SCA Packaging: SAP CRM Solution Improves Sales Calls
Client: SCA Packaging
Challenge: Streamline business processes to smooth information exchange and manage a transparent customer relationship system.
Solution: CSC designed, developed and implemented a customized SAP CRM system.
Results: SCA salespeople save time and have faster access to consolidated customer information.
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SCA Packaging, a leading European packaging provider, grew from a producer of corrugated cardboard into a full-service packaging provider through a number of strategic acquisitions. The integration of these new capabilities was the start of an exciting new chapter in SCA’s growth story — but also caused some growing pains.
Parallel systems had proliferated throughout the company, posing a challenge for the smooth exchange of information and transparent customer relationship management. To address these issues and seamlessly integrate the various elements of the new IT environment, SCA asked CSC to design, develop and implement a customized SAP CRM system.
With the new system now in place, SCA salespeople have faster access to consolidated customer information, and are saving time thanks to streamlined business processes.
Too many systems, too little transparency
SCA Packaging is a part of the larger SCA Group, a global consumer goods and paper company. SCA Packaging offers a broad portfolio of packaging, as well as state-of–the-art design and services, such as supply chain management and packaging consulting.
After acquisitions transformed the company into a full-service packaging provider, the expansion required easier data transfer throughout the company and more transparency within the sales departments.
Another challenge SCA faced was that information was often tied to one individual, and the company risked losing and leaking information if that person left. A structural, secure and transparent way to deal with customer information was therefore imperative.
SCA wanted a partner with strong SAP CRM credentials to implement a new system, and chose CSC in 2005. It had the right experience, and SCA recognized the cultural fit between the two companies. Both operated on a similar scale, and that level of compatibility allowed CSC to devise a tailor-made solution.
CSC and SCA assembled a broad team from all the integral sales and IT departments that would work with CSC for the duration of the project. This approach ensured a solution that would be accepted throughout the entire organization; it also allowed best practices from different countries to be incorporated into the system.
Stefan Debois, principal consultant at CSC, says, “The design and construction of the new system happened as a validation process of feedback sessions with continuous involvement of the business stakeholders. It was thoroughly thought through.”
Easy access crucial, but so is security
CSC started the project by mapping the specific needs of SCA Packaging. SCA representatives had to be able to access essential data using their laptops, even when on the road or with clients. At the same time, the design had to prevent further fragmentation of this information. Moreover, the system required the ability to record new experiences with clients and to make this information available for more effective sales approaches.
The challenge, therefore, was to combine the remote retrieval and editing of data with the ability to save the data in a centralized database accessible to all those concerned. By linking the central system to local laptops, CSC and SCA managed to coordinate activity and opportunity management from a central point.
SCA also wanted to limit system access for security reasons. Sales representatives use a customized log-in screen to obtain information about their customers, but sensitive information about other customers remains secured within the system. CSC developed a solution in which the data transfer within the system takes into account those security aspects.
Notes Debois, “This is another good example of how the tight partnership takes specific issues and sensitivities into account. The project is not just a technological implementation but also a business transformation. CSC puts strong focus on that dimension, as it is crucial for the success of the partnership.”
“CSC offered both the know-how of the basic package, as well as the expertise to customize this for the client,” explains Katia Schotte, SCA's project leader of the pilot implementation. “The last element was crucial to keep our people motivated and to avoid the feeling of a compulsory approach. CSC’s team was easily accessible and flexible in meeting our needs, and that really fueled the partnership.”
New system producing results
The benefits of the new SAP CRM system include:
- New sales representatives settle into the job much quicker than before.
- Processes between internal and external sales teams are more structured and streamlined.
- There is less dependence on arbitrary and verbal agreements, and more face time with the client.
- SCA saves time and increases efficiency through streamlined processes.
The impact is equally tangible on the customers’ side. Their perception of SCA Packaging has improved because the new system allows easy access to all historical information and, therefore, quicker responses to inquiries.
