The Hifferman Group selects cutting edge technology SAP S/4HANA to integrate their 3 businesses
The private Belgium holding company, the Hifferman Group, has signed a long-term contract with SOA People to deliver SAP S/4HANA and SOA People Invoice Integration.
The Hifferman Group, located in Konitich and Aartselaar, employs around 100 people and has an annual revenue in the region of 75,000,000 Euros. The company covers 3 main businesses: Stumabo, FAM and Relex which between them specialise in industrial cutting machines, production of precision knives and parts for the food processing industry and the designing, manufacturing, installing and maintaining pool and sauna complexes.
The digital transformation will be implemented in 3 phases before being fully integrated over the 3 businesses. SAP S/4HANA offers the group strong usability and includes modules for finance, controlling, purchasing, sales, configurator, production projects, service, maintenance and warehouse. The intelligent ERP will deliver the standardisation of processes, centralised procurement and better visibility for profitability, with the benefit of having further solution capability with HXM, CRM, e-Commerce and Portal as options for the future.
The long-term contract ensures IT stability within the group in order to mitigate risk until 2040. In this highly competitive market, SOA People was chosen for its high level of expertise, cultural compatibility with the business as well as exemplary customer references. The Hifferman Group also benefited from visiting the SAP Experience Center to see first-hand how SAP S/4HANA would work for their company as well as having in-depth demos tailored to their requirements.
Mark Van Hemelrijk, CEO and owner, Hifferman Group explains, “We were having challenges with integrating processes within the 3 companies, with poor visibility on profitability and needed standardisation to grow the company. It was important for us to have full integration across the board and digitalising our processes would ensure greater reduction in paper usage as well as enhanced external and internal communication. It was nice to see SOA People going the extra mile by inviting us to visit SAP’s Experience Center where we learnt what the key benefits SAP S/4HANA could give us.”
Jasper Van Hemelrijk, COO and owner, Hifferman Group adds "As a fourth generation of our family business, I strongly believe that we need this investment in new ERP solutions to guarantee the continuity of our company for our customers and employees worldwide. In all business sectors and areas we participate in, we want to be and more importantly want to remain a leading player. We aim at sustainable undertakings so we look for partners with the same mission values to build long-term relationships, like SAP and SOA People."
Petra Tiels, Managing Director Belgium North SOA People adds “Throughout the process there was a very strong and cultural match of our two companies with innovative solutions being very important for both of us. We are confident that this strong bond and mutual goals will not only accelerate the transformation of the Hifferman Group’s to more digital processes, but also give us a special working relationship in the future aiming both for a successful implementation.”