GWS Gesellschaft fur Warenwirtschafts Systeme mbH
Delivering Flexible and Powerful ERP Platforms

GWS was founded in 1992 with the singular aim to develop an ERP solution for the association-oriented wholesale/trade/retail sector that is tailored precisely to the industry requirements. “From the very first minute, the goal was to create a community in which the customers “participate” instead of only buying a solution,” says Mr. Udo Lorenz, the CEO of GWS Gesellschaft für Warenwirtschafts-Systeme mbH.

Over the years, GWS has grown to about 500 employees and has more than 1,300 customers and has consistently relied on Microsoft products, both as a basis for the ERP systems and as a tool for solving all additional tasks in wholesale. Today, GWS is successful as an industry expert in the following areas: wholesale sanitary trade, technical trade, steel trade, building materials trade, agricultural trade, food-wholesaling, painters wholesaling, vehicle parts trade, and sports and events. More than 30,000 users in these industries successfully work with GWS ERP products every day. In addition to ERP systems, GWS also provides solutions for ECM/Scanning/Workflows, eCommerce, Business Intelligence, CRM, IoT, Predictive Maintenance, APP’s, Mobility and AI. As an infrastructure partner, GWS is available to customers as a cloud specialist. “Our aim is to bring in-depth expertise and decades of experience in the wholesale/ trade / retail industry, combined with the consistent use of state-of-the-art Microsoft technologies and solutions, to make wholesale customers successful in Europe,” states Mr. Lorenz.

He further mentions that the disruptive tendencies in the traditional markets, the speed of digitalization, and the cost pressure in wholesale are some of the strongest trends today. In addition, there is a growing requirement for system security and skilled workers.

The need to adapt to new expectations from end customers at short notice is also greater than ever. With its ERP systems and additional products, GWS has created solutions where wholesalers can clearly distinguish themselves from their competitors in the market. These include fully automated business processes in the back office, integration frameworks to connect trading platforms quickly and flexibly on the Internet, and services that enable wholesalers to take care of their main business and not become IT experts.

At its core, GWS’ gevis ERP is perfectly aligned with the industry’s ERP processes, allowing users to focus exclusively on sales/distribution. All back-office processes require minimal or no manual effort. Automation, e.g. in the areas of procurement, incoming invoice management, archiving, master data management, data traffic with market partners/alliances/cooperatives and reporting, are available for the industries in standard. Industry expertise and automation extend into financial management, eCommerce systems, and control of warehouse management.

Further, GWS implements projects based on the current versions of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central or Finance & Supply Chain Management and CRM Sales, Marketing & Service in the shortest possible time. This is possible because, in addition to the required project methodology and the industry solutions in GWS standard, the “best practice business processes” of the industry are also preconfigured. In this way, a customer can immediately use the experience gained from many projects in the industry. Within the scope of the ERP projects, additional value-added topics are examined and, if desired, put into operation directly or later. No wonder that The GWS Group is the demanded/requested specialist for IT in wholesale/trade/retail and a key Microsoft partner in Europe.

In addition to its industry expertise, GWS relies on partnerships with market-leading manufacturers and its subsidiaries (DIACOM, OSG, and faveo) that offer customers long-term future security, innovations, and prospects. Networks with special know-how and solutions that share its high-quality standards expand GWS’s portfolio. “We live these partnerships at eye level; they are based not only on contracts, but on a common understanding and trust,” informs Mr. Lorenz.