Central platform for Omni-channel Processes at AGRAVIS

15th March 2021

Münster. In the DOCK project, AGRAVIS, together with consenso Consulting as implementation partner, is introducing SAP S/4HANA to support its merchandise management processes. The sub-project Omni-channel will implement SAP Customer Activity Repository (CAR) as the central platform for the current and future omni-channel capabilities of the agricultural company. As part of the internal communication around the DOCK project, AGRAVIS conducted an interview with Marcel Ruholl, Subproject Manager on the part of consenso:

Stationary, online or mobile – in the digital age, customers expect to be able to buy products via several, freely combinable channels. In trade jargon, this is referred to as “omni-channel” – in short, the linking of “bricks and mortar” and online retailing. This is a path that AGRAVIS has already taken in individual business areas. But what basic technical requirements must there be in the company for this and how can the individual locations such as agricultural machinery or Raiffeisen markets adapt to this? The DOCK sub-project “Omni-channel Capabilities” deals with these questions.

“Our main objective is to create a central hub for all systems and processes in order to make trade possible and successful in omnichannel times. This implementation is quite a challenge, because there are various requirements from the AGRAVIS business departments,” explains consenso Sub-Project Manager Marcel Ruholl, who is working on the current issues together with his counterpart from AGRAVIS.

The technical foundation is to be provided by the tool “SAP CAR – Customer Activity Repository”, which has been on the market for about six years. “This module connects all sales channels related to omni-channel functionalities almost seamlessly and functions like a central platform centralising sales data and also integrating other SAP products, such as a CRM system,” says Marcel Ruholl.

On the platform, for example, POS data can be processed centrally, pricing can be controlled, and promotions can be planned. “The availability of articles at the locations or in the web shop can also be checked and controlled,” explains the Sub-Project Manager. This comes into play when, for example, goods are ordered online and are to be collected  from a sales outlet. “Possibly the item is available on site and can be reserved or put back.” These processes must be reliable to ensure a successful and pleasant shopping experience for  customers.

The big advantage for AGRAVIS is that non-SAP-based systems can also be connected. “The focus is therefore primarily on the function of a central platform to which other systems such as the online shops will dock.” This is to take place gradually and will be realised analogously to the rollout plan in the Dock project, initially for the agricultural machinery  locations. “Figuratively speaking, we are unplugging the portal and the online shop from the current system, for example, and connecting them to SAP CAR,” Marcel Ruholl describes. The same applies to the POS systems.

For Marcel Ruholl, the Dock project as a whole shows how detached the AGRAVIS divisions and companies have worked from each other up to now. “The approach regarding master data, for example, was very different throughout the company”. Now the divisions are moving closer together and the work is becoming more transparent. “If you break away from the old familiar and define the standard processes together, there are always topics that can be linked or integrated – just like with the omni-channel processes.”

Photos: AGRAVIS Raiffeisen AG, Münster