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Innovation and digitalization in the wood industry – with SAP & scc

The timber industry is an important pillar of the Austrian economy (and also in some other European countries). At the same time, the industry faces challenges ranging from sustainable forestry and efficient processing to international dependency. Austrian timber producers and processors acquire a great deal of timber in the USA and Asia – this is hardly the case in any other industry to such an extent. The timber industry has to assert itself on the global market. It also has to cope with a constantly fluctuating market cycle (supply/demand). While it has experienced an enormous upswing since 2022 due to the uncertainty surrounding further gas supplies and wood pellets from wood processors in particular have been in high demand, there are now signs of a downturn. The reason: the entire construction industry is suffering from price increases and high bank interest rates and this is also having an impact on the wood processing industry, which is once again coming under pressure.

Innovative thinking in crisis situations

However, the timber industry is defying the economic downturn with innovative ideas and is increasingly moving in the direction of generating added value (products) from the raw material. Austrian timber companies are joining forces in networks such as ProHolz or Holzcluster to jointly push their industry. The timber industry is regarded as a driver of innovation for the Austrian economy. It is no coincidence that the construction of the world’s tallest timber house is currently being planned in Vienna. In this diverse industry, the integration of a functioning IT structure has a remarkable impact on business processes, profitability and the environmental balance. And this is precisely why we have been working for well-known companies in the timber industry for many years, integrating the right SAP solutions for our customers’ requirements. Here is a brief overview:

SAP & scc in the timber industry

1
Österreichische Bundesforste AG
We were able to support Österreichische Bundesforste AG with forestry planning (in relation to timber harvesting and forest maintenance) back in 2008. At the beginning of 2011, the collaboration continued with the implementation of a hunting and fishing application in the SAP environment. Since then, we have been able to jointly implement several larger analytics planning projects and develop timber-specific SAP solutions tailored to the customer's needs and specifications.
2
Mayr-Melnhof
Holz
In 2019, the company decided to implement an international ERP system in view of its ongoing expansion. The decision was made in favor of an SAP on-premise solution and we at scc were able to successfully implement the conversion to SAP S/4HANA for Mayr-Melnhof Holz. In addition to the classic tasks such as accounting, controlling and warehouse management, we were confronted with typical production processes of wood processors, such as the processes of a saw, cutting, drying and much more. This had to be mapped using SAP. The large high-bay warehouse was also connected to the SAP system. Over the last two years, the solution has also been rolled out in Germany and the Czech Republic. The project was implemented within the scc group of companies, i.e. together with the two companies CrossIT and HRForce.
3
HS Timber
(formerly Holzindustrie Schweighofer)
At the beginning of the collaboration, we were able to carry out a new SAP implementation in Romania. The big challenge here was that all HS Timber employees who work with SAP there are of course Romanian, which meant that language barriers had to be overcome. The Covid-19 regulations in place at the time made the project even more difficult. The current project is about implementing the financial system and solutions for purchasing and logistics, but also about integrating into or (gradually) replacing TimberTec (timber specialist solution from a third-party provider). Another special feature of this project is that the SAP system is operated as an on-premise solution in the Azure cloud.
4
Binderholz
Binderholz has several large international locations. We support the Austrian solid wood manufacturer primarily in ongoing SAP operations in the area of finance - primarily in Finland.
As a manufacturer of formwork and scaffolding, another scc customer cannot be directly assigned to the traditional timber industry, but is considered a major processor of the raw material wood. We are supporting and assisting them with the transition to the new S/4HANA world.

Success Story Mayr-Melnhof Holz & scc

Zur Story
Digitalization is already well advanced in the timber industry and the use of SAP solutions is now state-of-the-art. We look forward to continuing to build on the wealth of experience we have gained in this industry over the past few years and to strengthening and constantly advancing our collaboration with our customers.
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