In automotive paint bays, a supply of clean, dry air is mandatory when applying finishes that won’t crackle or flake away over time. Kaeser is the supplier of choice. In the food and beverage sector, industrial gases such as nitrogen are used to ensure contamination-free packaging, along with the thick, creamy head that some brewers promote. Kaeser air compressors supply the gas. In fact, Kaeser air compressors are found virtually everywhere, from mundane concrete production to extraordinary winery wastewater treatment and recycling. Kaeser’s ability to provide reliable and efficient compressed air products and complete automated control systems relies on something as arcane as master data governance (MDG). To customize its MDG solution, Kaeser first created an interactive, high-fidelity visualization of the application using the SAP® Application Visualization software by iRise. The results blew new life into the MDG process – and higher quality into Kaeser compressors industry-wide.

1. SAP Customer Success Story | Industrial Machinery and Components | Kaeser Kompressoren
Kaeser Kompressoren: SAP® Application
Visualization Revolutionizes Business
Process Development

2. SAP Customer Success Story | Industrial Machinery and Components | Kaeser Kompressoren
Company
Kaeser Kompressoren AG Street dreams, beer streams –
Headquarters
Coburg, Germany
compressed air everywhere
Industry, products, and services A chic woman perched on a low concrete wall lunches on a hot dog and a soda. A man
Industrial machinery and in a custom-painted auto with a case of beer in the trunk cruises by. What do they have
components – air compressors
and consulting services in common? Oddly enough, Kaeser air compressors. From auto paint ovens and beer
carbonation to meat packaging and concrete, Kaeser air compressors figure in a huge
Web site
range of products. And Kaeser Kompressoren AG meets its own high-pressure
www.kaeser.com
business needs with solutions from SAP.
SAP® solutions and services
SAP® Application Visualization
software by iRise and SAP In automotive paint bays, a supply of clean, dry air Kaeser’s ability to provide reliable and efficient
Consulting is mandatory when applying finishes that won’t compressed air products and complete automated
crackle or flake away over time. Kaeser is the sup- control systems relies on something as arcane as
plier of choice. In the food and beverage sector, in- master data governance (MDG). To customize its
dustrial gases such as nitrogen are used to ensure MDG solution, Kaeser first created an interactive,
contamination-free packaging, along with the thick, high-fidelity visualization of the application using
creamy head that some brewers promote. Kaeser the SAP® Application Visualization software by
air compressors supply the gas. In fact, Kaeser air iRise. The results blew new life into the MDG
compressors are found virtually everywhere, from process – and higher quality into Kaeser com-
mundane concrete production to extraordinary pressors industry-wide.
winery wastewater treatment and recycling.
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3. SAP Customer Success Story | Industrial Machinery and Components | Kaeser Kompressoren
Introduction
A transparent new process of master
Vision
data governance
Why SAP
A global enterprise, Kaeser Kompressoren is one In that regard, one of the processes Kaeser needed
of the world’s premier suppliers of compressed air to address was master data governance. With opera-
Implementation
products and related services. Headquartered in tions virtually worldwide, master data governance
Coburg, Germany, it employs approximately is a critical function of the business with important
Solution 4,500 people. implications for customer service.
In the process of running its business, Kaeser runs “Master data governance is huge because it covers
Benefits almost the complete set of SAP Business Suite ap- the complete enterprise,” says Lameter. “So it’s es-
plications. The company has been using the software sential that your approach be a good one before you
Future plans long enough to recognize that some applications attempt to apply it to the complete enterprise. The
need customization. “There are areas like finance or purpose of this project was to implement a solution
human resources where you can use SAP software that supported a new and very transparent approach
in a more or less standard way,” says Falko Lameter, to master data governance.”
CIO of Kaeser. “When it comes to customization,
then you would concentrate on the most important
core processes of the company. For us, these are
sales and service.”
“With our master data governance project, we are
developing a solution that could prove to be a
foundation for a general IT governance process.”
Falko Lameter, CIO, Kaeser Kompressoren AG
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4. SAP Customer Success Story | Industrial Machinery and Components | Kaeser Kompressoren
Introduction
Visualization that looks and acts like
Vision
the desired solution
Why SAP
“In the past, software customization projects have which can be completed in a matter of hours, en-
always involved lots of changes and accompanying compasses integrated workflows, interfaces to
Implementation
budget overruns,” recalls Jewgeni Kravets of SAP existing solutions, and custom requirements. The
Consulting. “So I recommended to the Kaeser IT visualization looks and behaves exactly like the de-
Solution people that they look at SAP Application Visualiza- sired solution so that stakeholders can “test-drive”
tion software by iRise as an alternative approach to and fully experience the proposed vision for the
project design and specification.” This project would application design and provide feedback before any
Benefits then point the way toward Kaeser’s future custom- expensive coding takes place.
ization undertakings.
Future plans The end result is a complete “picture” of require-
SAP Application Visualization enables users to rap- ments that anyone can understand and that helps
idly create an integrated, interactive view of an entire ensure both business and IT are fully aligned around
solution design, or parts of it, depending upon their what’s needed and how to execute on it. In most
needs. These visualizations help illustrate to stake- cases, business analysts and functional experts can
holders how standard and nonstandard elements of learn and master the software functionality in less
SAP and partner software would look and interact than a day.
in supporting a new process. This working preview,
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5. SAP Customer Success Story | Industrial Machinery and Components | Kaeser Kompressoren
Introduction
Fast implementation, short
Vision
training period
Why SAP
According to Kravets, Kaeser was uncertain about
implementing the visualization software at the out-
Implementation
set. Initially, the plan was for only a few licenses, just
to get a sense of the software and help safeguard
Solution one specific project. But Kaeser very quickly added
several more seats, ultimately licensing the software
3
for all in-house business analysts and application
Benefits owners who collaborate with business departments.
months
Future plans The software was installed in just a few hours with Time to application
remote support from SAP. Training took another day visualization
and a half. “Within just three months, we identified
our business requirements and launched the first
visual prototype of our MDG solution,” says Lameter.
All relevant in-house business analysts and applica-
tion owners were trained on the software to create
the high-fidelity visualizations. The actual business
users themselves, however, needed no training to
work with the visualizations, “test-drive” the planned
application, and validate the business requirements
and user interfaces.
5

