En­ter­prise-Wide Di­git­al­iz­a­tion at ZF TRW with One Platform

TRW Automotive, ZF TRW since May 2015, has been a customer of JobRouter from the very beginning. The company is facing three challenges which are both exciting and essential for the future; digital transformation, changes in the automotive industry, and the merging of two corporate cultures. Their well attuned IT team plays a key role in managing complex business processes used at more than 120 locations.

December 2015. Anytime a self-driving car is mentioned these days, it is most likely to be equipped with a ZF TRW component. Active and passive safety technology is the core competence of TRW, the fifth ZF division. Its portfolio includes functions for driver assistance and partial automation, adaptive cruise control, lane keeping and lane change assist, as well as emergency assist. The development and production center in Koblenz, Germany was bursting at the seams, which is why individual departments – including the IT department – were outsourced to buildings in the neighborhood. Here again, innovative thoughts and processes to increase productivity and value-add are thriving.

We meet the IT team which decided to purchase the workflow management system JobRouter® in 2004. Angelika Knauth, Anton Khoryukov and Markus Staudt have been working for the automotive supplier for more than two decades. Also present at the meeting are Paul Eisenbürger (Engineering Control) as well as Anne Jahn and Josef Rieser, two long-term employees of special departments.

Can analog workflows be mapped one-to-one? How are new workflows developed?

Markus Staudt: “A lot of people have to first learn to think logically in non-sequential processes. The departments have to do some preparatory work and fill out a form for each new workflow. For example, they have to enter form fields, sequences, approval processes, responsibilities, and mandatory fields. Also questions, such as, what happens if the supervisor declines a request, have to be clearly defined. The requirement specification consists of a presentation, minutes of the meeting and emails“.

And what about changes that are requested at a later time?

Angelika Knauth: “We have an effective internal workflow design unit. External solutions require a calculation of costs. Every detail must be clearly defined in advance before placing an order, to avoid additional costs. Some details become clear only during the workflow development, despite the good preparatory work of the departments. As internal developers, we are able to react flexibly and effectively. The first form is the most important, because all data collected there is running through the entire process.”

When does the special department take the responsibility for the process?

Anton Khoryukov: “The tests are run in parallel with the process development. The special departments are happy with their responsibility. The local administrator gets training or communication documents if required. They give the go-ahead and can intervene in processes and reassign steps.

The system landscape at ZF TRW in Koblenz is highly differentiated. The QAD ERP system only allows limited access from the outside which makes data exchange and the interface connection difficult. SAP is linked to the HR module and the controlling department uses General Ledger as a stand-alone solution. 

What role does JobRouter® play in a complex system landscape?

Paul Eisenbürger: “While everyone needs possibilities for data acquisition, our systems aren't able to offer such functionality – but this is the strength of JobRouter®.  The highlight for me, in the controlling department, is that I can collect all data in one database with JobRouter® to evaluate and continue working with it.”

Markus Staudt: “The interfaces show how well an application can be integrated seamlessly. For example, I can connect databases with SQL and PHP to JobRouter®. Therefore, I find JobRouter® to be a tool that is easy to program but also flexible in complex environments.”

How is the application management regulated?

Anton Khoryukov: “Since we all focus on different main fields of activities, we share in workflow development and support according to our available time. In the future, we hope for even more capabilities. We are currently converting to JobRouter® version 3, which is certainly a major project.”

Angelika Knauth: “When updating to the latest version, we want to bring everything to perfection. We see a chance to rethink existing processes and to use the new potential, more than just easily transfering the data.

Integrating into the ZF Group also offers new perspectives for IT. At the top of the Merging agenda are the following items: Efficient operation procedures, lean and efficient processes, and customizability. The last point is important due to the diversity of international employees, locations all over the world, and demographic changes.

How can a workflow management system be used globally?

Paul Eisenbürger: “Many processes have to be completed outside an ERP system, like SAP® for instance . A lot can be prepared with JobRouter® and then transferred into an ERP or any other system – only most decision makers aren‘t aware of this possibility. The decision makers of both business and IT departments have to work together more effectively and use the complete potential of JobRouter as global workflow management system. We have a great knowledge in workflow development which cannot be found in many companies.”

Does that mean that other locations are also using processes developed for the special departments?

Markus Staudt: “Most of the workflow development takes place in Koblenz. Together with the special departments, we make sure that a process can be used internationally. This way, other locations can be easily integrated into existing workflows.”

Anton Khoryukov: “We have developed a special workflow MyJobRouter in order to reduce the administrative effort, which enables each employee to compile his JobRouter® processes and create his own master data. For that, the multi-lingualism of JobRouter® is a great advantage.”

How can a team be established which is globally responsible?

Anton Khoryukov: “Workflow management becomes sustainable when a globally responsible team is analyzing all processes of every location. The team must be able to transfer knowledge from one location to another. The versatile features of the JobRouter® Digital Transformation Platform enable such global transfer of information that it makes perfectly sense to assign it to this task. Ideally, the workflow development is taken over by a globally located team, which considers local languages and characteristics. We do have this potential.”

Looking back: How did the collaboration with JobRouter® start twelve years ago?

Angelika Knauth: “We were looking for an archiving and workflow tool. A lot of systems are like a black box. JobRouter® however is wonderfully open and has a clear set of modules that can easily be integrated when requirements change. You could start without a lot training or high costs. I really like that we can use data from other systems no matter whether they come from, such as QAD, SAP®, databases or Excel. Since implementing the first process invoice verification, we have gone on to develop 40 more processes, especially my colleague Anton Khoryukov. It’s great what powerful technology you get from the JobRouter platform for such a price.”