Deutsche Telefon

Challenges

• Consolidation of several disparate solutions
• Simplification of customer and partner management
• Increased order processing while maintaining same levels of headcount
• Optimisation of inefficient and non-transparent processes

Solution

• Transfer of three legacy systems to Sugar v7.7.2, operated on-premise in its own data centre with provalida as integrator
• Migration of customer and partner management as well as accounting, service and support into Sugar
• Process optimisation through automation and handling from a single solution
• Standardisation of workflows enabling transparent KPIs and efficient integration of different
• Uniform user interface eliminates silos and enables a seamless, comprehensive overview
• Provalida implements ’PV-View’ plug-in and CTI module to integrate the PBX with Sugar and PV Guide module for optimised customer service

Results

• Over three months, order productivity has been doubled and processing time reduced by up to 50 per cent, while headcount remains the same
• The accounting department now only needs a third of the time for invoice verifications
• The entire customer journey is mapped in Sugar
• The time required for ticket creation was reduced by 65 per cent through the introduction of standardised call scripts, including suggestions for resolutions

SugarCRM Offers a Single, Contemporary Solution

As a provider of professional VoIP communication solutions from the cloud via the Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), Deutsche Telefon is evolving to align with the digital age and its recent rapid growth. Working with a variety of internal CRM solutions as well as ticket systems for development and technical service, Deutsche Telefon’s customer and partner support had quickly reached capacity. Proving costly and inefficient, the system required a large quantity of management time to keep records consistent and offered very few automation options.

In addition, almost all Deutsche Telefon customers had their own requirements and partners and resellers used different models, each of which required individual processes, making order processing very complex.

Providing an Adaptable, Custom-Fit System

With such specific requirements, SugarCRM’s highly flexible and scalable CRM solution was selected as a perfect fit, due to its adaptability, customisation capability and options for bespoke modules. The different areas and processes can be mapped in a single, consistent system that only uses and displays the features that are needed. Since silos and duplicate data sets were eliminated, it was possible to automate time-consuming processes, partially or fully.

As an integrator, SugarCRM partner provalida took care of adapting Sugar and supported Deutsche Telefon with expert integration and deployment know-how. The implementation, including mapping of the partner model and initial data import, enabled a smooth transition from the legacy systems to Sugar. Since the introduction, new departments have also been included every one or two months.

And that’s not all, provalida also provided specially programmed modules that tailor the solution even more precisely to the requirements. The ‘PV-View’ plug-in enables a preview of linked records, offering Sugar users a clear display of all the information they require. A CTI module enables the integration of the PBX into Sugar so calls can be viewed directly in the CRM and executed with one click.

Alexander von Berg, Head of Technical Processes and Information at Deutsche Telefon, says, “The inclusion of many different departments within the CRM system, from sales to service to product development, offers us an unprecedented overview and complete control over our entire platform. Thanks to the various modules and plug-ins, we can tailor the functions to meet the needs of different users, maximising the efficiency of our processes”.

Results

Consolidating internal systems not only solved all challenges, but also laid the foundation for further optimisation. Now that all processes are managed completely within Sugar, duplicate entries in different databases are a thing of the past. This saves time and avoids errors during processing. In about three months, the intake of orders was doubled, while the processing time was reduced by up to 50 per cent – with headcount staying at the same level. Without Sugar, a 30 per cent increase in employees would have been necessary.

Furthermore, when creating quotations in the accounting system, invoices can be checked in the same workflow via the ’View’ function mentioned above, meaning the verification process now requires a third of the time.

With the provalida PV Guide module, customer service is even more efficient. With the help of a guided script, service staff can quickly identify the problem and either suggest a suitable solution or create the support ticket themselves. This has reduced the average time it takes to create a ticket from ten to three and a half minutes. The new infrastructure also facilitates and accelerates training for new employees. Sugar’s standardised ticket structure helps the development team to evaluate tickets automatically and identify points of failure early, thus optimising product development.

When it comes to partners, people and campaign management, the end-to-end visibility in Sugar provides a significant advantage. A sales representative can plan, execute and monitor special campaigns for all 800 or selected partners. KPIs are more transparent and thus the management ofemployees is much more efficient. Soon, number porting, which is one of the key business-critical processes for Deutsche Telefon, should also be fully automated.

Sebastian Schall, COO at Deutsche Telefon, says, ” We have to be able to grow easily and quickly with the market. The efficiency of our order processing is set to increase by a factor of ten – a realistic goal given the tremendous success we have already achieved with Sugar in such a short time”.

About Deutsche Telefon Standard AG

Founded in 2007 and based in Mainz, Deutsche Telefon, is a specialist for professional SIP communication and one of the leading providers of network PBXs. With the SIP-based PBX CentrexX the company offers one of the most modern and powerful telephone systems (IP-Centrex) in the cloud. In addition, numerous customers use Deutsche Telefon’s SIP Trunk. You can learn more at www.deutsche-telefon.de.