Short Customer Portrait
Swissbit AG is the leading European provider of memory products, security and embedded IoT solutions for demanding applications. Swissbit combines its unique competencies in memory and embedded IoT technologies with its “Advanced Packaging” know-how.
Swissbit was founded in 2001 and has subsidiaries in Switzerland, Germany, US, Japan and Taiwan.
www.swissbit.com
Interview with Ueli Stricker
How Vigience Overcast enables Swissbit to conduct multiple business transactions between their software systems in real time which leads to a direct positive impact in efficiency and profitability.
Interview with Ueli Stricker, Director of Supply Chain at Swissbit.
Dear Mr. Stricker, many thanks for inviting us in the HQ of Swissbit and your willingness to answer a couple of questions for us. Let me start with the following one: Which industry does Swissbit work in?
We operate in the B2B business serving industrial customers. Our core product-segments are:
1) Traditional memory products, where we originally come from, focusing on the industrial netcom communication and the automotive market.
2) Micro controllers for memory products.
3) Embedded IOT solutions focusing on security applications (data encryption).
We operate in the B2B business serving industrial customers. Our core product-segments are:
1) Traditional memory products, where we originally come from, focusing on the industrial netcom communication and the automotive market.
2) Micro controllers for memory products.
3) Embedded IOT solutions focusing on security applications (data encryption).
How many employees work for you?
We have well above 450 employees and growing. Our HQ is in Switzerland. Our biggest location is in Berlin which is also our manufacturing site. We are the only manufacturer for memories in Europe. Other development locations are in Munich and Boston as well as several sales offices across the world.
We have well above 450 employees and growing. Our HQ is in Switzerland. Our biggest location is in Berlin which is also our manufacturing site. We are the only manufacturer for memories in Europe. Other development locations are in Munich and Boston as well as several sales offices across the world.
“Overcast is the best solution in the market which exchanges transactional data in real time.”
Ueli Stricker
Director of Supply Chain at Swissbit
Who are your main competitors?
We don’t have a direct overall competitor. However, in certain business-areas such as the memory manufacturing sector, we sometimes compete with the US-based Micron as our biggest competitor in our market. There are some smaller companies in Asia and in US which operate in the same sector but don’t offer the exact same products we do.
We don’t have a direct overall competitor. However, in certain business-areas such as the memory manufacturing sector, we sometimes compete with the US-based Micron as our biggest competitor in our market. There are some smaller companies in Asia and in US which operate in the same sector but don’t offer the exact same products we do.
What is your key USP vs. your competitors?
Already in 2013, we started with the embedded IOT and security which is a big differentiator for us. We are a true manufacturer which means that we manufacture all on our own. We produce all the components in one facility and therefore don’t have to move goods around the world to be assembled. This makes us much faster and it also elevates the supply chain security. Also the fact that we produce our products in Europe will bring us a many advantages going forward.
Already in 2013, we started with the embedded IOT and security which is a big differentiator for us. We are a true manufacturer which means that we manufacture all on our own. We produce all the components in one facility and therefore don’t have to move goods around the world to be assembled. This makes us much faster and it also elevates the supply chain security. Also the fact that we produce our products in Europe will bring us a many advantages going forward.
Which IT systems do you currently work with from an operational standpoint (other than Overcast)?
We rolled out SAP in 2006. Since then we perform all business transactions such as purchasing, production, sales, financials and accounting on it. In 2013 we introduced Salesforce as our CRM. Our objective was to have a seamless integration of the entire sales process. Gains, a supply chain planning software was rolled out in 2019 with the aim to manage inventories, production and capacity as well as the instability of supply and demand. Last but not least, since 2019 we’ve been rolling-out a manufacturing execution system to make production more efficient as well as to gather more information from the machines and to improve traceability.
We rolled out SAP in 2006. Since then we perform all business transactions such as purchasing, production, sales, financials and accounting on it. In 2013 we introduced Salesforce as our CRM. Our objective was to have a seamless integration of the entire sales process. Gains, a supply chain planning software was rolled out in 2019 with the aim to manage inventories, production and capacity as well as the instability of supply and demand. Last but not least, since 2019 we’ve been rolling-out a manufacturing execution system to make production more efficient as well as to gather more information from the machines and to improve traceability.
How many of your employees work with Salesforce currently?
Currently we have 107 users. We plan with more in the future.
Currently we have 107 users. We plan with more in the future.
What are your IT priorities and objectives?
Our No. 1 priority is to keep the IT-landscape of Swissbit secure. Data security is getting more and more important for us and brings a lot of questions, which sometimes are difficult to answer. Some examples: “Who is the owner of the data?” “Where is the data stored?” To comply with all the rules and regulations as well as the requirements of our buyers, this becomes gradually more difficult for us since we serve customers around the world.
