Del Fabro Kolarik Modernizes Driver Solution with SAP

Del Fabro Kolarik, one of the leading specialist beverage wholesalers in Austria, has long relied on digital processes in logistics. In 2019, the existing driver solution was replaced by OntegoGL for Android. The project, including the development of a new SAP interface, was implemented in just 6 months. The rollout took place in the course of commissioning the modern logistics center in Vienna's 11th district.

The modernization of the Del Fabro Kolarik driver solution was embedded in a larger logistics project. The specialist beverage wholesaler is a subsidiary of the Ottakringer Group and has grown significantly in recent years as a result of company mergers, meaning customers across Austria are now supplied from three locations. Following the integration of Wiener Trinkservice in 2022, the fleet has grown to approximately 60 vehicles. The demands on shipping logistics are correspondingly high.

The switch to OntegoGL helped to further optimize SAP processes, expand the functional scope of the mobile solution, and, above all, switch to a modern software architecture that supports current mobile device types and platforms.

Specifically, Del Fabro Kolarik handles the following processes with the delivery solution:

• Delivery of goods
• Recording of returns
• Recording of returned empties
• Handling of event business
• Cash collection business

All processes were configured in detail for Del Fabro Kolarik's requirements. For Austrian users, the generation of an ADR document from the solution is mandatory, whereas printing the beer tax on customer receipts is no longer required.

In addition to the standard functions of the solution, specific requirements were defined:

• Transfer of customer data after completion of a stop
• Use of pre-defined text modules for note taking and selection of note types
• Indication of break time recording by the driver
• Recording of downtimes

All processes are mapped in SAP as well as in the SAP DSD module. The Ontego platform offers various standard interfaces for connecting SAP: either via the use of the standard SAP RFC interface or the SAP Web Service Adapter. To fully supply OntegoGL with data from the SAP system and/or for the reverse posting of data recorded in OntegoGL, the existing SAP function module landscape was expanded.

At the subsidiary of Ottakringer Getränke AG, the introduction of the modern delivery solution took place in several phases. Phase 1 included a multi-month test phase in which selected drivers tested the new solution and provided feedback. The desired adjustments were implemented in a second phase. Subsequently, the productive rollout took place at the headquarters in Vienna. All other locations followed step by step.

In the run-up to the pilot phase, the project managers were confronted with the concerns of some drivers. The switch to a new generation of hardware and software fueled concerns. For the beverage wholesaler, acceptance by the drivers is very important. The initial skepticism of the drivers, some of whom did not have a private smartphone, was dispelled over the course of the project.

Not least through thorough training sessions that Del Fabro Kolarik conducted prior to the modernization. In these sessions lasting several hours, the drivers were familiarized with the new hardware consisting of a smartphone and mobile printer and got to know the delivery note app in detail. The concept has proven so successful that the company continues these training sessions to this day and uses them for onboarding new employees.

Even during the introduction, the Del Fabro Kolarik project team submitted numerous feature requests. For instance, the wish was expressed that delivery data be transmitted back during a tour—at the time a departure from the software actually designed as a pure offline solution; today a standard feature of the OntegoGL solution. Or the specially created order type for the return of goods accidentally returned by the customer, the return of which to the customer can be acknowledged in OntegoGL.

Fig. 1: Loading a truck. The driver can optionally perform a loading check in his van sales solution. Fig. 2: Full goods are unloaded and delivered to the customer. Documentation takes place in the driver app. Fig. 3: Empties are taken back at the customer's site—and recorded electronically in the app. Fig. 4: Electronic empties recording via OntegoGL app.

Today, in productive operation, there are regularly further topics that are discussed in mutual exchange. Some await the starting signal for implementation fully conceptualized, or are already implemented. The ongoing operation of the delivery solution lies in the hands of Dieter Huemer, a member of the System and Process Management Team. He accompanies the daily delivery business and deals with the big and small questions of the drivers. He is also responsible for the support of the driver solution. Like his predecessors, he also regularly provides impulses for the further development of the software and exchanges views with commsult on such topics, "because it is totally exciting to see how problems are solved differently."

Take the topic of the full cancellation process—to name a concrete example:

"If the driver has to cancel a complete customer, he used to come to us in the warehouse," recalls Huemer. This is part of daily business if the driver cannot make it to a customer on time due to a disruption and then brings the goods back to the warehouse. Before mapping the process in OntegoGL, the cancelled items were put away back into the warehouse. "Only to pick it again on the same day because we drove to the customer again," says Huemer, "that burned an extremely large amount of working time." Namely the once required identification, putaway, and repicking.

Today there is a fully digital process across all participating systems. An order recorded as a "full cancellation" in the driver solution receives a temporary storage bin in the warehouse, from which it is automatically picked again for a subsequent tour.

Huemer also sees further focal points for the future. One is the topic of mobile printing. "My personal goal would be to use the printer only in exceptional situations." One notices a change in the industry, among customers. The more younger people join, the clearer it is: "Please pay by card and please send the invoice or delivery note by email, and please not to me, but directly to accounting."

This brings us to the next keyword: Paying by EC or credit card. At Del Fabro Kolarik, this has been a seriously discussed topic since the summer of 2022. Cash payers make up only a small part of the clientele at Del Fabro Kolarik. Nevertheless, they do not want to do without these customers. From a business perspective, it must be stated that cash payments cause numerous costs and make the entire collection process more complex.

The driving force at Del Fabro Kolarik is Sales. The clientele is undergoing a generational change and increasingly expects electronic payment options. And—equally interesting—the drivers are also open to electronic payment. Recently, they have regularly been confronted with longer waiting times due to the fact that customers only get the necessary cash from the ATM upon delivery. This, in turn, can lead to delays in subsequent deliveries.

Del Fabro Kolarik is a specialist beverage wholesaler that actively adapts to challenges. The move to the new logistics center in Vienna was a large and externally clearly visible step. The continuous digitization and optimization of processes in the warehouse and delivery takes place behind the scenes and in small steps. In doing so, the company relies on exchange with partners to extend the software solution with special features.