Less effort, more overview: C.H. Erbslöh bundles sales planning with the Microsoft Power Platform
With a new sales planning app based on the Microsoft Power Platform, C.H. Erbslöh has transferred its sales and corporate planning to a modern, flexible and future-proof platform. The solution combines sales and project planning in a central application and creates the basis for more efficient processes, higher data quality and more transparency in planning.
Annual sales planning is a central component of corporate management at C.H. Erbslöh. Various planning processes are interlinked: operational sales planning and project business planning for the next two years.
Previously, an existing planning tool supported these processes. However, the solution caused comparatively high operating costs and was only able to map the specific requirements of the company to a limited extent. In addition, the necessary flexibility was lacking to efficiently implement future requirements. Therefore, a modern, central and future-proof solution was sought with which the various sales groups could easily record, maintain and evaluate their planning data.
The solution: An individual sales planning app based on the Microsoft Power Platform
With the new sales planning app , the previously distributed planning processes have been bundled in a central application. Sales and project planning now mesh seamlessly and enable consistent planning across different time horizons. The solution supports the sales groups in recording and maintaining their planned values and at the same time creates a transparent database for controlling. Thanks to the central data storage, all relevant information is available up-to-date and consistently.
A comprehensive role and authorization concept ensures that every user sees exactly the data and functions that are relevant to their tasks. At the same time, the flexible architecture of the Microsoft Power Platform creates the basis for adapting the application to new requirements in the future and gradually developing it further.
For C.H. Erbslöh, this was the first project based on the Microsoft Power Platform. Therefore, the focus was not only on the development of the application itself, but also on building the necessary organizational and technical foundations. Together, topics such as environmental strategy, security, role and authorization concepts as well as the operation of the platform were defined and implemented. In addition, a targeted transfer of knowledge took place so that certain administrative tasks can be carried out independently in the future. For example, the company is now able to manage exchange rates, roles, authorizations or data imports itself and to make minor adjustments independently.
“The feedback from users after the initial planning with the new tool was consistently positive. It was easy to use, all relevant sums were available at a glance and overall there was a feeling that we had achieved real technological progress. For us in controlling, the introduction initially meant a higher training effort, but at the same time we were able to benefit from significant efficiency gains in the first year. The fact alone that we no longer have to maintain and link around 70 individual Excel files for project planning has made our work much easier. In addition, we were able to build a Power BI dashboard based on the data from the Power App without much effort, which makes the analysis and evaluation of planning much more efficient.”
Nina Albrecht, Controlling, C.H. Erbslöh GmbH + Co. KG
The advantages at a glance
With the new sales planning app, C.H. Erbslöh benefits from a central and future-proof platform for sales and corporate planning.
Key benefits include:
In addition, master data and existing planning data can be automatically transferred via defined Excel imports. This reduces the maintenance effort and ensures a consistent database.
A solution with a future
With the new app, all planning processes come together in a central application. The seamless integration of the individual areas ensures consistent planning and a uniform database for sales and the company. The special added value of the solution lies in the combination of an individually developed specialist application and the possibilities of the Microsoft Power Platform. Instead of adapting existing processes to a standard product, the application was specifically tailored to C.H. Erbslöh’s requirements. At the same time, the company benefits from a flexible platform that can be further developed and adapted to future requirements if necessary.
A comprehensive role and authorization concept ensures that users see exactly the data and functions that are relevant to their tasks. Thanks to the accompanying knowledge transfer, selected administrative tasks and minor adjustments can also be carried out independently in the future.
The productive use of the application has already begun. The experience gained from the first planning rounds now forms the basis for the continuous further development of the solution. The result is a future-proof platform that not only meets the current requirements of sales planning, but also offers space for new requirements and processes.
C.H. Erbslöh GmbH & Co. KG, headquartered in Krefeld, Germany, is an international supplier of specialty chemicals and industrial minerals. Since its foundation in 1876, the company has seen itself as a link between raw material manufacturers and the processing industry and supports its customers with technical advice, application-specific know-how and a broad product portfolio. Today, C.H. Erbslöh is active throughout Europe with several international locations and partners.
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