Excellent tool for representation of all core processes
Success story from BITTER GmbH
In Projektron we see a reliable partner who provides us with a great software solution in Projektron BCS. We look forward to a long and continued successful cooperation.
Bitter develops solutions for electronics, automotive and mechanical engineering
Bitter GmbH has been active for over 30 years, primarily in the automotive or automotive supplier industry. We see ourselves as product developers whose main activities are design and development in conjunction with design, simulation, calculation and 3D scanning. Due to many years of experience in the development of various components in machine, engine and vehicle construction, we are able to represent the entire development chain of components, assemblies or entire modules. In doing so, we cover all areas of design from conceptual design to series production. We can also provide support from design, simulation and testing to prototype procurement.
Bitter GmbH started in the field of (special) vehicle and engine development, plant and mechanical engineering. We have been involved in the development of alternative drives with a focus on electric motors, battery systems, thermal management, fuel cells, etc. for many years. We support our customers both in overall projects and in individual sub-areas. Flexibility, transparency, safety and traceable project progress form the basis of our cooperation with our customers.
Project execution is carried out both in a future-oriented, flexible working environment at Bitter in Sierning near Steyr or Munich. At the customer's request, we also work directly on site. The use of state-of-the-art tools and methods is a matter of course. We work with the three absolute high-end CAD systems Catia from Dassault Systems, Creo from PTC and Siemens NX. Other state-of-the-art development tools such as ALV Fire, ePLAN, SolidWorks and KeyShot are also used.
Our team consists of approx. 120 highly qualified and well-trained employees who are fascinated by the essence of technology. With the combination of know-how, experience and enthusiasm, we develop innovative products and new technologies.
Projects are the core of our product development
As a technical service provider, we are used to working with customers on joint projects. Such customer projects are implemented in various sizes and manifestations.
We use the Projektron BCS software throughout the entire project life cycle, starting with the pre-project phase, followed by tendering and project processing up to invoicing. In project processing, we use different tools in BCS depending on the complexity of the project. In any case, time and activity recording is a central component in every project. That's why we use BCS throughout all our projects.
The "simplest" way of working is directly at the client's site. Here, only project working hours are usually recorded in BCS during project processing.
The actual in-house projects vary from irregular small activities (e.g. via tickets) of individual employees in a framework agreement to extensive and complex development projects. Often many employees and external partners are involved.
From a defined project size onwards, effort and schedule planning as well as various options for project documentation (e.g. project manager notes, ...) are used. These serve us as a basis for quotation calculation and for ongoing project controlling.
Other project management tools included in BCS are used, depending on need and project requirement.
Projektron BCS seen early and introduced at the right time
We first noticed Projektron BCS in 2003 during a visit to the CEBIT trade fair. At the time, we had just got to grips with MS Project and other stand-alone project management programs and found ourselves unplanned at the Projektron stand. The great web interface and the wide range of functions in the area of multi-project management made a lasting impression on us and stayed in our minds.
At that time, Bitter GmbH was still a small company and we could not decide to introduce such a system. We continued to do project planning with MS Project and MS Excel. Time recording and invoicing ran on MS Access.
Over the years, Bitter GmbH grew steadily and the established isolated applications were increasingly perceived as an obstacle. Therefore, in 2014 we set up a project to select and introduce an ERP system that was suitable for us.
With the help of an external consultant, we started the selection process. At our request, Projektron BCS, which he had not been familiar with before, was included. It became apparent that BCS, with its focus on projects, could be a better fit for us as a technical service provider than other established ERP systems, which seemed to be designed more for production companies.
In the end, the first impressions were confirmed and we chose Projektron BCS after the selection process. BCS convinced us with its focus on projects, the best coverage of our requirements, the good price-performance ratio and the modern web interface.
After the decision, we planned the introduction together with Projektron. Several joint workshops were held to define the configuration, specify necessary adjustments and plan the transfer of inventory data. Here, a competent and committed technical account manager from Projektron was at our side, who helped us to set up BCS in the best possible way for our requirements.
We decided that only current projects or the data necessary for them should be imported from the existing systems into BCS. Our company with company structure, roles, employees, customers, contacts, cost centres, authorisations and much more was mapped in BCS and the associated data imported. Interfaces, e.g. to Active Directory (user logon), MS Exchange (calendar sync and email import) and telephone system (CTI) were also set up. We were actively supported by our Projektron customer advisor and Projektron support. Even during the set-up and implementation phase, we were impressed by the adaptability of BCS.
Projektron BCS became our central management tool
Today, Projektron BCS is used across all business processes. Starting with intensive use in the various administrative areas such as Human Resources, through use as a central project management tool in the customer business, to the leading system for the IT infrastructure (user and authorisation management), BCS permeates all functions in the company.
As an example of the use of BCS, we would like to highlight the possibilities for quotation calculation. It was already clear to us during the evaluation phase that flexibility in quotation calculation was of great importance to us. In the course of the workshops, a concept was developed to make the calculation of quotations more flexible. We commissioned this adaptation from Projektron and it has been incorporated into the BCS standard. Today, this adaptation is available as a module under the name "Calculation" and will be extended from time to time with additional functions.
The quotation costing supports us especially in complex and extensive development projects. There was a wish on our part that the technical calculation could be distinguished from the sales calculation. In this respect, the module enables us to transparently display the calculation process, which is also easy to understand at a later point in time. In addition, we use the summarisation possibilities that result from the costing module. Planning and costing are often much more finely granular than the actual offer items. This higher granularity enables us to react even better to deviations and has led to more precise project controlling and subsequently to better project results in the past years.
In addition to the possibilities for quotation calculation, almost all available modules of BCS are used more or less intensively. Especially the ticket system has turned out to be an excellent tool in the administration. Almost all important core processes are handled via tickets. Tickets are used, for example, for processing enquiries or also for invoicing. In HR, all processes except payroll are mapped in BCS, from applicant management to hourly and expense accounting. Interfaces to other systems (e.g. access control, Active Directory, Azure service, especially Microsoft 365) are represented via the extensive options for importing and exporting data. Exports are used, for example, to create and continuously update SharePoint sites for each project with the appropriate permissions. Over the years, we have implemented many of these interfaces ourselves, based on examples and adaptations from Projektron and on our own initiative (learning-by-doing).
Today, Projektron BCS is used by all employees at different levels of sophistication. The architecture as a web application enables our employees to access it from any location without needing a fat client. This is enormously helpful, especially for our employees at the customer site.
The biggest advantage of BCS for us is that we can represent almost all of the company's core processes in BCS and that the transparency and reliability of daily operations has already improved enormously in recent years. We assume that this trend will continue in the future.
Projektron - the right partner for the future
In retrospect, we can say that choosing Projektron BCS was the right decision for our company. For us as a project-oriented technical service provider, BCS is the optimal tool to successfully implement demanding design and development projects for or together with our customers. Our internal activities and processes are optimally supported and our company's further growth is facilitated.
We are very interested in the continuous further development of BCS, which optimises the already very good web interface even further and always brings forth interesting new features for our purposes.
