Aicomp’s and T.CON’s solutions benefit packaging manufacturers through industry collaboration.For almost 10 years, the Aicomp Group and SAP Gold Partner T.CON GmbH & Co. KG have been working together to implement ERP solution projects for the packa
As a full-service SAP provider, T.CON is a specialist in setting up digitally integrated end-to-end processes in manufacturing companies. One focus of T.CON's SAP SE-certified expertise is on surface manufacturing, the mill products in the SAP Industry Solution Portfolio, and in particular the areas of paper, film, and coating. T.CON focuses on comprehensive SAP standard modules as well as industry solutions for planning and production optimization.
As an expert in complex SAP product configuration and SAP cloud solutions, Aicomp specializes in ERP industry solutions for the packaging market. Their primary focus began with corrugated board packaging (boxes, sheet and displays) and eventually expanded to include folding carton and flexible packaging. This is all possible due to their software product VCPowerPack, which facilitates everything from product configuration through costing, pricing, and finished goods material creation.
Together, T.CON and Aicomp benefit their customers by offering a solution that is already integrated in the SAP product configuration, offering their customers fast turnaround time for quotation requests, improving efficiencies, and optimizing production for waste reduction.
Integrated solutions are trending in the packaging market
"We have recognized for some time that in the market, especially within the packaging industry, there is increasing demand for integrated solutions. We are convinced that the products and solutions offered by our two companies ideally complement each other, and that we can offer our customers real added value based on their SAP systems," explains Jens Hennecke, CEO EMEA at Aicomp.
"The aim of the partnership between these two highly specialized companies, since they do complement each other perfectly, is to provide packaging manufacturers with end-to-end processes - from order to incoming payment on a system platform that is fully integrated with SAP," says Saša Mihajlović, Head of the Paper and Packaging Production Business Unit at T.CON.
In addition to dedicated SAP expertise, predefined industry logics and processes, both partners bring a range of highly specialized software products to their partnership that complement the standard SAP portfolio.
Aicomp is expanding its software solution portfolio with the SAP ERP add-on VCPowerPack which is utilized for real-time configuration and costing, and the SAP Sales Cloud from the SAP C/4HANA portfolio for customer relationship management. T.CON brings their TRIM SUITE software for waste optimization to the collaboration, which is used for paper, mill production, and corrugated board production. Their Manufacturing Execution System MES CAT for production execution supports production planning and control.
Best practice solutions that can be adapted as needed
"In order to provide more packaging manufacturers with a secure path to digitalization, our partnership will include the development of further preconfigured and fully integrated best-practice solutions - in other words, genuine solution packages that can be flexibly adapted to individual customer requirements as needed and with manageable effort. We are focusing on end-to-end industry-specific process optimization in conjunction with rapid implementation scenarios," says Christopher Stangl, head of the Discrete Manufacturing business unit at T.CON.
"The deep integration of these market-leading software products into SAP ERP enables packaging manufacturers to build specialized total solutions that guarantee high reliability and, thanks to state-of-the-art technology, allow agile scalability for future market and production requirements. Real-time data exchange and the ability to receive and process data without any manipulation are very significant. In addition, the maintenance effort is minimized by eliminating interfaces to external services," says Jeroen Koopman, CEO Americas at Aicomp.
Company Profile T.CON
T.CON is a successful German SAP consulting and systems company. Its team of more than 350 SAP experts across multiple sites performs complete installations, carve-outs and optimization projects throughout the world. T.CON links up processes, systems and people, rethinks business processes and exploits the opportunities and possibilities in digitalization to benefit its customers. T.CON’s customers can achieve their corporate goals more easily and reliably, work more profitably and establish themselves even more successfully in the competitive environment. As an owner-operated business and SAP Gold Partner, T.CON has an emphasis on sustainable growth and pursuing long-term goals.
Company Profile Aicomp
The Aicomp Group are experts in ERP solutions for the packaging industry, specializing in complex SAP Variant Configuration and SAP Cloud solutions. With offices located in Germany, Great Britain, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, and North America, the diverse group of over 80 professionals brings over 20 years of project experience to packaging manufacturers. Aicomp delivers expert-level consulting and development services that elevate their customer’s software systems through installation and set-up, and by streamlining their business processes, giving them the ability to respond to their customer’s needs quickly. Aicomp is continually innovating new upgrades for their software solutions with the goal of long-term customer satisfaction.
