Digital transformation at SAMSON

The challenge

Founded in 1907, SAMSON has grown into a global market leader with more than 50 subsidiaries in over 40 countries. Globalisation and digitalisation have steadily increased the need for a standardised customer view. The challenge: bringing different areas of the Group together under one roof and reducing complexity in the diverse IT landscape. Rather than continuing to invest in the mix of solutions it had accumulated, SAMSON decided on a complete reorganisation.

The solution

By deciding in favour of the SAP Sales Cloud, SAMSON laid the foundation for a structured approach to the market and global account management. With Sybit as a partner, the project kicked off with the motto “keep it simple”. The implementation was carried out in three phases. 

Phase 1: the basics

Close to the standard solution, open to additional features: Phase 1 was about laying the right foundation.

• Account and contact management
• Bi-directional customer master data integration
• Activity management
• Lead and opportunity management
• Reporting
• SAP ERP integration

Phase 2: offer and order management

This phase was about collecting feedback from all stakeholders and implementing corresponding changes. Rather than replicating the old processes 1:1, SAMSON had its eyes on future requirements. After all, the greatest challenge with projects is to get the right features, not simply to achieve everything in the given time.

• Document replication: Opportunities can be passed on on within the system. Offer configuration still takes place in SAMSON’s custom configuration tool c-SAM. The offers and orders are transferred to be viewed in the SAP Sales Cloud. The display of open items from the ERP system also grants sales employees a very comprehensive view of their customers in the SAP Sales Cloud.
• Connection to SAP ERP  Subsidiaries that are not yet connected to SAP ERP can also work with the SAP Sales Cloud. Further global rollouts can thus be implemented quickly and efficiently thanks to the harmonised processes.

The result

• On time and within budget. After around six months, SAMSON was able to go live with a standard-oriented solution both on time and within budget. The SAP Sales Cloud was introduced first in Germany and later worldwide.
   
• Global view of sales activities. The sales team – including marketing, service, digital products and product management – works with one tool and has access to all information required for an efficient sales process.
   
• Mobile application. All information and processes are also available on the go. Sales management and planning is conducted via interactive reporting. 
   
• From standard to customer-specific solutions. The project proceeded according to textbook methodology. Features close to the standard were implemented first to bring quick improvements. With this foundation, customer-specific aspects were then developed.