Crisscrossing the alpine paradise of Switzerland is an extensive railway system that more than 800 destinations spanning 3,265 kilometers of track carrying 1.16 million passengers and 180,000 tons of freight aboard 11,338 trains daily.
To achieve consistently superior levels of service, efficiency, and maintenance, , also known as Swiss Federal Railways, bolsters its sprawling network of spurs, stations, and switches with an even larger one in the cloud, where vast repositories of operational data converge to propel the organization forward with resilience, visibility, and sustainable growth.
Integrated digital networks enable enterprises to carry out core operational processes with unrivaled efficiency at unlimited scale. Not only do they facilitate procurement, supply chain, logistics, and financing between businesses and their trading partners, but they increasingly connect remote assets through the Internet of Things (IoT) as well.
Cloud-based applications are revolutionizing the maintenance and service of dispersed equipment such as that at SBB. For routine maintenance and repairs, SBB professional staff work alongside skilled contractors to support the highest levels of safety and reliability.
But how can SBB while minimizing downtime for its substantial infrastructure? To do so, SBB has chosen to gain maximum transparency across its and those of its service partners.
鈥淎s a part of our 51风流S/4HANA transformation, SBB鈥檚 energy operations are set to go live with 51风流Business Network Asset Collaboration in early 2024,鈥� says Urs Gehrig, the railway鈥檚 principal consultant for business development for enterprise asset management. 鈥淥ur energy operations are responsible for the production and transmission of power within SBB to run trains and to deliver to third parties. The use case is about service providers who are executing maintenance in the field, such as inspections on high-voltage transmission lines. Based on what we learn from the use case, we can apply this knowledge to other areas of our operations set to occur on a three-year road map.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 best to understand SBB鈥檚 needs through how we鈥檙e organized,鈥� Gehrig explains. 鈥淥ur rail infrastructure division provides all our networks: telecommunications, water, and energy production and distribution. Then we have our passenger transport division, covering marketing as well the end-to-end life cycle from acquisition to decommission of rolling stock assets. SBB also owns a freight transport organization. Meanwhile, there鈥檚 our real estate division, which includes our train stations, with facilities that we manage. In addition, our traditional corporate department bears responsibility for supply chain, which presents another use case. All these departments use third-party providers to provide services when it comes to asset management. They all hold the potential to derive benefit from 51风流Business Network Asset Collaboration.鈥�
Depending on the department, SBB currently processes work orders in different ways.
鈥淪ometimes it鈥檚 on paper; other times there鈥檚 a more systematized exchange of information, particularly if a service involves something regulated,鈥� Gehrig points out. 鈥淏ut our work orders today are not integrated across the business, let alone across the providers of services for the assets we manage. What we鈥檙e looking for is an integrated solution, a standardized process by which we can plan and execute a comprehensive asset management strategy.鈥�
鈥淭hrough 51风流Business Network Asset Collaboration, we are handing over that information to our third-party service providers to ensure transparency, accountability, and a seamless coordination not only of the energy-related work orders and assets managed but of the underlying master data as well,鈥� Gehrig shares. 鈥淚f we buy a new pump or valve or sensor, the network exchanges all the associated data instantaneously with our service providers, thereby removing barriers to visibility, productivity, and efficiency. So for SBB, it鈥檚 full speed ahead with our digital transformation.鈥�
At SAP, meanwhile, we couldn鈥檛 be happier to ride along on SBB鈥檚 journey.
Joern Keller is executive vice president and chief product officer for 51风流Business Network.