For more information or press inquiries, please contact:
T.CON GmbH & Co. KG
Straubinger Str. 2 D-94447 Plattling Phone: +49 9931 981 100
The logistics process automation provider Vanderlande has agreed to acquire Siemens Logistics for $325 million, saying its specialty in providing value-added baggage and cargo handling and digital solutions for airport operations will complement Netherlands-based Vanderlande’s business in the warehousing, airports, and parcel sectors.
According to Vanderlande, the global logistics landscape is undergoing significant change, with increasing demand for efficient, automated systems. Vanderlande, which has a strong presence in airport logistics, said it recognizes the evolving trends in the sector and sees tremendous potential for sustained growth. With passenger travel on the rise and airports investing heavily in modernization, the long-term market outlook for airport automation is highly positive.
To meet that growing demand, the proposed transaction will significantly enhance customer value by providing accelerated access to advanced technologies, improving global presence for better local service, and creating further customer value through synergies in technology development, Vanderlande said.
In a statement, Nuremberg, Germany-based Siemens Logistics said that merging with Vanderlande would “have no operational impact on ongoing or new projects,” but that it would offer its current customers and employees significant development and value-add potential.
"As a distinguished provider of solutions for airport logistics, Siemens Logistics enjoys a first-class reputation in the baggage and air-cargo handling areas. Together with Vanderlande and our committed global teams, we look forward to bringing fresh impetus to the airport industry and to supporting our customers' business with future-oriented technologies," Michael Schneider, CEO of Siemens Logistics, said in a release.
The initiative is the culmination of the companies’ close working relationship for the past five years and represents their unified strength. “We recognized that going to market under a cadre of names was not helping our customers understand our complete turn-key services and approach,” Scott Lee, CEO of Systems in Motion, said in a release. “Operating as one voice, and one company, Systems in Motion will move forward to continue offering superior industrial automation.”
Systems in Motion provides material handling systems for warehousing, fulfillment, distribution, and manufacturing companies. The firm plans to complete a rebranded web site in January of 2025.
I recently came across a report showing that 86% of CEOs around the world see resiliency problems in their supply chains, and that business leaders are spending more time than ever tackling supply chain-related challenges. Initially I was surprised, thinking that the lessons learned from the Covid-19 pandemic surely prepared industry leaders for just about anything, helping to bake risk and resiliency planning into corporate strategies for companies of all sizes.
But then I thought about the growing number of issues that can affect supply chains today—more frequent severe weather events, accelerating cybersecurity threats, and the tangle of emerging demands and regulations around decarbonization, to name just a few. The level of potential problems seems to be increasing at lightning speed, making it difficult, if not impossible, to plan for every imaginable scenario.
What is it Mike Tyson said? Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.
It has never been more important to be able to pivot and adjust to challenges that can throw you off your game. The report I referenced—the “2024 Supply Chain Barometer” from procurement, supply chain, and sustainability consulting firm Proxima—makes the case for just that. The company surveyed 3,000 CEOs from the United Kingdom, Europe, and the United States and found that the growing complexities in global supply chains necessitate a laser-sharp focus on this area of the business. One example: Rightshoring, which is the process of moving business operations to the best location, means companies are redesigning and reconfiguring their supply chains like never before. The study found that large numbers of CEOs are grappling with the various subsets of rightshoring: 44% said they are planning to or have already undertaken onshoring, for instance; 41% said they are planning to or have undertaken nearshoring; 41% said they are planning to or have undertaken friendshoring; and 35% said they are planning to or have undertaken offshoring.
But that’s not all. CEOs are also struggling to deal with the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and its application to business processes, the potential for abuse and labor rights issues in their supply chains, and a growing number of barriers to their companies’ decarbonization efforts. For instance:
Nearly all of those surveyed (99%) said they are either using or considering the use of AI in their supply chains, with 82% saying they are planning new initiatives this year;
More than 60% said they are concerned about the potential for human or labor rights issues in their supply chains;
And virtually all (99%) said they face barriers to decarbonization, with 30% pointing to the complexity of the work required as the biggest barrier.
Those are big issues to contend with, so it’s no surprise that 96% of the CEOs Proxima surveyed said they are dedicating equal (41%) or more time (55%) to supply chain issues this year than last year. And changing economic conditions are adding to the complexity, according to the report.
“As inflation fell throughout last year, there were glimmers of markets stabilizing,” the authors wrote. “The reality, though, has been that global market dynamics are shifting. With no clear-set position for them to land in, CEOs must continue to navigate their organizations through an ever-changing landscape. Just 4% of CEOs foresee the amount of time spent on supply chain-related topics decreasing in the year ahead.”
