Sandvik Coromant implements digitalization strategies for end-to-end product lifecycle in SAP

Thanks to SAP ECTR, Sandvik Coromant is able to consistently bundle the product information of all locations in the SAP system – and can now start working on optimized end-to-end processes.

Sandvik Coromant, a business area segment of the Sandvik Group, is a global market-leading manufacturer of tools and tooling systems for advanced industrial metal cutting. SAP Product Lifecycle Management | SAP PLM and SAP Engineering Control Center | SAP ECTR are among the key foundations of Sandvik Coromant’s digitalization strategy, with DSC Software AG serving as their Companion for Integrative PLM.

DSC and the SAP ECTR software have enabled the industry leader to unify the systems, processes, and data of their 35 engineering centers and 5 brand divisions. In contrast to the previously heterogeneous and isolated PDM / PLM systems, engineering is now using SAP everywhere – thanks to SAP direct integrations of the CAD / CAM / CAE system Siemens NX. At the same time, every MCAD team is working with standardized, automated document processes that help create homogenous product data. Finally, this allows the tool manufacturer to consistently bundle the product information of all locations and brands in the SAP system.

The most demanding challenges along the way

• Elaborating and implementing a unique data model to comply with the specific requirements and equally satisfy the conditions of all brand divisions and locations
• Consolidating the inventory data, which turned out to be greatly heterogeneous in terms of naming rules and structure: 5 million files with more than 4 million documents and a total volume of 4.5 TB
• Ensuring a seamless CAD / CAM / CMM data migration, which required a premigration and numerous local delta migrations due to the gradual global rollout of the solution

The result provided not only a central database but a worldwide unique information source, facilitating the collaboration across departments and locations, and increasing the process efficiency. Furthermore, the new solution allows integrating the PLM processes consistently across all locations, which results in maximal flexibility. Based on the successes achieved, Sandvik Coromant is now starting a new stage of digitalization together with DSC.

Essential goals

• Further simplifying the collaboration between engineering and procurement
• Setting up fully integrated mechatronics processes: with MCAD, ECAD, and software data in the SAP system
• Further integrating other technical areas, especially manufacturing and service, into the end-to-end processes
• Enhancing the Digital Twin to support the change processes and handover to manufacturing
• Creating dynamic workflows to be able, for example, to map Engineer-to-Order scenarios more efficiently

To reach these goals, Sandvik Coromant plans to introduce further DSC solutions in addition to SAP ECTR, for example Factory Control Center | FCTR and CROSS·POINT. Finally, the tool manufacturer is currently transitioning to the intelligent ERP system SAP S/4HANA. All of these are strategic leverages for pushing ahead Sandvik Coromant’s digitalization process in a sustainable and exceptionally beneficial manner.