plano | References | Werner & Mertz GmbH

Efficient and Modern Workforce Management for a Manufacturing Family Business

Werner & Mertz is a fifth-generation family business known for brands like Frosch and Green Care Professional. The company pursues a consistent sustainability strategy, producing detergents, care products, and cleaning agents with high standards for quality and resource preservation in Mainz and Hallein.

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Werner & Mertz GmbH

Initial situation

After a fundamental redesign of the shift pattern at the Mainz site, the workforce management requirements at Werner & Mertz increased significantly. The previous solution involved numerous manual bookings via SAP and could no longer adequately reflect operational processes and business requirements.

The goal was to replace the planning effort caused by the new shift model with a rule-based, standardized solution that ensures compliance, supports multiple planners, and automates SAP bookings.

After fundamentally redesigning the shift model in Mainz, the focus was on realigning workforce management and consolidating it onto a central platform. This was intended to create a scalable solution that simplifies operational planning as well as enhances strategic management.

Strategically, the goal was to integrate planning, workplace assignment oversight, and employee self-service into a single platform that fosters transparency, autonomy, and responsibility among employees while providing centralized reports for managers.

Branche

Healthcare Sector

Number of employees

approx. 19,000

plano in use

plano Basis, plano Roster, plano Reporting, plano Interfaces, Employee Self-Service Portal ESS, Shift Scheduling App myplano, plano Service Line

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Modern scheduling is an important driver of employer attractiveness for us.
With plano, we have found the right holistic WFM solution and at the same time a competent partner to achieve our joint development goals of involving our employees more closely in their own scheduling.

Christian Fernekohl

Head of HR Transformation & Digitalization
Vivantes - Netzwerk für Gesundheit GmbH

Project goals

Seamless implementation and functional expansion

Continued use of the existing WFM system in the
plano environment
Integrated failure management in plano Roster and VivaPlan (myplano)
Employee-managed shift swap via VivaPlan (myplano)

Employee satisfaction

Modern and appealing user interface
Location and device-independent use
Digital & independent entry of shift schedules requests
Systemically supported self-planning options for employees

Effective relief for shift planners

Display of employees‘ wishes when creating the target
shift schedule
Effective and needs-oriented employee planning
Reduction of manual entries from paper or Excel lists

Improvement

Low implementation costs and greater employee and planner satisfaction

By the migration to the modern plano modules, Vivantes has introduced a user-friendly schedule interface, a powerful interface configuration with monitoring function and a mobile-optimized employee portal (ESS). The important goal of avoiding a costly and implementation-intensive change of database or schedule program was achieved.

With the implementation of VivaPlan (myplano), employees also have the option of viewing their shifts independently and on the move, applying for leave, entering requests and, in future, registering shift swaps.

Greater employee involvement and preferred shift planning

Due to the use of VivaPlan (myplano), Vivantes is coming much closer to the desire for greater involvement of employees in the planning process and consideration of individual wishes.

The mobile portal can be used and shift scheduling can be carried out from anywhere and from any end device. More flexibility, increased personal responsibility and participation in the organization of working hours – for Vivantes, this is the result of a stringent drive towards digitalization based on the premise of creating modern working structures for employees.

Improvements for planners

Optimum overview of employee availability and vacation planning for schedulers
Elimination of time-consuming and error-prone paper lists
Fast and secure roster creation in a modern, digital and functional planning environment

Improvements for employees

More self-determination for employees through independent entry of roster requests and shift swaps
View roster and vacation schedules regardless of location, time and device
Views in a modern and user-friendly interface
Involvement of employees in the development process of the shift schedule software

Case Study (PDF)

What Our Customers Say

Whether in insurance, banking, police, contact centers, or retail – over 300 customers worldwide are already planning with plano

Working with plano has always been good and characterized by mutual understanding and respect. plano has placed great importance on service, which is very important to us. The friendly manner of all employees toward customers is particularly noteworthy.

Jürgen Schernhammer, Head of Technical Department,
City of Esslingen am Neckar — Fire Department
plano WFM helps us manage workforce planning efficiently and flexibly. The mobile access from anywhere is a real added value for our employees. Thanks to continuous, demand-driven developments, the system remains practical and reliable for the future.

Jennifer Heß, Personnel allocation and planning,
Werner & Mertz GmbH
plano WFM transformed our shift scheduling – from chaotic Excel sheets to transparent, legally compliant digitalization. As a social enterprise, we especially value the precise mapping of our structures and our strong partnership.

Björn Dobbertin, Managing Director,
Rathauspassage Hamburg
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plano has taken our staff planning to a whole news professional level. Thanks especially to the roster, we now have a much more flexible solution in place, with the major advantage that we can adapt very quickly to changes.

Noah Kellner, Head of the IT Department,
Dialog-Factory GmbH
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With plano, we finally have lanning certainty – for our employees as well as for us as managers. The system provides us with structure, transparency, and reliability in the hectic day-to-day of customer service.

Heike Müller-Brachmann, Department Head Customer Service and Accounts Receivable Management,
Städtische Werke AG
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plano is an invaluable tool for us. The solutions are user-friendly, flexible, and save us a tremendous amount of time. Without plano, we would not be able to meet the demands of modern workforce planning.

Daniela Gard, Workforce Management Division Lead,
SUMMACOM GmbH & Co. KG
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The large-scale rollout across all our branches was a success primarily thanks to the professional and consistently personal collaboration with plano.

Patrick Kozak, IT Project Manager,
HELLWEG Die Profi-Bau- & Gartenmärkte GmbH & Co. KG
The solution from plano provides us with comprehensive transparency in time management and workforce planning, enabling us to manage processes efficiently and in a user-friendly way.

Herrik Luisman, Retail Director,
Lucardi Juwelier
Thanks to the consultants’ extensive expertise at plano, drawn from a strong track record of successful project implementations, we feel well looked after and benefit from outstanding professional support.

Maik Gebhard, Team Leader Business Management,
qardsCOM GmbH
We were looking for software that, on the one hand, reflects the regulations of the collective agreement for the public sector, but on the other hand is also flexible enough to map and implement the very specific circumstances we have at the theater.

Miriam Mertens, Authorized signatory and Head of Human Resources and Organization,
Theater Krefeld und Mönchengladbach GmbH
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