What do I need, what do I have?
Company / Industry
Stadtwerke München / Energy services
Service portfolio
SWM is a municipal supply and service company for the state capital of Munich and its regions. The Bavarian metropolis is supplied with energy (electricity, natural gas, district heating) and drinking water.
Website
www.swm.de
Qualification If specialist knowledge needs to be verifiably refreshed at specified intervals, it is important to plan course attendance. Stadtwerke München has introduced a standardized learning platform.
SWM is one of the largest energy and infrastructure companies in Germany. Its core task is to supply the city of Munich with energy and drinking water. The transport subsidiary MVG is responsible for the city's local public transport system with subway, bus and streetcar services. SWM also operates 18 indoor and outdoor swimming pools. The Group employs over 9,000 people.
Their job profiles and training and qualification needs within the company are wide-ranging. The annual catalog includes over 180 individual measures such as internal and external training courses and e-learning courses.
Expandable overview
Previously, paper-based requests (print, sign, fax) and missing overviews slowed down planning—especially for mandatory recertifications. The target was a fully digital platform with approval workflows, traceability, and clear visibility of completed and upcoming certifications, embedded in the SAP landscape.
Building on SAP ERP HCM, SWM ran a tender and selected a SAP-based Learning Solution.
The main challenge: heterogeneous, decentralized processes with about 40 training administrators. With standard-aligned configuration, pilots, and close testing, SWM and p78 established a unified process on time and on budget. Training, roadshows, and a structured knowledge transfer to internal IT ensured sustainable operations.
Project Approach & Change Management
The initiative began with pilots in selected business units to capture real-world process variants and validate standard-aligned configurations. Based on feedback, approval paths, roles, and notifications were refined; in parallel, a governance model for mandatory qualifications (target/actual comparison, escalations, reporting) was defined. The guiding principle was “configuration over customization” to ensure upgradeability and maintainability.To drive adoption, SWM used transparent communication: use-case demos, FAQ sessions, and train-the-trainer enabled administrators and leaders to operate the system confidently. Self-service features—capacity view, registration, automatic attendance confirmation—significantly reduced HR workload. A support process with clear responsibilities across IT and HR was established.
The outcome: harmonized processes, shorter lead times, and improved auditability. The platform is designed to scale with future needs (e.g., new learning channels or compliance changes) without disrupting operations.
Automatic reminder
The learning portal is now integrated into the SWM employee portal. Although existing e-learning platforms continue to run in parallel, they are linked to the new system. Interested parties can now see at a glance which courses still have places available, the approval workflow also runs via the portal and a confirmation of participation is automatically generated after registration. The overview of relevant mandatory qualifications is already available in the SAP system. As soon as the requirement profiles with the necessary target qualifications have been entered for all positions, existing actual qualifications can be compared with these in the form of a profile comparison. The employee is informed via an automatic reminder when a certification required for his/her position expires and can register in the system for the relevant refresher course. The training history integrated in the learning portal provides employees or supervisors with an overview of all completed training courses.