Get out of the thicket!
High delivery capacity, increasing complexity and the need for cost-effective stock control present companies with major challenges in planning today. STIHL, too, has specifically refined its stock management processes in order to systematically optimise safety and procurement parameters. With the DISKOVER supply chain management software, the company is relying on a data-driven solution that is already being used successfully and is now being rolled out internationally.
Ear protectors on, gloves on, and the appropriate protective gear: a quick adjustment and the chainsaw springs into action. Scenes like these play out every day in the forest. The chainsaw is arguably the most important tool in the daily life of every forestry worker. It’s hard to imagine the industry without the distinctive orange colour of STIHL products – the world’s best-selling chainsaw brand.
The company’s history now stretches back exactly 100 years: in 1926, company founder Andreas Stihl revolutionised forestry work with innovative products. What began as a one-man business has grown into a global market leader, which is still based in Waiblingen, Swabia. Around 20,000 employees worldwide look after the extensive product range, with new innovations constantly being added. The fact that the STIHL brand is held in high regard by customers was demonstrated not least by the COVID-19 pandemic from 2020 onwards. Whilst public life was largely at a standstill, people in many places turned to hands-on work with wood – and demand for STIHL products soared. Demand was so high that there were occasional delays in fulfilling orders from the warehouses. “So we built in some safeguards into our planning,” recalls Marc Glemser, Global Supply Chain Manager at STIHL.
The aim: 100 per cent availability for end customers. Whilst STIHL was able to continue growing in the post-pandemic years, the boom of the three extraordinary pandemic years was over – and this was also evident in the warehouse. “We had historically high stock levels,” says Marc Glemser. To adapt its planning to the changed market situation and capitalise on efficiency gains, STIHL embarked on a comprehensive change project, which ultimately led to the introduction of the DISKOVER SCM software solution from SCT GmbH.
More efficient stock management: How DISKOVER is opening up new opportunities for STIHL
The project came at just the right time for STIHL. With strong growth during the COVID-19 pandemic and new turnover records of up to approximately €5.5 billion in 2025, stock levels also rose to an all-time high in 2023. Given the high level of vertical integration and the broad product portfolio, it quickly became clear that a systematic solution was needed to optimise safety stock and procurement parameters. The company uses the DISKOVER software to calculate safety stock levels, reorder points and lead times. With DISKOVER, the planners now have a comprehensive tool at their disposal that can be applied throughout the entire supply chain.
As a first step, STIHL carried out a proof of concept in 2024 in collaboration with consultants from Abels & Kemmner. “We wanted to see whether the software really did offer us added value,” explains Marc Glemser. At that time, the simulation results from DISKOVER were not yet fed back into the company’s in-house SAP system – a step that was eventually taken in 2025 following the successful proof-of-concept. A key factor in STIHL’s decision to use DISKOVER was that it enables the objective calculation and monthly updating of safety parameters – something that would be impossible to achieve manually given the number of material numbers managed in DISKOVER.
“The greatest advantage of DISKOVER is therefore the automated and objective calculation and transfer of our safety parameters,” says the supply chain expert. Added to this is what Marc Glemser calls ‘swarm intelligence’. DISKOVER utilises the collective knowledge of all planners to optimise procurement parameters. This reduces inefficiencies and also helps to dismantle the ‘safety-first’ mindset that has persisted since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Comprehensive change process
Naturally, the roll-out of such a comprehensive tool was not without its challenges at STIHL either. The seven key users, spread across Germany, had to receive active training in using the software, as the roll-out also entailed a change in their day-to-day work. STIHL closely involved these key users in the change process from the very beginning.
For the tool to be used effectively, it is essential that the planning staff also understand the basic workflows of DISKOVER so that they can follow the procurement parameters calculated in the background and subsequently made available automatically in the SAP system. In this way, STIHL ensures a smooth and transparent process when using DISKOVER. “We really needed a fair amount of trust upfront,” recalls Marc Glemser. During regular weekly meetings as part of the ‘Change Calls’, process steps were discussed and potential problems identified. Alongside the roll-out, the project team regularly shared information about the new system, thereby ensuring the planners were openly and closely involved in the change process. The dispatchers were kept continuously informed about which material numbers were being activated in DISKOVER for the first time, so that they could track and verify the individual steps at any time. Thanks to these measures, STIHL succeeded in achieving widespread acceptance amongst its staff.
Seamless SAP integration and international scalability
After several months in operation, STIHL’s assessment is positive: “Our experience with DISKOVER has been positive,” says Marc Glemser. Stock levels will be reduced in the medium term, the system is flexible, and the migration from SAP R3 to SAP S4/HANA is proceeding smoothly from a technical perspective. “From a system perspective, the migration to SAP S4/HANA is straightforward for DISKOVER, but it requires detailed reviews and adjustments to all existing rules and regulations,” says Marc Glemser. For this reason, STIHL is proceeding with the migration in stages to avoid disrupting operational processes and is continuing to focus on the management of externally sourced components and spare parts; the first finished products are currently in the testing phase.
At the same time, international roll-out is already in full swing – Austria and the USA are also benefiting from the results achieved jointly and will begin their project phase for the roll-out of DISKOVER in the course of 2026.
