More and more companies want to operate carbon neutrally from a certain date. There is a lot involved in this. For example, they must organize their logistics more efficiently, purchase responsibly and measure the footprint of their products. Together with partner Quinso, Moonen Packaging – part of the European operating OptiGroup – laid the foundation for this and implemented SAP S/4HANA Cloud and SAP Extended Warehouse Management (EWM).
Packaging wholesaler Moonen Packaging supplies business customers, including industrial companies such as e-commerce companies, logistics service providers and car manufacturers, as well as food and non-food retailers such as supermarket chains. The company offers more than 10,000 different products, from PET bottles, films and pallets to cutlery bags and special boxes for refrigerated transport.
“We take a customer intimacy approach. We want to completely unburden customers when it comes to packaging solutions,” says Roland van Bussel, Moonen Packaging’s Operations Director. “We do the orders, keep stock and deliver on the desired day and location. And if the customer wants a customized customer portal, for example, we arrange that.”
Rather no packaging
For a packaging specialist, Moonen Packaging operates with a remarkable slogan: “The best packaging is not packaging. “As a packaging wholesaler, we contribute to the waste stream,” Van Bussel explains. “Think of a smartphone: as soon as you buy it, you often want to throw away the packaging immediately.”
“Therefore, we see it as our responsibility to actively seek ways to reduce this waste and promote sustainable solutions,” continued the Operations Director. “Then when customers do need packaging materials, we look together at what is the most sustainable option. We look at how we can use less material and reduce CO2 emissions with sustainable solutions, such as recyclable and reusable materials.”
Greenest company in the Netherlands
The green seed at Moonen was planted a long time ago, according to Van Bussel. “The previous owner, Gé Moonen, was way ahead of his time when it came to sustainability. He brought green thinking into our DNA. When he left, the new board adopted that ‘green virus.’” Among other things, it earned Moonen the title “The greenest company in the Netherlands.
Moonen aims to be carbon neutral by 2026, both for its own operations and downstream in the chain. By 2030, Moonen wants all customers to order packaging made from renewable resources. “We must also be able to measure the impact of our packaging, for example by monitoring the CO2 emissions and recyclability of materials and ensuring that our suppliers operate sustainably,” Van Bussel explains. “We also encourage our own employees to act sustainably.”
Operating sustainably with SAP
Sustainable operations require, among other things, sustainable products, responsible purchasing, efficient logistics and smart system links, such as the integration of ERP with supplier portals for better data exchange. To do this, Moonen had to take steps in the area of ERP and warehouse management. “Our old ERP system was end-of-life. It was an outdated system and not future-proof,” says Van Bussel.
Moonen chose SAP S/4HANA Cloud, SAP Extended Warehouse Management (EWM) and the SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP) to develop custom applications within EWM in particular. SAP was already being used within the OptiGroup. This made the choice of SAP logical, as it significantly facilitates cooperation within the group and integration of processes between the companies. The ability to link with other systems was also in SAP’s favor. Links to systems such as Pickler and Slim4 were easy to implement with SAP.
“Moreover, we were immediately impressed by what is possible with SAP EWM,” Van Bussel reflects. “With EWM, we get best practices for warehouse management and workforce planning, among other things. Things like the slotting of warehouse spaces and the docking of trucks are also standard features, which makes warehouse management more efficient.”
The power of best practices
That the implementation of the systems is a complex project was clear from the beginning. Moonen’s IT landscape includes a large number of integrations with different systems. It not only makes the project challenging, it also requires a very precise and thoughtful approach.
“You can compare the implementation at Moonen to replacing the foundation of an existing house,” outlines Robert Hoogendoorn, Business Consultant and Project Manager at Quinso. “Over the past 70 years, Moonen Packaging has ‘built’ some 63 integrations with different systems. And you don’t want to tear those down by renovating the foundation.”
“The beauty of SAP is that we can cover 90% with best practices and only need 10% configuration to make everything business-specific. That provides a stable foundation with minimal customization,” Hoogendoorn continued. “The best practices approach does involve a big change management aspect. This is because the goal is to apply as little customization to the processes as possible and stay close to the standard. This has worked out very well.”
D-Day
January 6, 2025 is D-Day for Moonen Packaging: the day they switch to SAP S/4HANA Cloud and SAP EWM. Van Bussel: “We are going live with a minimum viable product approach. The basis is already faster, more future-proof and offers more overview than our old system. Over time, we will implement the new best practices. Fortunately, because of Quinso’s approach, we have people who can activate such a best practice themselves.”
“Quinso approached the implementation as a business project, not an IT project,” Van Bussel emphasizes. “We found that very strong. The business is closely involved in the project, which ensures that everyone is aligned with the plans and there is no finger-pointing to the IT department. The cooperation with Quinso was also very pragmatic and to-the-point, with a lot of attention to change management. This was essential to include the users in the change and ensure a smooth transition to the new system.”
Looking to the future
Van Bussel expects major improvements in warehouse management through SAP EWM. “We get full scanning processes and can optimize warehouse layout using algorithms,” he says. Cross-company selling ensures that Moonen can control four companies from one warehouse quite easily and handle them as efficiently as possible from a logistics point of view. That allows for better overview and planning, and therefore more insight into the entire supply chain.”
Van Bussel is also already looking at future possibilities. “Perhaps we will also start using SAP’s sustainability modules. If we want to convince our customers to choose a different type of packaging material, we have to show the positive impact of it. For that, we need data. Moreover, many of our large customers have to comply with Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) guidelines and need our data to report on sustainability.”
Master class on “Logistic Perfection with SAP EWM.
Would you also like to hear Roland van Bussel’s story from him personally? Sparring with other operational and logistics managers about the challenges in the warehouse and the opportunities of SAP EWM? You can! On January 30, 2025 we organize, together with SAP, the masterclass ‘Logistic Perfection with SAP EWM’.
We organize this master class especially for wholesalers and medium-sized companies in the industry with warehouses. Companies that want to know more about extending their current SAP ERP with SAP EWM and possibly also with QSCAN and/or Loftware.
Do you want to be there? Then sign up quickly. Only 12 spots are available and full=full.