MAHLE GmbH
Innovative order picking thanks to
modern pick-by-voice technology
Our Client
MAHLE is a leading international automotive supplier headquartered in Stuttgart that has been developing components and systems for engines and vehicle technology since its founding in 1920. Today, its strategic focus also includes solutions to reduce CO₂ emissions, such as electromobility, thermal management, and internal combustion engines powered by renewable energies (for example, hydrogen).
MAHLE operates more than one hundred production and development sites worldwide and currently employs over 60,000 people. Components from the company are installed in roughly every second vehicle worldwide.
The Challenge
The existing pick-by-voice solution at several European MAHLE sites had become technologically outdated and, after around 15 years of use, no longer met current hardware and software requirements. As part of upcoming technology updates, the order picking process therefore needed to be fundamentally modernized and future-proofed.
The key challenge was to integrate the new voice solution into a heterogeneous SAP system landscape consisting of SAP R/3 and SAP S/4HANA, and to roll it out across Europe within a very short timeframe.
Project challenges
- Outdated pick-by-voice technology
- Heterogeneous SAP system landscape
- Fast, scheduled Europe-wide rollout
The Solution
Based on the solution concept for voice-controlled picking developed by the ICS Group (ICS) – which impressed compared to alternative approaches with its high performance and scalability as well as optimized investment and operating costs – ICS implemented the web-based pick-by-voice system “Ivanti Velocity Voice.”
As part of the project, ICS seamlessly adapted the existing customer-specific SAP dialogs to the new solution and equipped MAHLE with modern, high-performance mobile hardware. Following a successful pilot, the solution has since been implemented at five European sites and, thanks to its web-based approach, can be used flexibly across different mobile devices. Further rollouts at additional locations are already planned.
Solution
- Web-based pick-by-voice solution
- Adoption of customer-specific SAP voice dialogs
- New high-performance mobile hardware
The Result
By successfully transferring the existing picking processes into a modern pick-by-voice application, MAHLE now operates with a technologically up-to-date and future-proof solution. The proven software processes were fully retained, meaning no changes to operational workflows were required.
Thanks to the on-time implementation, uninterrupted operations were ensured and downtime was reliably avoided.
Result
- Future-proof picking processes
- Productive operation without changes to operational workflows
- Implementation without operational disruption
