Eugen Wiebe began working as an intern with us in 2011. As an IT business analyst, he is now responsible for logistics processes in the SAP environment and oversees international roll-outs from Switzerland to Brazil to Taiwan.
He talks about his last project in Japan and the special challenges he faced under pandemic conditions.
Your last trip took you to Japan, why was on-site assistance necessary?
My colleagues and I assisted the Japanese team in implementing SAP ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) and EWM (Enterprise Warehouse Management).
Our task was to support key users in Japan with the processes of the new systems. This includes areas such as incoming goods, production, warehouse management, as well as order processing from ordering up to delivery to the customer.
Logistics plays a major role here. Whenever goods are moved from A to B, remote support without accompanying the physical processes on site is very difficult.
In addition, digital support was hardly possible due to the large time difference. If the software conversion had failed, the entire project would have been significantly delayed. Therefore, four colleagues were sought who volunteered to travel to Japan to provide on-site support.
How did WAGO make the trip possible under corona conditions and support you and your colleagues on site?
In close contact with Japan, WAGO was informed at all times about entry requirements, kept us constantly informed and supported us in all formalities. This began with the application for a visa, the preliminary health check and the planning, execution and documentation of the corona tests by our company doctor's office. During quarantine, a service provider ensured daily coordination and communication with the health office. We were well taken care of with a rental car, an international driver's license and a particularly comfortable hotel for the quarantine period.
What impressed you most?
Excellent teamwork throughout the entire project, both in Germany and Japan. Mastering such a complex software conversion with language barriers and cultural differences during the pandemic was a formidable challenge. Training and testing were not possible in person, but only by remote means. However, the entire team worked persistently on solutions for this particular situation and everyone contributed to ultimately make it a success.
What was your personal “moment of success” in the project?
This is always the first customer order that “actually” takes place in such projects. This means that this is the first process to be completely booked through with the system – after a year of intensive preparation and testing options, by remote means only, and then we succeeded every day in increasing our capacities and exceeding our planned goals. Those were real moments of success!
Where does it go from here? Could you imagine going abroad again?
We continue to support WAGO Japan from Germany, as we do all other companies. Even though the pandemic demanded a great deal from us in this project, I have no regrets. I was able to learn a lot and gain new experiences. In any case, I can imagine another stay abroad, and the next projects are already at the door.
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