Challenge.
The ELSEN Group goes far beyond logistics. The 1,400 employees working in four divisions offer their customers personnel, logistics, consultation and transportation services that cover the entire supply chain. With over 150 years’ experience under its belt, ELSEN has learnt that sometimes it’s the little things that can bring about big change to complex logistics processes, which is why custom yet flexible processes are a critical cornerstone for the Group’s success. True to its motto “People, processes, solutions”, staff at the ELSEN Group are constantly putting their processes under the microscope and rolling them out according to individual needs. good technology, the latest software and the necessary expertise have made ELSEN process champions across the board and with this in mind, it was decided to further optimise and scale the Group’s IT and make it more flexible. However, this required a comprehensive analysis and maturity assessment of IT processes to establish a firm foundation for implementing more efficient structures and workflows.
Bechtle’s maturity assessment gave us a structured insight into our IT organisation and highlighted where there was potential for optimisation. We were able to use the recommendations for action to establish new processes and simplify a host of aspects. But that’s not all. Bechtle’s visualisation also showed how important documentation is in IT, which is why we then commissioned the company to produce a service roadmap to give us a clear understanding of our infrastructure.
Ralf Sauerborn, Vice President Logistics Operations, ELSEN Holding GmbH
Solution.
The ELSEN Group found the partner they needed in Bechtle, The IT service provider took a methodical approach and created an analysis of ELSEN’s IT processes. Using ISACA’s Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) model, Bechtle was able to carry out an objective assessment and identify strengths and areas of improvement. Bechtle first systematically recorded the status quo of each IT process by holding interviews and workshops with ELSEN’s key stakeholders using a standardised catalogue of questions, which has been specifically designed to provide an insight into IT processes from a variety of perspectives. Interview partners were selected on the basis of their roles within the company and included those in IT management, executive managers, IT staff and customers. This strategic selection ensured a holistic overview of the IT processes and an objective assessment of the status quo. Bechtle recorded the results of the interviews in an Excel spreadsheet, which not only grouped interviewees’ answers, but also details as to how the data was to be analysed. This structured approach meant that Bechtle was able to carry out a detailed assessment of ELSEN’s IT processes to lay the groundwork for identifying areas of action and potential for optimisation. Presented in a visual manner, the assessment also showed the maturity of each individual IT discipline with Bechtle focussing on risk management, IT governance, service quality and project management to define specific recommendations for optimisation.
Business benefits.
By analysing the maturity of its IT processes, ELSEN gained valuable information into potential areas for optimising its in-house processes. The recommendations derived from the analysis allowed the corporate group to streamline its existing processes and, where necessary, introduce new ones. Documentation on the IT landscape was put together in workshops with Bechtle, which can now be developed further by the employees trained and by Bechtle. The assessment, therefore, not only provided ELSEN with an overview of tried and tested practices, but also helped to objectively analyse the Group’s strengths and weaknesses and make meaningful recommendations for improvement.