EDI ensures smooth processes at Karnerta

A crown for Karnerta

Successful EDI integration into the new SAP system ensures simpler processes and ultimately improved business relationships at the Carinthian food producer Karnerta.

At Karnerta, a crown is not just in the logo. The Klagenfurt-based company also promises “royal” enjoyment with its products, which range from sausage and meat specialties to fresh pasta from their own production and fish. In addition to eight exclusive specialist stores in Carinthia, East Tyrol, and Styria, Karnerta also supplies clients from the hotel and catering industry throughout Austria via six other branches. Regionality, quality and knowledge of the origin of its products are highly valued at Karnerta, “for which a close relationship and partnership-based approach with our suppliers are essential,” explains Kevin Schönfelder, IT team leader at Karnerta. Karnerta can definitely claim a crown for the “technical” collaboration – ensuring that the processes for these good business relationships work so well: in the course of the switch to SAP S/4HANA last year, the entire EDI processing was revamped with the support of EDITEL. “This was an important step that has made our processing of customer orders much faster and more reliable, which also ensures better customer relationships,” says Mr. Schönfelder.

Professionally mastered

The smooth transfer of over a thousand (end) clients to a new IT system landscape during ongoing operations was a very challenging task. In addition, existing EDI processes also had to be transferred to the new system. Naturally, everything had to start with a thorough analysis of the existing processes. All of these processes, some of which were customer-specific, were then mapped in EDI mappings, creating a key prerequisite for the switch to SAP S/4HANA. The magic formula for the phase immediately before the go-live: test, test, test! Mr. Schönfelder saw “the extensive coordination of all test activities as a particular challenge for EDITEL. This was the only way to ensure that there were no nasty surprises on day X.” With such a far-reaching project, there were naturally “one or two hurdles to overcome”, which, according to Kevin Schönfelder, “were always managed quickly and effectively thanks to the commitment of everyone involved.” When working with EDITEL, he particularly emphasized “the professional approach and high level of expertise with which the EDITEL team supported us with advice and assistance throughout the entire project phase.” According to the client, this resulted in “nearly seamless integration.”

A crowning step

For Mr. Schönfelder, a particular advantage of the new system is that “administration has become much easier thanks to the standardized data transfer, which ultimately ensures efficient processes and reduced costs. It is also much easier to connect new business partners.” For this reason, Schönfelder is planning to bring more clients and suppliers on board. This represents another “crowning” step into the future for Karnerta, as they aim to fully leverage the opportunities of digitalization.