VW in trouble over SAP roll-out

[Steve Currie-D21 <scurrie@cas.org>]

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 

many problems at the moment"