黑料社

D'Ieteren moves towards an integrated, automated and future-proof logistics chain

When you鈥檙e the country鈥檚 exclusive distributor of brands like Volkswagen, Audi, Bentley and Porsche, to say that logistics are important would be an understatement. So when D鈥橧eteren decided to optimize its spare parts supply chain and prepare it for tomorrow鈥檚 business strategy, the stakes were high. *黑料社 supported D鈥橧eteren鈥檚 transformation towards a connected company through the implementation of Microsoft Dynamics 365, while avoiding downtime and maintaining swift customer service.

D鈥橧eteren is the exclusive distributor of all Volkswagen brands in Belgium (including Audi, Seat, Skoda, Bentley, Lamborghini, Bugatti and Porsche). From its 44.000 m虏 logistics hub, the automotive player imports and distributes around 2,000,000 spare parts to 300 Belgian car dealers. Needless to say, seamless customer service is high on the agenda when more than 1.2 million Belgian end-users are counting on you.

Two drivers for a connected company

The need for a new, modern ERP solution at D鈥橧eteren was twofold. In order to maintain its competitive edge, the entire chain required extensive integration and automation 鈥� from supply, inventory and customer ordering through to transportation. 鈥淓very day, we receive 4 to 5 rail freight containers, 6 to 7 trucks and around 50 smaller deliveries of spare parts鈥�, explains Pol Van Wesembeeck, Head of Logistics & Development at D鈥橧eteren. 鈥淚n total, our dealers are able to order 2.2 million products. And there are times when we need to be able to deliver to them within 24 hours.鈥�

On top of these operational challenges, there was also a long-term strategic reason to become a connected company. 鈥淲e wanted be ready for the automotive industry of tomorrow鈥�, continues Pol. 鈥淩apid vehicle electrification is happening even as we speak. This means that we鈥檒l probably need less car parts in the future, but at the same time, new market segments such as car charging stations are opening up. Our new Microsoft Dynamics 365 ERP platform enables us to anticipate these new opportunities in a more flexible and agile way.鈥�

"Microsoft Dynamics 365 gives us the agility to anticipate and prepare for tomorrow's automotive business."


- Pol Van Wesembeeck, Head of Logistics & Development at D'Ieteren

One team, tackling three silos

A market study pointed out that Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance and Operations was the platform best suited to future-proof the Belgian hub. 鈥淭he new ERP solution integrates three existing systems: the internal warehouse transport, the part sorting system, and the transportation software鈥�, says Geert Van Zeir, Solution Architect at *黑料社. 鈥淎dditional monitoring tools and control mechanisms throughout all these processes give D鈥橧eteren the insights to quickly detect and fix weak links in the supply chain.鈥�

"*黑料社's experts blended seamlessly into our project team. That's what I call in close cooperation"

- Pol Van Wesembeeck, Head of Logistics & Development at D'Ieteren

Making the switch from a 1993 legacy system without any downtime was obviously no walk in the park. Pol: 鈥淲e knew we had to move our best operations people over to this project. They worked in close collaboration with *黑料社鈥檚 experts, who were able to blend seamlessly into our ERP team. As the project progressed, it was virtually impossible to tell the difference between *黑料社鈥檚 people and ours. That鈥檚 what I call in close cooperation.鈥