Integral system instead of isolated applications

The almost 150-year-old traditional company with headquarters in Schafisheim operates the transport and storage sites in Schafisheim, Hunzenschwil and Spreitenbach at a central location along the main A1 axis. "Simply transporting goods from A to B is no longer enough. Instead, the market is demanding an all-round package of services," says CEO Nico Barazetti. The company's range of services is correspondingly broad. All aspects of land-based goods and food logistics are covered: co-packing,

Import/export, customs clearance, transport and distribution, (refrigerated) storage, even relocations of companies and private individuals. "Professionalism and expertise in food logistics are among our main strengths," adds Hajo Koster, Head of Quality.

Lagerhäuser Aarau AG is certified according to the standards ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015, FSSC 22000, Swissmedic, Bio Inspecta and SMETA-4. The steadily increasing effort required to comply with the standards, but above all the complex processes within the various locations, prompted the company to evaluate QM software in 2016.

"For reasons of simplicity, transparency and price-performance, the Improve tool from Synprovis GmbH won out," explains Hajo Koster. Since mid-2017, the company has been using the Improve modules for customer complaints, risk management, audit management, training plans and documentation management. Of the approximately 340 employees, 50 people are intensively involved with the tool, and another 100 to 150 people regularly. "This high level of penetration only works if the software is accepted internally - and it is to a large extent," says the Head of Quality with satisfaction.

Before Improve: "Intranet made of wood
Before Lagerhäuser AG tackled the "QM software" project, it operated in a decidedly decentralized manner. The individual locations or company divisions operated almost completely autonomously, with different tools and therefore in multiple lanes. The main tools were PowerPoint and Excel. In addition, only a few employees had access to digital information. "This setting certainly worked for a while. But with the growth of the company and external requirements, the change to an integral system became imperative," says Hajo Koster. CEO Barazetti also emphasizes the need for company-wide standards with comprehensive integration of customers, suppliers, processes and documents.

Environment constantly demands more
External factors provided further reasons for operating with a holistic quality system. These include increasing price pressure, the growing need for outsourcing on the part of customers, all aspects of digitalization, environmental and energy issues, as well as the

Nurturing the company culture. The LA is moving forward on all these fronts. For example, in the area of ecology, where energy consumption for lighting, air conditioning and the vehicle fleet is actively measured and controlled, where all trucks comply with the latest Euro standards and drivers are trained in environmentally conscious driving. Or in the area of corporate culture, where "appreciation" has always been a living attitude. In terms of the market, Hajo Koster sums up: "A warehouse is increasingly becoming a bank. The customer entrusts us with his assets for storage and movement."

Software benefits and successes
"The introduction of Improve triggered a noticeable awareness dynamic in us about the company, structures and processes," reports quality expert Koster. The tool relentlessly uncovered structural gaps. Accordingly, many basic structures were set up. In addition, thanks to Improve, the QM manual was cut in half and duplications were eliminated. The desired centralization and implementation of company-wide standards was also successful thanks to Improve's multi-client capability. The process landscape was completely integrated into the QM tool and is now managed with it. "This work has brought us even closer together internally," says the QM manager, mentioning a welcome additional effect. The technical introduction proved to be uncomplicated. "The correct and complete introduction and maintenance of the data is, of course, a prerequisite for the development of Improve's effectiveness," sums up the 50-year-old.

Since the introduction of Improve, Lagerhäuser Aarau AG has benefited from further improvements in various areas, as the following examples illustrate:

• Modularity brings benefits in two senses. With the Improve purchase, the customer chooses what he really needs and "nothing in stock", according to the Q-Manager. In everyday practice, the sentence "Whoever masters one module can operate the other" applies, which aptly describes the consistently identical structure.
• Rapid success was achieved with customer complaints. The QM tool helps to better analyse errors and to react more quickly and in a more targeted manner.
• With the Improve rollout, the LA implemented a document ID concept in the digital data repository, which means that all documents and information on the topic being searched for can now be found quickly and easily using keyword searches.
• The tool makes it easy to manage the flood of documents related to standards certifications. The savings in employee hours for preparing and carrying out audits are considerable.
• The flexibility of the tool is demonstrated by its ability to adapt to the changing needs of the organization. Improve grows with the company.
• The various visualization possibilities of Improve are often used at Lagerhäuser Aarau AG.

About Improve manufacturer Synpro-vis GmbH, Hajo Koster says: "I think it's great that a small Swiss company has such a good and practical tool on the market."