Since 1979 Globetrotter equipment has convinced with high-quality outdoor equipment and over the years it has managed to grow to the largest European outdoor retailer. Today, the company name is a synonym for quality equipment in travel equipment. In addition to the now ten branches, Globetrotter operates a 16,000-square-meter logistics center in Hamburg and an almost equally large administration from which the comprehensive online shop is dispatched.
From the map card to the modern ERP solution
Just as the company itself, which grew from initially a shop in Hamburg Wandsbek in the year 1979 to meanwhile eight locations with around 1600 coworkers, developed also the need for IT support. The first step was done in 1983, when PCs replaced the previously used card types and the customer data were managed by Commodores from then on. Since the introduction of the first company computer, Globetrotter used an ERP solution that had once been developed in its own programming and had now reached the end of its life cycle, more than 25 years later.
Deep impact on company structure
The aging software solution could not keep pace with the planned further expansion of the outdoor specialist. A further development of the solution was not a sensible option, since Globetrotter did not have the necessary software developers. As a result, the decision was made to replace the existing system and replace it with a modern ERP solution in the late summer of 2008.
The farewell was not so hard
Once the decision had been made, the ball had left the race - there was no turning back. The project had to be implemented quickly and reliably, "remembers Thomas Lippke, Managing Director of Globetrotter Ausrüstung." This change was a real challenge, because the old software was a large monolithic block that did not In parts, but only in a big step at once, "Lippke continued.
Conclusion
This project also involved the conversion of the 70 checkout counters and the entire dispatch area as well as the onlineshop. It was also completed by the conversion to a new article number system. Especially for the Internet, it was crucial that the website and the online shop were available at all times and that all transactions could be carried out without any problems.
Therefore, the conversion had to take place on a single weekend. Finally, several hundred employees had to be trained and a new catalog with new article numbers had to be printed. All in all, this system change meant an extremely deep impact on the entire structure of the company, making it a project of tremendous importance for globetrotters.
It was therefore all the more important to find a reliable and competent partner who could meet the enormous requirements safely and successfully. "The first decision was initially for SAP as software," explains Globetrotter CEO Philipp von Melle.
"We were able to find the right partner to help us choose the right solution, but we were able to evaluate Ciber, and we were able to convince Ciber, , Supplemented by Melle. Ciber also said that the collaboration would be a partnership on which both partners, with equally high expectations, would also be equally interested in the success of the project.
The departure from the traditional system always means that some clear advantages have to be abandoned first: the employees are familiar with the old solution, certain procedures are established. This should now be replaced by a standard software, which would no longer have the flexibility of self-development.
There were also uncertainties, because no one really knew whether certain wishes could be implemented with the standard software at all. Special wishes came initially to the "Ideenparkplatz", which was even denounced as "Ideenfriedhof". "These fears were unfounded, however, because in the end everything worked perfectly - all wishes were worked out, nothing had to be buried," says Melle about the successful project.
The actual implementation of the new software took place in two steps. The first step was to replace Accounting and Financial Accounting. 18 months later the much more comprehensive replacement of the entire merchandise management and logistics section, including the cash registers, was the order of the day. The project involved over 30 Ciber employees who became part of the company during the one and a half-year implementation phase.
Today Globetrotter benefits from a scalable and powerful ERP solution, which is based on a standard, but is still expandable. "With Ciber Managed Services system support, we scale well and can quickly implement new requirements without the usual" back-up "," explains Melle's Managing Director, adding that all the requirements have now been implemented on the new platform. In addition, a further growth path - such as the integration of the new Munich branch and internationalization - was no longer possible with the old software.
Further advantages are a clearer inventory, better logistics support, an improved handling speed in the logistics and billing and thus an optimized cost structure. For globetrotters, the positive impact is also a simpler product range and extension and more transparency in the purchase process.
The company Globetrotter Equipment
"A project of this size can not normally be implemented without tensions, but the opposite is the case: We call this the pony yard effect, if adviser and customer harmonize so well that we partly feared the factual sharpness could be a bit "Lippke sums it up," but it was very fast, so the project was always professional, "Lippke said
So successful that the collaboration is continued even after the software has been introduced, in the area of managed services and operations: Ciber is still responsible for the SAP operation at Globetrotter and is following this remote from Freiburg. Ciber Globetrotter also supports the development of the SAP application. In this environment, there are permanently smaller and larger projects, such as the integration of the new logistics center or the opening of the new Munich location, which are being implemented.
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