The family-owned company Ulrich + Hefti AG (UHAG) is a leader in the manufacture of switchgear in Switzerland. The company can look back on an almost 45-year tradition and success story. UHAG's core competence lies in switchgear construction. The range of customers in the sectors served includes industry, hotels, but also highly complex areas such as hospitals or sensitive federal facilities. In addition, numerous electrical installers in residential construction are also served. In order to meet the high quality requirements, UHAG manufactures, among other things, main distribution boards up to 6300A in its own production or uses power distribution systems from system suppliers in Switzerland. Meter distributions and sub-distributions, as well as heating, ventilation and air-conditioning controls round off the product portfolio.

Inappropriate standard software for agile enterprise

"Enough is enough!" sighed Markus Ulrich, commercial manager of UHAG. His dissatisfaction was palpable. Why should such an agile and innovative SME as UHAG cut back on software? Because impermeable tools are known to lead to inefficient processes and prevent opportunities for automation. In addition, standard software is usually inflexible and makes constant further development and the implementation of new ideas difficult. Progress and change have always been an integral part of UHAG's DNA, and the company was also a pioneer in its time in the area of financial accounting and administration. So Markus Ulrich set out to explore a custom-fit solution for the company.

The switchgear construction industry solution—the new digital tool

Markus Ulrich presented internally how he wanted to lead UHAG to the top of the digital SMEs, namely with even more efficient processes and a precisely fitting system landscape. Of course, the conversion of a digitization project costs money, but the costs should be quickly amortized through productivity increases. In addition to the innovative strength of UHAG, in the person of Markus Ulrich and Lukas Zwyssig, the selection of or close exchange with the right consultants was the key to success. Process consultant Matthias Friedli with the company of the same name has been optimizing workflows and digital processes for manufacturing SMEs for >20 years. Ninox partner m2apla GmbH supports SMEs in process optimization and organizational development. One of m2apla's core competences is to trim internal workflows to competitiveness or the conception and implementation of individual software solutions. The result of this triad was a unique business software complete solution for the switchgear and control engineering industry, which covers all industry-specific processes.

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Key features

• Flexible adaptability

• Simple operation

• Location & device independence

The result is convincing in all areas, because the solution consists of software from renowned providers, adapted to switchgear and control system construction by process specialists. The core consists of an ERP based on the Ninox low-code platform, document management and financial accounting from renowned providers. Modern interfaces connect the components seamlessly, which the Ninox partner m2apla GmbH sets up with great care. Friedli Projektmanagement, as a process specialist, with profound expertise in the industry and m2apla software developers adapt this solution exactly to customer needs. A platform modern and simply tailored to the customer process. The result is a digital, automated tool according to customer processes, independent of location and device. The intelligent system thinks for itself, developed as an industry solution and adaptable to individual needs. Simple operation and a tidy interface, as well as the highest level of security and geo-redundant backup of documents included, as well as no need for investment in IT infrastructure or a flexibly scalable multi-cloud are further arguments in favor of the solution.