Our No. 1 priority is to keep the IT-landscape of Swissbit secure. Data security is getting more and more important for us and brings a lot of questions, which sometimes are difficult to answer. Some examples: “Who is the owner of the data?” “Where is the data stored?” To comply with all the rules and regulations as well as the requirements of our buyers, this becomes gradually more difficult for us since we serve customers around the world.
With more and more software systems in place, we need to carefully manage the different software interfaces and the gaps which might occur between them. This challenge gets more and more complex. Also, we need to manage the amount of interfaces. Here the aim is to keep them as low as possible. We have to start to think about a Hub- and/or Spock-architecture. What we also know for sure however, is that Overcast from Vigience will remain an important interface because it is transactional.
“Overcast made it possible to improve our business processes, drive growth as well as reduce our inventory and business risks.“
Ueli Stricker
Director of Supply Chain at Swissbit
How long have you been using Overcast by Vigience?
We’ve been using Overcast since 2015 and since then we never had any outages with the software. When introducing Overcast, our main objectives where:
1) We wanted to integrate the product master from SAP into Salesforce.
2) We wanted to integrate account information from Salesforce into SAP.
3) In the order management: Data entered in Salesforce should be seamlessly integrated into SAP.
All of this three objectives were met. Thanks to Vigience Overcast, the sales team does not have to work directly with SAP anymore. Instead, all the relevant data is replicated from Salesforce such as for example: orders, tracking information about their deliveries, etc. This is a big advantage, since a lot of our sales-people work remotely and they need to have access to information instantly. Overcast helped us to improve the usability-level of Salesforce and SAP substantially. Also, the collaboration with Vigience has been very positive and fruitful over all these years. The service-level we experience has been constantly high. Also, the team supported us far beyond the simple implementation of Overcast.
We’ve been using Overcast since 2015 and since then we never had any outages with the software. When introducing Overcast, our main objectives where:
1) We wanted to integrate the product master from SAP into Salesforce.
2) We wanted to integrate account information from Salesforce into SAP.
3) In the order management: Data entered in Salesforce should be seamlessly integrated into SAP.
All of this three objectives were met. Thanks to Vigience Overcast, the sales team does not have to work directly with SAP anymore. Instead, all the relevant data is replicated from Salesforce such as for example: orders, tracking information about their deliveries, etc. This is a big advantage, since a lot of our sales-people work remotely and they need to have access to information instantly. Overcast helped us to improve the usability-level of Salesforce and SAP substantially. Also, the collaboration with Vigience has been very positive and fruitful over all these years. The service-level we experience has been constantly high. Also, the team supported us far beyond the simple implementation of Overcast.
Which are the main improvements since you work with Overcast?
Much more information can be exchanged with and retrieved by the sales-teams. This has increased our productivity and profitability substantially. We could grow business without increasing back-office staff. Overcast helped us to increase our flexibility as well our lead-times (from order to delivery) which helped us to improve our double-digit growth which we maintain since 2009. Last but not least, we could reduce our risks and lower our material inventories.
The big advantage of Overcast is making transactions between the systems in real time. This is something I didn’t get from any other solution.
Much more information can be exchanged with and retrieved by the sales-teams. This has increased our productivity and profitability substantially. We could grow business without increasing back-office staff. Overcast helped us to increase our flexibility as well our lead-times (from order to delivery) which helped us to improve our double-digit growth which we maintain since 2009. Last but not least, we could reduce our risks and lower our material inventories.
The big advantage of Overcast is making transactions between the systems in real time. This is something I didn’t get from any other solution.
“The big advantage of Overcast is making transactions between the systems in real time. This is something I didn’t get from any other solution.”
Ueli Stricker
Director of Supply Chain at Swissbit
Are there any of your integration requirements that you could not solve by using Overcast?
So far no.
So far no.
Which improvements would you like to see in the future releases of Overcast?
At this point in time, no improvements are required from our side. From a technical standpoint, we’ve always been happy. So far, we never had any technical issues. Therefore, Overcast still has a lot of potential for us.
At this point in time, no improvements are required from our side. From a technical standpoint, we’ve always been happy. So far, we never had any technical issues. Therefore, Overcast still has a lot of potential for us.
Would you recommend Overcast as a solution? If so, why and to whom?
Yes. We definitely would recommend Overcast as a solution for all organizations which need to work seamlessly with SAP, Salesforce and other software-systems.
Yes. We definitely would recommend Overcast as a solution for all organizations which need to work seamlessly with SAP, Salesforce and other software-systems.
Do you want to learn more about Vigience Overcast? Pls. contact us. We are happy to conduct a live-demo for you.
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