Simon Geale, executive vice president and chief procurement officer at Proxima, added some perspective.
“It’s fair to say that the complexities of global supply chains continue to have CEOs around the world scratching their heads,” he wrote. “The results of this year’s Barometer show that business leaders are spending more and more time tackling supply chain challenges, reflecting the multiple challenges to address.”
Perhaps the extra focus on supply chain issues will help organizations improve their ability to roll with the punches and overcome resiliency challenges in the year ahead. Only time will tell.
Investing in artificial intelligence (AI) is a top priority for supply chain leaders as they develop their organization’s technology roadmap, according to data from research and consulting firm Gartner.
AI—including machine learning—and Generative AI (GenAI) ranked as the top two priorities for digital supply chain investments globally among more than 400 supply chain leaders surveyed earlier this year. But key differences apply regionally and by job responsibility, according to the research.
Twenty percent of the survey’s respondents said they are prioritizing investments in traditional AI—which analyzes data, identifies patterns, and makes predictions. Virtual assistants like Siri and Alexa are common examples. Slightly less (17%) said they are prioritizing investments in GenAI, which takes the process a step further by learning patterns and using them to generate text, images, and so forth. OpenAI’s ChatGPT is the most common example.
Despite that overall focus, AI lagged as a priority in Western Europe, where connected industry objectives remain paramount, according to Gartner. The survey also found that business-led roles are much less enthusiastic than their IT counterparts when it comes to prioritizing the technology.
“While enthusiasm for both traditional AI and GenAI remain high on an absolute level within supply chain, the prioritization varies greatly between different roles, geographies, and industries,” Michael Dominy, VP analyst in Gartner’s Supply Chain practice, said in a statement announcing the survey results. “European respondents were more likely to prioritize technologies that align with Industry 4.0 objectives, such as smart manufacturing. In addition to region differences, certain industries prioritize specific use cases, such as robotics or machine learning, which are currently viewed as more pragmatic investments than GenAI.”
The survey also found that:
Twenty-six percent of North American respondents identified AI, including machine learning, as their top priority, compared to 14% of Western Europeans.
Fourteen percent of Western European respondents identified robots in manufacturing as their top choice compared to just 1% of North American respondents.
Geographical variances generally correlated with industry-specific priorities; regions with a higher proportion of manufacturing respondents were less likely to select AI or GenAI as a top digital priority.
Digging deeper into job responsibilities, just 12% of respondents with business-focused roles indicated GenAI as a top priority, compared to 28% of IT roles. The data may indicate that GenAI use cases are perceived as less tangible and directly tied to core supply chain processes, according to Gartner.
“Business-led roles are traditionally more comfortable with prioritizing established technologies, and the survey data suggests that these business-led roles still question whether GenAI can deliver an adequate return on investment,” said Dominy. “However, multiple industries including retail, industrial manufacturers and high-tech manufacturers have already made GenAI their top investment priority.”
Regardless of the elected administration, the future likely holds significant changes for trade, taxes, and regulatory compliance. As a result, it’s crucial that U.S. businesses avoid making decisions contingent on election outcomes, and instead focus on resilience, agility, and growth, according to California-based Propel, which provides a product value management (PVM) platform for manufacturing, medical device, and consumer electronics industries.
“Now is not the time to wait for the dust to settle,” Ross Meyercord, CEO of Propel, said in a release. “Companies should approach this election cycle as an opportunity to thrive in the face of constant change by proactively investing in technology and talent that keeps them nimble. Businesses always need to be prepared for changing tariffs, taxes, or geopolitical tensions that lead to unexpected interruptions – that’s just the new normal.”
In Propel’s analysis, a Trump administration would bring a continuation of corporate tax cuts intended to bolster American manufacturing. However, Trump’s suggestion for spiraling tariffs may benefit certain industries, but would drive up costs for businesses reliant on global supply chains.
In contrast, a Harris administration would likely continue the current push for regulatory reforms that support sectors like AI, digital assets, and manufacturing while protecting consumer rights. Harris would also likely prioritize strategic investments in new technologies and provide tax incentives to promote growth in underserved areas.
And regardless of the new administration, the real challenge will come from a potentially divided Congress, which could impact everything from trade negotiations to tax policies, Propel said.
“The election outcome is less material for businesses,” Meyercord said. “What is important is quickly adapting to shifting policies or disruptions that address ‘what if’ scenarios and having the ability to pivot your strategy. A responsive manufacturing sector will have a significant impact on the broader economy, driving growth and favorably influencing GDP. One thing is clear: the only certainty is change.”