EPG ColorCards for Supply Chain Execution Capabilities
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Distance, load weight, volume, vehicle types, and loading and unloading times – the calculation of the complex ASTAG freight tariff by the Swiss Commercial Vehicle Association poses a challenge for many Swiss companies in their operational contract management. This challenge also affected Switzerland's most renowned office supplies provider, Biella Schweiz AG. In the future, this traditional company will calculate its logistics services and transport costs using the Finance & Controlling System CnB (Contract and Billing) from EPG (Ehrhardt Partner Group). This not only ensures that all provided logistics services are fully recorded, but also automates the calculation of the ASTAG freight tariff.
Ensuring cost-efficient automation of billing processes without having to significantly modify or implement a new ERP system: a challenge many companies face in the context of digitalization. This includes Biella Schweiz AG. For more than 120 years, Biella has produced a wide range of office supplies in the Canton of Bern, including a symbol of Swiss administration, the federal binder. Located in the shadow of the Chasseral and not far from the capital, the office supplies expert operates a modern logistics site. This facility includes an automated wrapping system, pallet lifts, and a fully automated high-bay warehouse with 6,865 pallet spaces. With 70,000 data records evaluated monthly by CnB and a throughput of around 4,000 pallets, Biella supplies its Swiss customers from Brügg. Currently, six transporters are connected to the contract management system for this purpose.
Automated Billing and a Custom Cost Matrix
“With the introduction of new contract management software, our goal was to capture our transportation costs per order and to automate the billing of the logistics services we provide,” says David Ambühler, Head of Logistics at Biella Schweiz AG. “The aim was to replace manual processes with spreadsheet calculations and to seamlessly synchronize the information with our ERP system.” The numerous logistics partners of Biella and the need to consider the ASTAG freight tariff of the Swiss commercial vehicle association significantly complicated the contract management. The freight tariff is used to calculate and standardize transport costs in domestic freight transport, taking into account various factors such as transport distance, freight weight, types of goods, and required additional services. While this ensures fair pricing in the transport industry, it leads to a flood of complex and thus uneconomical calculations when dealing with a large number of customers or logistics partners.
“A central task for EPG was to map the freight tariff in CnB so that it can automatically and reliably calculate transport costs and integrate them into the ERP,” Ambühler continues. “We recreated this freight tariff construct using a custom-developed matrix. In the future, Biella—and potentially every Swiss company—will be able to automatically input these calculations into their preferred ERP system for every order.”
The Perfect Interaction: CnB and ERP
“Our decision to choose CnB was easy due to our many years of experience with the secure and flexible warehouse management system LFS,” Ambühler explains. “As a result, we have contract management software that keeps the system structure small and our interfaces simple, while also accommodating the specificities of Swiss transport logistics.” Going forward, CnB will capture all services within the office supplies expert's value chain. The Finance & Controlling System bridges the gap between ERP and logistics, ensuring that all services within the agreed contracts are quickly and completely billed at the correct price.
