Agile CRM Integration Provides Modern Sales Support for Rösler Surface Technology
Improving the company environment and its own processes in many small steps in line with lean management - this is the philosophy that Rösler, a specialist in surface technology with a focus on mass finishing and blasting technology, has been pursuing since 2016. Agile approaches help the family-owned company from Lower Franconia to organize its business activities efficiently and reduce costs. An approach that is also reflected in the introduction of the SAP Sales Cloud as part of the S/4 transition.
First steps into the Fiori world
As the first step in the S/4 conversion, Rösler decided to modernize its CRM system. The aim of the CRM renovation was to give the sales employees sufficient time and support to familiarize themselves with the new system. They were to get to know the modern look and feel of the interface and gradually learn how to use the Fiori app world, as dealing with this technology is also important for the further switch to S/4 Hana. However, this first transformation was not only a phase of testing, learning and further development for the sales users, but also for their IT colleagues.
As the successor product to SAP CRM, no major technical challenges were expected when replacing the old solution - but the fact that the new interfaces, for example to the existing ERP system, work just as smoothly only became apparent when the software was actually used. This smooth exchange of the immense volume of data is an aspect that was particularly important to the surface technology provider. The new interfaces, implemented with the SAP Integration Suite, between the SAP Sales Cloud and the ERP system used in the company had to map both the exchange from the Sales Cloud to the ERP system and vice versa. At the same time, the entire system had to work with as few interfaces as possible or with standardized interfaces. A task that the Rösler team successfully developed and implemented together with its partner FIS.
The Rösler Group found it easy to choose a partner again due to its previous successful partnership experience with the SAP service provider, which is also based in Lower Franconia. "We knew FIS from previous projects - most recently from the field service management project. We felt that the companies - FIS and Rösler - had grown together as partners over time, which is why we also relied on their know-how and collegial cooperation for the SAP Sales Cloud conversion," explains Marcus Henkel, Head of Central IT Services at Rösler. This expertise was to be gradually passed on to the Rösler team during the project so that they could manage the system themselves and develop new solutions towards the end of the changeover.
They came together in uncomplicated, efficient one-to-one meetings as well as in scheduled team meetings in larger groups for a joint, always solution-oriented exchange. In the six comparison workshops, in which around 20 people met at the company headquarters in Untermerzbach, the handling of the new solution was explained, specific challenges were discussed and approaches were developed that could be tested, further developed and improved by the next meeting. This not only gave Rösler a technical understanding of the SAP Sales Cloud, but also increased acceptance of the new CRM system.
"In contrast to 2010, when we introduced the old CRM system, this time we had the feeling that all 230 users of the new system were looking forward to the changeover. They signed up right at the start, tried out the new technology and have been working with it regularly ever since - a huge difference compared to 2010, when we found it much harder to get our colleagues on board," explains Leo Higgs, Team Leader SAP Application Processes at Rösler. For Marcus Henkel, this positive mood was triggered on the one hand by the agile approach to change management, but also by the enormous advantages offered by a modern and mobile CRM. As the old CRM system was an on-prem solution, it was previously not possible for field staff to work flexibly.
Mobile 360-degree view
With the SAP Sales Cloud, employees can now call up, edit or insert customer data in real time on their mobile devices on site at the customer's premises or on the move. This gives them a 360-degree view of each individual customer at all times and enables them to advise them according to their needs. A decisive advantage over the previous model is the lead-based way of working: from lead acquisition and lead management to opportunity management and the offer, every step can be mapped and is transparent, enabling greater customer proximity along the entire customer journey.
The modern design of the user interface is also impressive: anyone who is used to easy access to information via an app in their private life will also want this in their professional life. The Sales Cloud offers precisely this level of convenience. To ensure that this positive development continues in the future, Rösler is planning further advances and innovations. It is also conceivable, for example, that the Sales Cloud will be linked to the telephone system.
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