KNAPP implements SAP® EWM at Kwizda Pharmahandel

In search of a new warehouse management system for a future-oriented distribution of pharmaceuticals, Kwizda Pharmahandel GmbH chose SAP^® EWM by KNAPP. KNAPP IT Solutions, the competence center of the KNAPP group for SAP^® Extended Warehouse Management solutions, realized and implemented the logistics software as a template solution in two fully automated and three RF-managed distribution centers in Austria.

With more than 50,000 different pharmaceutical products in stock, Kwizda’s pharmaceutical trade division ensures full coverage of public pharmacies, in-house pharmacies (doctors) and hospitals in Austria from a total of five locations. A highly automated process starts with each order, which ensures that the order is completed for delivery in an average of 20 minutes. This way, around 150 palletized goods deliveries and around 80,000 delivery items are processed each day.

“For us, the punctuality of our deliveries is an essential key to customer loyalty. With our stable availability and process reliability, we create trust. In order to secure this sustainably in the long term, we decided on an end-to-end alignment of our IT landscape in SAP^®. For our pharmaceutical trade, we chose the logistics module SAP^® Extended Warehouse Management. Due to its many years of experience in pharmaceutical logistics, KNAPP is the ideal SAP^® EWM implementation partner and combines the necessary process and IT thinking,” explains Thomas Brosch, Managing Director of Kwizda Pharmahandel.

SAP^® EWM tailored to the needs of the pharmaceutical trade

The template solution with SAP^® EWM by KNAPP replaces the previous warehouse management system, which was not by SAP. The new software system landscape integrates the complete inventory system with the container conveyor technology from goods receipt to goods issue at each of Kwizda Pharmahandel’s five locations. At the location in Linz, for example, this includes the automatic order start, the fast-mover picking machine with special control station, 12 manual picking stations, the final control stations, as well as the automatic document insertion and dispatch.

“KNAPP Building Blocks form an essential part of the solution. This includes, among other things, an optimized order start and wave scheduling tailored to the needs of the pharmaceutical trade, which allow a dynamic prioritization of picking according to progress and ensure a combination of automatic and manual order start, depending on the order type,” explains Thomas Furthmayr, Managing Director KNAPP IT Solutions. “As a solution specifically for pharmaceutical logistics, a shipping cockpit with integrated Google Maps was implemented. It allows tracking and locating of the current location or the route of ongoing tours, thus ensuring the required transparency of deliveries all the way to the pharmacy. This dashboard can also be used to coordinate the scheduling and rescheduling of tours and vehicles as well as internal transports between locations for customer deliveries.”

KNAPP Building Blocks are pre-configured and ready-to-use SAP^® EWM software modules which provide the necessary adaptations of the SAP^® EWM standard to realize industry-specific requirements. Workstations in the warehouse are equipped with KNAPP easyUse. This user interface is based on SAP^® UI5/Fiori technology and impresses with a reduction to the essentials and an intuitive user concept. Likewise, SAP^® EWM by KNAPP ensures a complete batch traceability – also in automatic picking and the fast-mover picking machine.

After the Go-Live of the new software solution at the location in Graz in July 2018, the distribution centers in Linz, Grödig, and Innsbruck followed simultaneously at the beginning of March 2021. The software changeover was completed at the central location in Vienna in January 2022.

About KNAPP

KNAPP AG is a leading technology company offering efficient, safe and economical automation solutions for the entire value chain.

KNAPP IT Solutions GmbH has been the KNAPP group’s SAP^® EWM (Extended Warehouse Management) expert since 2012. Over 100 SAP^® EWM specialists provide all the services involved in conception, implementation, testing, installation and support (incl. a 24/7 Hotline) for SAP^® EWM.