Ermewa digitises procurement with Ivalua, improves efficiency

Ermewa, a key player in the European freight wagon rental market, has digitised its entire Source-to-Contract (S2C) operations using the Ivalua spend management platform. This initiative aims to streamline procurement processes and reduce supply chain risks by moving away from fragmented, manual Excel processes.

The implementation of Ivalua's platform means Ermewa, which operates a fleet of over 47,000 railcars, now benefits from a unified procurement system. The transition has led to a significant increase in user adoption due to Ivalua’s intuitive interface and localisation capabilities. The project was supported by CKS Consulting, who facilitated the deployment to meet Ermewa’s specific industry needs without requiring any coding.

Philippe Roussely, Purchasing Director at Ermewa, commented on the transformation: "Moving from fragmented data in Excel to Ivalua as a single source of truth has proven to be a good choice. We are extremely satisfied by the ability of our implementation partner to adapt to our business environment and create a unique solution fit for us."

Ermewa now leverages Ivalua’s Supplier Information Management, Sourcing, and Contract Lifecycle Management modules. This comprehensive digitalisation enables greater visibility into procurement processes, consolidating all reporting into a single platform. The move has effectively unified Ermewa’s procurement processes from end to end, addressing all business needs efficiently.

CKS Consulting played a pivotal role in the successful deployment. Pierre-Edouard Labb, Partner at CKS and head of the project noted the importance of collaboration with Ermewa, stating, "CKS has provided critical support to Ermewa in design decisions and built a solution meeting end-to-end business needs. Ivalua’s high configurability, leveraged through the Design mode functionality, supported building a module dedicated to the management and technical acceptance of wagons by Ermewa."

"Our close collaboration with Ermewa was instrumental to the success of the project as it enabled us to align on requirements to take into consideration prior to implementation and to identify opportunities for future enhancements," said Labb.

Dan Amzallag, Chief Operating Officer of Ivalua, also highlighted the effective partnership with CKS and the resultant successful outcome, saying, "Combining Ivalua's unmatched flexibility with the expertise of our partner CKS, we have proudly delivered a solution that successfully addresses all of Ermewa’s requirements, enabling them to effectively digitalise their procurement processes."

Ermewa, founded in 1956 and headquartered in France, manages a network of 18 offices across 14 European countries and serves various industrial companies, railway undertakings, and freight forwarders. The company's fleet of railcars transports a range of cargo, including hazardous materials, bulk goods, and both food and non-food products.

The decision to modernise procurement processes comes in a landscape where only 48% of organisations have digitised their procurement operations, according to recent research by Ivalua.