

Sdílení

Leveraging AX4 from Siemens has helped us achieve our ambitious goals for creating a reliable and transparent supply chain.
Daniel Knöpfel, Head of Supply Chain Management, Meraxis

Leading the polymer industry

From films to fibers to molded parts, plastics are integral to virtually every industry. As a global leader in distributing polymer materials, the Swiss-based company Meraxis boasts annual revenues of more than two billion euros in procuring and supplying traditional plastics, engineering plastics, master batches (color granules) and recyclates. Meraxis also procures purchased parts (including metal, foils and electronics), machinery, equipment and
tools for processing plastics. The company supplies polymers and polymer-related products across various industries via a global network of over 30 regional offices.

Simplifying procurement processes

Meraxis has been working hard to digitize its entire supply chain to make it more resilient and dependable for Meraxis itself and its customers. Meraxis has digitally integrated its platforms and processes for suppliers, logistics service providers and customers. In 2020, the company launched a customer portal for various services aimed at simplifying procurement processes and supporting plastics processors in overcoming the current challenges in
global supply chains.

For this, Meraxis leveraged Siemens Digital Industries Software support and AX4™ software, which is part of the Siemens Xcelerator business platform of software, hardware and services.

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Using AX4 to digitize the supply chain

Using AX4, the cloud-based control tower solution brings together all data and documents in a centralized hub, making supply chain data visible. Meraxis itself mirrors all the information available in AX4 in its own enterprise resource planning (ERP). Additionally, Meraxis is integrating its supply chain partners with electronic data interchange (EDI), web applications and email options. The result is end-to-end visibility that sets a new standard in the plastics industry.

“Using AX4 gives us the ability to view and monitor our flow of goods at any time,” says Daniel Knöpfel, head of supply chain management at Meraxis, adding that AX4 also integrates seamlessly into the company’s SAP environment. This is an important benefit because many companies follow a “keep the SAP core clean” approach, where they want to keep it for ERP purposes but do not want to extend it for supplier integration. Using AX4 as a complementary tool to SAP, they can easily connect stakeholders to AX4 and leverage a
single interface.

Tracking and tracing road transports

Using the AX4 control tower solution includes a track-and-trace system that shows the status of every order based on milestones the project team defines. This ranges from the initial order placement to pickup to proof of delivery at the destination. “Our employees always know the up-to-the-minute status of any shipment,” says Knöpfel. “This capability in AX4 gives those of us in the plastics industry supply chain the kind of visibility that has long been the norm for consumers in the B2C sector.”

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Courtesy of Meraxis

Using alerts to accelerate bottleneck responses

Leveraging AX4 also offers an alert feature for end-to-end supply chain monitoring (also visible in SAP at Meraxis). Carriers are also kept informed of changes. For this, the system generates automatic notifications whenever there is any deviation from the planned shipping process or one of the defined milestones is missed. “This allows us to provide the best possible safeguards for our supply chain and to move as quickly and effectively as possible to prevent bottlenecks if unforeseeable events impact the movement of goods in the plastics processing industry,” says Knöpfel.

Automating data interchange and simplifying freight cost management

With AX4, Meraxis can leverage additional benefits. For example, all information is exchanged electronically, and the system automatically shares documents with all relevant parties, slashing costs and super-charging workflows for the company, suppliers, carriers and customers.

"Billing errors are now a thing of the past,” says Knöpfel. “Having a digital supply chain has also made checking and manually reconciling order and delivery data much easier. Our accounting department can see all the information they need directly in SAP.

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Maintaining reliable production despite supply chain uncertainties

Overall, Knöpfel is satisfied with the solution that Siemens developed for Meraxis. Having a digital supply chain gives us a critical edge in maintaining stable operations despite uncertainties,” says Knöpfel.

Knöpfel concludes “Leveraging AX4 from Siemens has helped us achieve our ambitious goals for creating a reliable and transparent supply chain.”

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Courtesy of Meraxis

Using AX4 gives us the ability to view and monitor our flow of goods at any time.
Daniel Knöpfel, Head of Supply Chain Management , Meraxis