Sorry I didn't read the article as it required
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Computer Currents

-- spider (spider0@usa.net), December 16, 1999

Answers

[for fair use/educational use only]

VW in trouble over SAP roll-out

Mike Simons

Volkswagen IT staff will be working over Christmas to solve problems that surfaced at its main spare parts warehouse after the installation of a SAP R/3 system.

The enterprise resource planning (ERP) installation at VW's warehouse in Kassel, Germany, was meant to be the cornerstone of the car maker's efforts to extend its "just-in-time" supply of spares. But IT problems have led to delays in deliveries of up to a fortnight.

VW's difficulties are the latest in a spate of troubled ERPinstallations at leading manufacturing companies during the past few months.

Hi-fi specialist Bang & Olufsen, confectionery producer Hershey and white goods supplier Whirlpool have also gone public with their ERP systems problems.

In September, VW completed a two-year project to implement an ERP system covering its central warehouse, its spare parts dealers and importers, when its IT subsidiary Gedas and Andersen Consulting went live with an SAP installation.

Even now, neither VW, SAP, nor Andersen have publicly cited any reasons for the problematic implementation.

A VW spokesman would only say the company had hit "many different problems" since September, but he emphasised that VW expected to be back to normal by the end of the year.

SAP told Computer Weekly there were "no problems with the system that SAP delivered to Volkswagen".

SAP added, however, that VW's Kassel warehouse was so big that it was necessary to modify SAP's product, and that "problems occurred in the areas that were changed".

In mid October SAP sent an "escalation team" of 16 experts to Kassel to help VW cope with the difficulties.

Andersen said, "The software was modified by Andersen in close co- operation with Gedas. Implementing these systems and processes was complicated and some challenges were encountered in the early phase."

But Computer Weekly understands that there were two separate problem areas.

The first was in making the new installation work, which has largely been achieved. The second problem area was with data conversion and synchronisation, which VW hopes to sort out over the Christmas shutdown.

One of the major challenges facing VW was the need to go live before its final quarter Y2K freeze. GartnerGroup research director Nigel Wood said Y2K work was causing many firms to rush implementations, "that is why we are seeing so many problems at the moment".

-- Arnie Rimmer (Arnie_Rimmer@usa.net), December 16, 1999.

Not to worry, there's 15 days left. What that, 360 hours to fix it...

-- bb (b@b.b), December 16, 1999.

Thanks Arnie, I guess it didn't need
any registration ??????

-- spider (spider0@usa.net), December 16, 1999.

I'm living within 5 miles of VW (Volkswagen) Global Spare Parts Center in Baunatal near Kassel, Germany. If they aren't able to fix this within the next weeks we will have the first y2k catastroph - locally and globally -,

JIT = SHIT = burned toast.

-- Rainbow (Rainbow@123easy.net), December 16, 1999.

You gotta love it - no code freeze yet and the data is hosed. Ya, they're not on a death march, though, right?

Ok, so it's only a puny company like VW. We can get by without parts for VW's, right?

-- paul leblanc (bronyaur@gis.net), December 16, 1999.

Hey, I thought software problems only took 72 hours to fix. They've been working on this since September and brought in 16 "experts" in October...what's up?

-- No Polly (nopolly@hotmail.com), December 16, 1999.

They started in September, brought in 16 "experts" in October, and (now) expect to get it fixed by year end! Sorry, but I won't take any bets on that project completion date.

-- Mad Monk (madmonk@hawaiian.net), December 17, 1999.

No wonder Hoffmeister hasn't posted lately - the bastard has hosed up VW!!!

Good handle Hoffmeister, you knew didn't you ... :o)

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), December 17, 1999.

My company ($60M annual revenues) installed SAP in the spring of 1998. We STILL have troubles with cost tracking and invoices. Any organization that slams SAP in at this point will have some serious pain (and lo$$e$) for 18-24 months at least.

Pretty ironic: the pride of German auto manufacturing gets hosed by Germany's most successful software company.

-- Mac (sneak@lurk.hid), December 17, 1999.