abas Business Software as a strategic platform

STRATEC Biomedical Systems AG
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Based on the extensive know-how and close cooperation with renound reagent manufacturers, the stratec biomedical systems AG is regarded as one of the best addresses for the development of technologies and devices for analysing biological and chemical substances.

From two-man company to a PLC

In 1979 Hermann Leistner along with Hans Schießl founded a "two-man garage company" near Pforzheim which was concerned with the development and manufacture of electronic systems for production monitoring, sorting and quality control in the drinks, food and packaging industry. Within two years the company became the leader manufacturer in the German market in this area. The then Stratec Elektronik GmbH could continuously expand its product range thanks to the application of new technologies and microtechnology.
The Stratec employees have built up an extensive know-how in the area of developing the wide product spectrum. It deals in particular in the areas of image-processing and optics, in ultrasonics, radiation technology, radiotechnology and high frequency technology as well as in control engineering. These experiences led relatively quickly to the foundation of the new company areas of actinometry and medical measuring systems. In the 90s the switch took place from a manufacturing company of measuring devices to a competent partner for developing orders of made-to measure concepts and measuring systems for worldwide partners. The strongly export-orineted company realises c. 2/3 of its turnover on the American market.
In 1998 the Stratec Elektronik GmbH transformed into the stratec biomedical systems AG. In the Birkenfeld plant there are currently c. 80 employees, half of which are concerned with development tasks. The product range covers luminescence analysis devices, measuring devices for flourescence, photometric analysis devices, fully-automatic immunoassay systems as well as pipette and test preparation systems. Typical areas of use are clinical diagnostics and pharmaceutical research. In addition to this, Stratec technologies are employed in the petrochemical industry for evidence of additives as well as in the food industry and environmental technology for evidence, determination and quantification of bacteria, microbe contaminations, pesticides or cancerous substances.
The conversion of the development concepts takes place in numerous small and middle-sized companies in the surrounding region which are mainly producing modules for the various Stratec products. Key tasks like development, prototype construction, quality assurance and final inspection, however, only take place in-house.

Increased EDP requirements

The enormous growth at the start of the 90s naturally could not have been managed without the aid of an EDP system. Rolf Maas, responsible for the EDP system back then, remembers: "There were only some networked 286 PCs on which little - very restricted - programs for parts list management and the purchases area were running. We were not happy with this solution since it was not possible to expand the software without great effort. Apart from this, the system was not very reliable and there were failures to be noted."
With the company's expansion, the requirements for an EDP solution also rose. Above all, considerably more articles had to be managed. For this reason, Rolf Maas together with the management team and some employees from the specialised departments analysed various EDP solutions.
The decision for abas Business Software was made at the start of 1991. "What particularly pleased us about this solution was that the programs could each be adjusted to individual needs", according to Maas. "That was not possible with most other systems."
Rolf Maas sees further advanatages in the great flexibility of abas Business Software and the costs of purchase are definitely acceptable. abas Business Software was convincing as a "middle-sized product". Average data technology systems were too expensive and too costly. Based on the simple user guide of abas-ERP, the Stratec employees inexperienced with EDP could also find their way quickyl into the new programs.

Introduction

Already some weeks before the installation of the system, three Stratec employees were involved in the most important basic functions of abas Business Software. For this reason they could also carry out the first jobs straight away from the start. In this way, a new number key was set for the parts and the data was adopted from the previous program. Here the help of the abas database loader was extremely valuable. After this the parts master data was set up.
In the first phase of putting the system into operation, some meetings between the system experts and the concerned employees also took place. Here, above all, it was concerned with bringing internal company cycles into line with the program functions of abas Business Software which also led to the fact that some internal cycles were changed.
"Thanks to the variable user interface as well as the tools which the system provides in the form of report generator, mask generator, database loader and additional database, we were in the position to adapt the system to our needs in an optimal way", according to Rolf Maas. The introduction of the programs in the areas of job preparation, purchases and sales then followed. Once all important tasks at Stratec could be dealt with using the system, Rolf Maas as too the current EDP manager Peter Stalling, received further training sessions which made them familiar with the advanced functions. "Then", confirms Peter Stalling, "we fully mastered the system and are now also in the position to implement complicated alterations ourselves."
After adopting the work cycles into the computer, the entire raw material planning is adopted by abas-ERP. In addition to this, the work and time defaults for the supply companies are outputted. In the meantime a network is also linked via a server so that the employees from the construction and design department can directly gain access to data like e.g. parts lists, prices etc in the abas system. Peter Stalling: "Given the very narrow range of standard parts and the fact that most of the parts are subject to constant alterations, the Stratec parts master data is extremely extensive. Since we are endeavouring to be able to react immediately to market and customer demands, we have few finished products in stock. The consequence ist that we have to manage very complicated parts list structures and in this regard abas Business Software provides especially valuable support." An important tool in the work cycle are the additional databases integrated into abas-ERP. As a result of this help, the management of the serial numbers, the management of the missing parts as well as the provision of materials for the "extended workbench", that is the subcontractor, can take place at Stratec.

Furthermore good contact

At Stratec emphasis is placed on the support given by the software company. "Even after installation there is still good contact with the computer retailer on top of that", stresses Peter Stalling. "The appropriate abas specialists can be contacted at any time via the hotline. In addition to this, there is also the option that abas experts can connect to our system by modem in order to be able to carry out changes there." In this way new program versions are also transferred onto the Stratec computer.
An expansion of the ERP software is planned in the near future with the aim that abas Business Software should represent a strategic platform at Stratec. Furthermore in the planning stage is the connection of a barcode reading device in the storage area, allowing quicker and easier entering of incoming and outgoing stock.