With the integration of ex-Dichtomatik sites in Mexico on June 1, the Industrial Services Division’s SAIL project has reached a successful conclusion. The locations have all been totally merged into the Freudenberg business world.
All of them have adopted the same business processes and are working in the same SAP system as the other Freudenberg Sealing Technologies (FST) business units. The benefit to customers: Wherever they are in the world, they can make purchases from the same portfolio of FST products and services from a single source. Dichtomatik lives on, not as a company but as a brand for products supplementing the premium Freudenberg brand.
“Mexico posed another unique challenge,” said Jonas Kersten, Manager of the Industrial Services SAIL team. Unlike other countries, there wasn’t just one Dichtomatik site to incorporate into the FST landscape – there were nearly 20, including the headquarters and 18 sales offices. In Mexico, the Industrial Services Division supports direct sales to customers, the so-called “counter business,” specializing in fluid power applications. The branch offices are spread across the country. FST distributors handle this business in other countries. Mexico doesn’t use the same business model that Europe and – increasingly – other regions use. That model uses FST distributors and gives Freudenberg’s Preferred Partners a leading role. Kersten described the extraordinary scope of the team’s task. “We developed a completely new process in Mexico for the Freudenberg Xpress® business. It also lays the groundwork for digitalization projects to come.”
13 Countries, One Mission
A look back: Former Dichtomatik sites in 13 countries have undergone the business integration project since it went live on March 1, 2020 in Sweden. Whenever possible, each of the former Dichtomatik companies were legally merged into the FST national subsidiaries. The projects were clearly structured, and the same core team always handled them (see box).
In mid-2020, the team was confronted with the effects of the coronavirus pandemic during the second migration in Hungary: It had to handle the migration process remotely due to travel restrictions. From that standpoint, the integration project in Shanghai turned out to be the most difficult of all. During the strict Chinese lockdown, not even local coworkers were allowed inside the facility at first. Entry was finally permitted during the second phase. Though the staff could gather as a group, they were closed off from the public and could not leave at night. Mattresses became a standard office furnishing.
A precise timetable was created for all the countries across the entire project. On average, a new country took its turn every quarter. At times, the team had to press ahead with migrations in two facilities at once. Mexico was not the only country to get a production process tailored to Freudenberg Xpress®. There were other facilities earlier. An additional attribute was added at the last stop in Mexico: Regulations on electronic invoicing required special adaptations to the processes and systems.
Grew Together As A Family
“Together with outside advisors and supporters inside the company, we have become a well-practiced team. We also had valuable helpers at all the sites over the more than three years. So we would always take the local characteristics into account. We were on schedule right to the end. The entire project was a complete success. It moves us forward. It was a team accomplishment for the entire organization. We grew together as a family,” Kersten said.
He sums up the project’s key benefits with the words “ease of transaction.” Purchases are now much more convenient for customers. They now get everything – Freudenberg as well as Dichtomatik products and services – from a single source, from a single contact person, with one ordering process, and with one invoice online using the EASY platform, if desired.
Internal efficiency and transparency improve when all the facilities operate in a uniform system landscape according to uniform process standards. The changes are also bringing new opportunities for staff development and jobs.
And what’s next? The team still exists and is taking on new projects. “The SAIL rollout was the first step on the division’s digitalization and automation journey. Now let’s do more,” Kersten said. The mission is to optimize the standard FST process model – the technical term is “template” – for Industrial Services’ activities.
It does business on a much smaller scale – even down to a single part – than the auto industry does with its large orders and volumes. To manage it profitably, administrative processes should be automated as much as possible, and extensive human interventions eliminated. “The ‘fun’ is just getting started,” he said. “We are working on the ongoing optimization of all the system’s administrative processes, ideally automating them. The task is now to leverage this potential creatively and innovatively.”
The SAIL team was responsible for organizing the business integration of the former Dichtomatik sites into FST’s Industrial Services Division. Sebastian Grünschloss led the team until the end of 2021, followed by Jonas Kersten, who had been a team member, on January 1, 2022. Marie Schwarze, Daniela Schiebel, Anne Kompter and Jürgen Pusche were on board from the start. Tabea Büber (currently on parental leave) later joined them, followed by Mathias Preißler and Susanne Jankowitsch. Overall management of the SAIL project fell to Jürgen Weiß, CFO, Industrial Services, Melanie Parthenis (project management and infrastructure) and Mathias Arnold as an external advisor on technical IT questions.
