Traditional craftsmanship meets modern technology

Together with his uncle Gerhard Mannl, Christian Mannl runs the family business Mannl Stahl- und Metallbau, a company with around 50 employees in Kreuzwertheim, west of Würzburg. The company was founded in 1961 as a forge. Today, it manufactures post-and-beam façades, aluminium windows and doors, and special fire protection solutions with order volumes of up to one million euros each.

In addition to expanding its product portfolio with sustainable customer solutions and a reliable and stable workforce, the management sees the digitalisation of internal processes as a key factor in the company’s success. Mannl uses E·R·Plus as its reliable industry software. Christian Mannl explains how this came about and what the ERP system is used for today.

Mr Mannl, why did you decide on E·R·Plus back then?

We were looking for an industry-specific ERP system, primarily the search for a reasonable post-calculation system led us to T.A.Project. The choice fell on E· R·Plus and we have never regretted this decision.

Since we had already been working with an ERP system, the changeover was not that complex, and all employees worked well together. I am more than satisfied with the team at T.A.Project.

How does E·R·Plus make your everyday work easier?

Thanks to E·R·Plus, the entire order process is digitally integrated. In addition, all material supply and withdrawal is carried out via a digitally controlled warehouse lift system that communicates with E·R·Plus and, in particular, with the work order module via an interface. This means, among other things, that the available material is automatically reserved for an order. If the order changes, the software reorders and the reserved components are automatically “released” again. This flexibility and transparency saved us during the coronavirus pandemic; we never had any interruptions in our supply chain.

What are your goals with E·R·Plus for the future?

The optimisation of our processes is of great importance to me, which is why we are introducing WPK, our in-house production control system, based on the already fully digitised process for work orders.

We also want to make even more intensive use of the EDI interface. This fantastic and complex idea of automated material procurement is already working perfectly with our supplier Esco, and we are currently in final discussions with Würth to go live.