Manufacturing
Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales

“Without the support of AlfaPeople, it would have been difficult to bundle our complex sales structures and processes in a new system. In addition to the international scope, the large number of different business areas and their special features also posed a major challenge.”

Axel Bartmann, Company Speaker & Marketing Manager

Business Needs

Founded in 1987, Manz AG is a global high-tech mechanical engineering company with business activities in Solar, Electronics, Energy Storage, Contract Manufacturing and Service. The group has been listed on the German stock exchange since 2006. It develops and produces in Germany, Slovakia, Hungary, Italy, China and Taiwan. Manz also operates sales and service branches in the USA and India. Manz AG employs around 1,600 people worldwide. In the 2018 fiscal year, the Manz Group generated sales of around EUR 297 million.

Global introduction of Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales On-Premises and SAP interface for a total of 150 users.

Manz AG’s internal sales processes had reached a point where they could no longer keep pace with the company’s international growth. The systems in use were struggling to meet the requirements of modern sales processes and supplied unreliable data. The Manz AG’s sales department worked with various isolated solutions that had to be managed separately and did not allow data exchange, leading to unnecessary effort and increased risk of errors. The decision to search for a new, state-of-the-art CRM system was embraced at all levels of the organization.

The company was looking for a tried-and-tested CRM solution that would work with Manz AG’s demand for adaptation and its complex sales processes. Transparent, logical evaluation options had to be taken into consideration as well as consistent traceability of data. The scope of Manz AG’s international operations posed a major challenge and the company was looking for a solution which could be rolled out and functional across all its sites.

With the introduction of the new CRM system, Manz AG’s declared goal was to simultaneously introduce state-of-the-art sales processes that can be easily adapted to future requirements at any time.

In addition to modern processing and maintenance of leads and opportunities, such as the mapping of a gate process with the sales phases Gate 0-9, the company sought a more efficient quotation and order processing as well as transparent evaluations of key sales figures. Last but not least, the solution also had to be implemented in Manz AG’s many international locations, including Italy, Taiwan and China, accompanied by seamless communication.

Solution

Manz AG had spelled out its wishes and expectations clearly and was in a position to easily decide on the right solutions and partners for their project. AlfaPeople quickly made it on the shortlist with its Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales offering. In the following exploratory talks with Manz AG management and department heads, AlfaPeople was finally able to assert itself over its competitors thanks to the company’s expertise and wealth of consulting experience.

The entire project was characterized by mutual trust and the cooperation between Manz AG and AlfaPeople was based on partnership throughout. The project began with a joint kick-off meeting which served as a refresher of the scope, methodology and objectives of the project. As the project advanced, workshop and implementation phases alternated on a regular basis and formed the groundwork of an intensive cooperation in which just one or two unforeseen challenges had to be overcome.

Manz AG’s complex sales process, which had grown over the years and involved many custom solutions required a high degree of individual support to address SAP and the new CRM. Here, best practices regarding time and resource management were difficult to respect. But it was precisely at this point that AlfaPeople’s years of expertise came into effect. This had ultimately been the deciding factor in Manz’s decision to select the company.

Through experience and perseverance, all difficulties were completely and to the full satisfaction of Manz AG. AlfaPeople’s consultants showed an outstanding level of commitment and were also available outside regular working hours to work through any hurdles. Another positive aspect is that changes and new features were presented directly in the test system during the ramp-up phase. This brought forward proximity to the new CRM system and ensured sustained high acceptance among the key end-users, who had been actively involved since the start of the project. Dynamics 365 Sales finally went live after a thorough user-friendly training program for endusers, delivered by AlfaPeople consultants.

Previously trained end-user later supported other Manz AG employees with the new system. The early and strong acceptance of the new CRM system during the project phase had an infectious effect on Manz AG’s end-users. Dynamics 365 Sales was therefore quickly and enthusiastically accepted. Users love the intuitive, modern design and the consistently illustrated sales processes. The Advanced Search and the Goal features, which are extremely helpful in daily sales work, were received extremely well.

Manz AG and its employees are very satisfied with the new CRM system. Along with the roll-out project, further intensive training courses were delivered to teach basic skills for administration and simple adjustments of the system. Manz AG employees rated the quality of the training courses as extremely good. With its new sales processes and Dynamics 365 Sales, Manz AG is now moving into the future with renewed strength. Systematic and effective sales processes are providing a major boost and support for the company’s international expansion.

Benefits

High engagement and enormous flexibility
AlfaPeople consultants showed an outstanding level of commitment and were also available outside regular working hours to work through any hurdles that arose.

Strong usability
Changes and new features were presented directly in the test system during the ramp-up phase. This created proximity to the new CRM system during the project and ensured sustained high acceptance among the key users.

Relief in daily workflows
Users love the intuitive, modern design and the consistently illustrated sales processes. The Advanced Search and the Goal features, which
are extremely helpful in daily sales work, were received extremely well.