6. SAP Customer Success Story | Industrial Machinery and Components | Kaeser Kompressoren
Introduction
Support for clearly defined roles
Vision
and responsibilities
Why SAP
Kaeser used the SAP Application Visualization soft- project developers were able to establish a fixed
ware to envision the entire master data governance price for the project.
Implementation
solution prior to establishing it as a company stan-
dard. IT developers and business analysts worked “I think the users like it,” says Lameter. “They im-
Solution with the business departments to establish each role mediately started using it. There was no critical com-
required, along with the fields needed to meet each ment, and this is very important; usually when you
role’s responsibilities. With the elimination up front implement an application, you have some critical
Benefits of a continuing parade of change requests, the feedback.”
Future plans
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7. SAP Customer Success Story | Industrial Machinery and Components | Kaeser Kompressoren
Introduction
Substantial time saved and huge
Vision
costs avoided
Why SAP
Working with SAP Application Visualization, it be- The result was a more harmonious – and certainly
came clear that the solution implementation would faster and less costly – development of processes
Implementation
benefit by waiting one month for a new enhance- and associated software within the company. The
ment package, which included a more flexible SAP problem of communication between IT and
Solution user interface. By opting for the new enhancement business – and the arduous translation of those
package over the existing one, Kaeser cut develop- communications into actual processes and software
ment time by approximately 50%. It also avoided the programs – has been solved.
Benefits expense of deploying two enhancement packages
instead of one. There is, however, occasional confusion. “We have to
Future plans take care to inform the business people that while
Substantial time was also saved in the specification the visualization of the solution preview looks like a
of the new solution. In addition, there was an end to real application, it isn’t one,” says Kravets. “You can’t
the enormous expenses that come with repeated go live with this, it’s just a spec.”
specification change requests associated with
the recognition of new roles and new field require-
ments. “With SAP Application Visualization software,
50%
communication between IT and the business was
certainly much easier,” says Lameter. “Because the
business department could now see how the appli-
cation works and could, let us say, feel and smell it.” Process development
time avoided
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8. Kaeser Kompressoren
Introduction
More process
Vision
improvements ahead
Why SAP
According to Lameter, Kaeser’s master data gover-
nance project will ultimately improve the quality of
Implementation
all its product- and customer-related processes.
What’s more, he sees the potential for SAP Applica-
Solution tion Visualization to be applied in other SAP and
non-SAP software development projects aimed at
improving business processes across the entire
Benefits Kaeser organization and beyond.
Future plans Lameter believes such projects will help Kaeser to
better serve its customers. “High-quality information
about our products and business partners helps us
provide our customers with compressed air supplies
at the low costs and high availability they need to run
efficient manufacturing processes,” he says.
CMP18890 (12/08)
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