SAP EWM case study: Fuel and spare parts traceability in agriculture

# Project overview The customer is a large agribusiness group operating fuel depots, agricultural machinery workshops and spare parts warehouses across multiple regions. Fuel and spare parts were critical cost items, but visibility was limited and local processes were not standardised. Qventra was asked to design and implement a SAP EWM-based solution that would bring **end-to-end traceability** for fuel and spare parts, without slowing down field operations. ## Challenges - **Low transparency on fuel movements** between central tanks, mobile tankers and tractors. - **Spare parts stored in multiple locations** (central warehouse, workshops, on-site containers) with different naming and coding habits. - Manual logbooks and Excel files used to reconcile tank levels, consumption and work orders. - Limited integration between warehouse processes and **maintenance / field service orders**. ## SAP EWM solution design 1. **Single warehouse model for fuel & parts** - Defined a logical SAP EWM warehouse that covers fuel depots, workshops and satellite storage. - Implemented storage types for tanks, barrels, IBCs and small parts bins. 2. **Handling units and batch traceability** - Fuel and lubricants managed as batches with clear inbound, transfer and consumption postings. - Spare parts packed into handling units for faster counting and transfer between locations. 3. **EWM task flows aligned with reality** - Simple RF flows for: - Refuelling tractors and harvesters at mobile tankers. - Issuing parts to maintenance orders. - Returning unused parts from the field. - Minimal scanning steps per task, optimised with operators on site. 4. **Integration with maintenance and controlling** - Fuel and parts issues automatically posted against **maintenance orders and cost centres**. - Standard EWM / ERP integration used where possible, with a few targeted enhancements. ## Key outcomes - Transparent view of **who used which fuel, on which machine, for which job**. - Spare parts stock aligned between system and reality, enabling more reliable reordering. - Significantly reduced time spent on manual reconciliations and investigations. ## Next steps In the next phase, Qventra and the customer plan to: - Introduce **cycle counting and exception analytics** to further stabilise stock accuracy. - Explore **IoT-based tank level monitoring** integrated with SAP EWM. - Roll out the template to additional regions and warehouses. > “Traceability became a built-in feature of the daily process, not an extra reporting task at the end of the month.”