SAP Analytics Cloud modeled and implemented

Novoferm sales staff can see the significant difference between the new system and the old world of Excel reporting when they visit their customers on site, if not before.

Whereas they used to have to look up figures and data in the office and then print them out before visiting customers, now all they need to do is click on their iPad or iPhone to access all the information they need. In a way that is location-independent, up to date as of the day before, and clearer than ever.

“The sales representatives are delighted with the solution,” says Stefanie Mio, project manager in sales at Novoferm. “And that was exactly what we wanted to achieve by switching our reporting system from Excel to SAP Analytics Cloud. Greater convenience, a better overview, and – above all – less manual effort required to maintain our customer data.”

Previously, Novoferm managed its own customer data using various SharePoint Excel files. All data, including incoming orders, sales, and variations in figures compared to the previous year, was transferred from the existing SAP BW system via an Excel plug-in into multiple Excel lists.

The decision makers at the company realized that this procedure was no longer in keeping with the times, and so commissioned its longstanding partner GAMBIT to replace the existing solution and design a new system based on SAP Analytics Cloud. SAP Analytics Cloud is an analytics and planning solution within SAP Business Technology Platform that enables companies to combine data from different data sources and analyze and plan the data centrally.

Proof of Concept and Introduction

During the three-month project, the GAMBIT experts first recorded the customer’s wishes and requirements, created a proof of concept, and then implemented the solution once it had been presented and approved. “Unlike the previous Excel solution, SAC offers much greater convenience and clarity,” says Frieder Morgenstern, project lead and senior consultant at GAMBIT.

The data is arranged clearly on the SAC dashboard and is divided into categories, which means that companies can display an overview of incoming orders and sales generated by customers or even show the customers with the biggest increase or decrease in the number of incoming orders with reference to a specific comparison period.

In addition, the data for each individual customer can be displayed graphically and in tabular form to show sales, incoming orders or even data on participation in specific Novoferm sales campaigns. Red and green color coding shows at a glance where the greatest deviations lie and where there is a corresponding need for action.

The new authorization control procedure also has numerous advantages for data security, privacy, and clarity. Depending on their role in the company, employees can now view only the customer data that is required for a specific task and role.

“From my point of view, one of the biggest advantages of the new solution is the centralized master data, which means that the master data only needs to be entered centrally once. If anything changes later, the data is automatically updated in all models used and is available straight away at any location,” says Frieder Morgenstern. “This makes life much easier for sales staff and reduces the number of errors.”

Goals achieved 100 percent

“With the introduction of SAC, we have achieved 100 percent of our goals, in particular less effort, greater clarity, and a better working environment for our field staff,” says Stefanie Mio from Novoferm. “We would like to thank our partner GAMBIT for the outstanding support during the implementation of SAP Analytics Cloud.”