Hengstenberg – from family business to modern corporate group

While TecCom celebrates its tenth anniversary in 2010, the history of Hengstenberg goes back to the 1920s, when the company founder Eduard Hengstenberg started to sell motor parts to the OE market. In the course of the years the family business became a corporate group with 135 employees in four operating companies – Hengstenberg Fahrzeug- und Motorenteile (vehicle and motor parts), Eduard Hengstenberg Hydraulik und Industrie Teile (hydraulic and industrial parts), Hengstenberg Unternehmensberatung (corporate consulting) and Easyparts GmbH. Together they achieve total sales of 45 million euros.

Headquarters of the Hengstenberg Group in Essen, Germany

For deliveries of automotive replacement parts to trade customers throughout Germany the company headquarters includes a stockroom with 22,000m². The key strengths of the wholesale trader lie in efficient organisation, very good deliverability and the IT connection to trading partners, allowing a high level of automation.

Strong together with TecCom: from the founding until 2005

After the official founding of TecCom GmbH during the Automechanika trade fair in the fall of 2000, that December the first meetings are held with Hengstenberg. In January 2001 Hengstenberg starts to test the ordering platform. The first inquiries and orders are sent to the part manufacturers Hella, HERTH+BUSS and Sachs. In February 2001 TMD Friction and AS Auto Parts LUK are added. In December of 2001 Hengstenberg employees work with TecCom from 20 seats and there is a connection to 32 suppliers.

Hengstenberg participates in the first meeting of the TecCom User Group Trade in spring of 2001 in order to present the requirements and wishes of wholesalers. Also in the following years Hengstenberg participates in the regular meetings, in particular to emphasise the importance of reverse messages like order confirmations and dispatch advice notices.

At the beginning of 2002 Hengstenberg starts with the complete integration of the TecCom solution in its newly developed enterprise research planning (ERP) system that will be the heart of its refined logistics. This is an important step to best take advantage of the benefits of the TecCom platform and form Hengstenberg’s own processes even more efficiently. The trade levels to which Hengstenberg delivers can also place inquiries and orders electronically using TecCom.

The 22,000m² stockroom for automotive replacement parts

For Michael Höfmann, managing director of Hengstenberg GmbH, the TecCom platform is an important tool to realise the company’s strategy. “We concentrate on our strengths and do things we do well with the goal of being the best. We stand for excellent customer service, a high deliverability quota, good IT connections, few delivery errors and fast, businesslike and efficient cooperation with our partners, customers and suppliers. Without an instrument like TecCom it would not be possible to fulfil such high standards. That is why we decided very early to use TecCom.”

That the TecCom ordering solution meets Hengstenberg’s expectations is clear from the steadily increasing use numbers: at the end of 2004 Hengstenberg already sends more than 7,500 inquiries and orders to 20 part manufacturers and more than 2,000 orders come in from traders in the lower trade levels.

New solutions for new challenges: from 2005 until today

In order to deal with additional requirements from the independent aftermarket, TecCom expands its portfolio of solutions. After the optimisation of ordering processes, the automation and standardisation of claims cases, article data management and invoicing processes need to be driven. As an important speaker for the wholesalers Hengstenberg has a large influence on the form and functions of these TecCom solutions.

At the end of 2005 the group participates in the first meeting of a working group of part manufacturers and traders to define the market requirements for a solution to manage article data. These requirements are the basis for the development of TecCMD, the solution for the administration of article, price and logistics data between suppliers and traders in the automotive part market. Later Hengstenberg is represented among the first users of TecCMD; it makes an important contribution to the continuous development and improvement of this solution.

Since 2007 Hengstenberg receives article data from Hella with TecCMD in an automated and standardised process. Today Tenneco and MANN+HUMMEL also supply data with TecCMD. Through the very deep integration in the ERP system, Hengstenberg can profit optimally from the solution’s benefits. Errors in the update process are avoided, the latest data are always available and the time and expense of maintaining article data are reduced.

In 2006 Hengstenberg decides to introduce TecWarranty in order to automate the handling of warranty cases. Since 2007 the solution has been in full use; in 2009 almost 200 warranty cases are sent using the system.

When TecCom decides to introduce a solution to send and receive electronic invoices with signatures, Hengstenberg volunteers as a pilot customer. In April 2007 Hengstenberg starts to actively use the solution TecInvoice (then called TecTDC). In 2008 the sending of invoices is handled 100 percent using TecInvoice. Today invoices are sent to around 270 recipients in an automated process directly from the ERP system. Electronic processing minimises invoicing errors, with a positive effect on accounts receivable and the complaint rate.

Hengstenberg now uses the TecInvoice solution not just to send invoices, but also to receive them – from the suppliers Hella, TRW Germany, MANN+HUMMEL, TMD Friction, ZF Trading, HERTH+BUSS and soon Van Wezel.

The ordering solution TecOrder handles more than 50 percent of all orders – it is impossible to imagine Hengstenberg’s day-to-day business without the platform. In November 2009, 20,000 inquiries and orders are sent to more than 30 suppliers. In its role as supplier Hengstenberg receives 6,000 inquiries and orders from traders.

Edith Reitz, member of top management and IT manager of the Hengstenberg Group responsible for TecCom projects, praises the good cooperation in past years. “What I particularly value about working together with TecCom is that they always have an open ear for our suggestions, ideas for improvement and desired changes.” She emphasizes the strategic importance of TecCom for the group. “With the innovative TecCom solutions we have been able optimise our business processes and concentrate on the important things: the best possible service and greatest possible benefits for our customers and business partners. In particular across borders and formats TecCom provides services that are unique and cannot be delivered by medium-sized companies. Because of TecCom we have access to all suppliers with one format and one interface. This is what makes EDI economically feasible for our company. Our wish for the future is that even more suppliers use the TecCom ordering platform so that we can increase the efficiency of our order processing even further.”

Edith Reitz is responsible for TecCom projects at the Hengstenberg Group

You can learn more about the Hengstenberg Group at their Website www.hengstenberg-gruppe.de. If you have any questions for TecCom please direct them to Alexander Bresslau (alexander.bresslau@teccom.eu).