Implementation of Dynamics 365 CE at BUSS AG

The sale of high-quality machines and complex systems for plastics processing is a long-cycle business. It can take months or even years from an initial enquiry to an order. Different people and roles work on a sales opportunity, and a broad team of different stakeholders must also be managed on the customer side. For this purpose, the future solution was developed and implemented, adapted to the specific needs of the sales department. It was particularly important to create a 360° view of customers, contacts, installed machines and sales opportunities. Especially in sales projects, the process-based management is an enormous gain. Everyone involved can see at a glance which phase the sales opportunity is in, which activities have been completed and which are planned. In addition, the information from the CRM also helps at management level to understand the sales pipeline and to map the forecast, including the impact on procurement, accordingly. Another aspect of the project was that the employees of BUSS AG can work securely with the systems, regardless of location, i.e. even in the home office or while travelling.

The automated interface between ERP and Dynamics 365 CE provides the sales department with central information such as machines installed at the customer's premises (installed assets), current service orders or key figures from financial accounting. This reduces unnecessary interactions and enables more efficient interaction with the customer.

After the conception phase, Dynamics 365 Sales was implemented and introduced into the organization within 6 months using an agile/iterative approach.

With the completion of the initial phase in Sales, an important milestone was reached. In the process, the organization and the project team learned a lot about the Microsoft platform and the implementation of this type of project, and the partnership with Ambit could be further deepened. This was then also the kick-off for the collaboration on the next milestones.

In the next phase, a concept for the future service center including field service was developed. The Ambit service specialists worked hand-in-hand with the BUSS service team. With the introduction of Dynamics 365 Customer Service and Field Service, the specific service processes could be developed on the same data basis as the sales module. The focus was on establishing professional case management, working with queues and setting up a customer portal. This will enable customers to post their inquiries or problems 365/24 in the future. These inquiries are processed automatically in relation to the respective customer and the plant concerned. Consequently, this enables process-guided handling of incoming cases and an increase in response speed. BUSS customers no longer have to call or email, but can collaborate with the service team through the customer portal. The status of a case is monitored and escalated if necessary.

Some of the requests require the intervention of a service technician on site. Thanks to the close transformation of a case into a work order, the service technician deployment can be planned with all the information from the customer service module. The service technician always has the work instructions (checklists, etc.) digitally with him. The service technician can carry out his work at the customer's site using both the mobile app and the desktop version. As a result, BUSS AG can now schedule operations and monitor the results with significantly reduced effort and an improved overview. Increasing efficiency and more effective collaboration within the organization, and also with the customer, have been important goals of this subproject.