Innovative New Heights with SAP S/4HANA Cloud

Wingcopter GmbH, a company based in Weiterstedt, Germany, is pursuing a clear vision with hopes of making the world a better place: it wants to improve and save lives around the world through the use of suitable commercial and humanitarian applications. Recognized as a Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum in 2020, the start-up is currently focusing on the optimization of supply chains for medical goods and ultimately wants to include the delivery of packages, tools, spare parts, foodstuffs and meals. The innovative German company is a manufacturer of unmanned eVTOL aerial systems (UAS), the Wingcopter drones, and provides a range of services for drone deployments. The drones are distinguished by a patented tilt-rotor mechanism that allows Wingcopter drones to take off and land vertically, like multicopters, but also fly long distances as quickly and efficiently as fixed-wing aircraft, even in heavy rain and strong wind.

Wingcopter Readies for Take Off

In a competitive market with short innovation cycles, the investment in a future-proof IT system landscape with a modern ERP system offers the ideal preparation for a digital future. Wingcopter is pursuing an emerging new business model and is subject to complex requirements regarding its production processes. Small-batch production of the drones approaching the prototype stage must be documented for supervisory authorities to assure that they are fit for use in uninhabited or sparsely populated areas. This, in turn, is required for certifying the products for overflight of densely populated areas. NTT DATA Business Solutions (hereafter NTT DATA) has proven itself to be a very capable IT partner that can operate with great expertise and flexibility in an extremely dynamic project environment. In its work with Wingcopter, it set up a RISE with SAP solution, an intelligent SAP Cloud ERP landscape, which is significantly raising the game for business processes at the innovative start-up.

Next Stop: The Intelligent Enterprise

One of the challenges of the project was the narrow time frame. Therefore, it was essential to perform as few customizations as possible. The launch of the new solution had to be as close to the SAP standard as possible while also adhering to best practices. And it was precisely this approach that became a highlight of the project: the full and undivided concentration of the participants on the needed feature set.

Preparing for Landing: Go-live after Six Months

With the launch of the new fit-to-standard solution and the training of key users, the benefits of intelligent features and technologies are now flowing to the purchasing, production, quality management, financial accounting and controlling departments. They are gaining greater process efficiency through intelligent automation, optimized business processes and secure cloud operations. The defined (IT) goal has been reached: the gradual development of an ERP+ system to meet the business objectives, and the establishment of an IT environment that satisfies the documentary requirements and enables efficient management of production. At the same time, the cloud and service-only strategy has been successfully put in place with NTT DATA.

New Objectives in Sight

The next IT-related objectives are expanding the system – to include sales, for example – and embarking on some exciting and innovative projects to develop the business model. With the new forward-looking system, intelligent technologies and clever services, a course has been set for future growth, strategic decision-making and visionary projects.