Herrmann Ultraschalltechnik GmbH & Co.KG

Herrmann Ultraschalltechnik GmbH & Co. KG has been using SMARTCRM since 2003 – and now it is used throughout the company. SMARTCRM has continued to grow at Herrmann Ultraschall. Today, more than 200 employees work with the CRM solution in sales, order processing, development, service, and marketing. Not only the German headquarters are connected to SMARTCRM, but also the locations in the USA, China and Japan. These are represented by four different clients, so that local employees only have access to the data relevant to their work. It goes without saying that a complete overview of all information across all locations is possible at all times.

It is important for Hermann Ultraschall that the interaction between the implemented abas ERP system and the CRM solution is optimal. We were able to meet this requirement thanks to our interface competence developed over decades and our great experience in the abas environment. We connected abas via a bi-directional standard interface, but also implemented numerous individual customer requirements. Via the interface, SMARTCRM imports master and transaction data such as customers, products and product groups, product images, special prices, devices, value tables as well as the key figures: sales, incoming orders, order backlog and open items from the ERP solution. In the other direction, SMARTCRM exports customers and order items to abas ERP. Another big advantage is the direct access to abas from the SMARTCRM customer file as well as from the project file. SMARTCRM evaluates the figures from abas on different levels and makes them available in various analyses. Since Herrmann Ultraschall also uses Power BI, SMARTCRM automatically provides Power BI with customer-related CRM data, such as quotations.

All sales-relevant information is available to the sales force directly in the CRM system – either offline on their notebooks, online with the app on their smartphones, or via remote desktop access to the central database. This includes, for example, the current achievement of agreed targets, which are managed in detail and broken down by business unit in Herrmann Ultraschall’s SMARTCRM. At the touch of a button, employees can see an overview of all their targets, including a comparison of actual and target values, so they are always up to date and can take action if necessary.

Project management is another key aspect of CRM at Herrmann Ultraschall. Sales projects are documented in SMARTCRM from the initial inquiry to project completion and beyond. The company distinguishes between main projects and follow-up projects, such as a feasibility study and the resulting machine. The latter is managed in a separate project file, but linked to the main project. This not only improves transparency, but also provides a view of each project as well as a complete overview. In the project file, SMARTCRM bundles all participants and all communications. To complete the activity history, emails from the numerous local Microsoft Outlook accounts are imported into SMARTCRM via SMARTCRM.Exchange.Sync and automatically stored in the corresponding customer and project file. Relevant framework parameters for the application as well as for the customer’s needs are queried via specific mandatory fields, resulting in a detailed project evaluation.

Quotations are also created directly in the CRM solution. Document templates stored in the CRM system, multilingual, illustrated text modules and a pricing tool that takes discounts and currencies into account ensure that quotations can be created quickly and easily. A great advantage for Herrmann Ultraschall is the possibility to calculate the price of the sonotrode to be manufactured in the CRM system thanks to the interface to abas. The corresponding basic data for the calculation are imported from abas ERP and automatically updated in SMARTCRM when changes are made there. Based on this, an individual price calculation is carried out for each quotation in the CRM system. Before the introduction of the calculation tool, the company worked with mixed cost modules which covered a wide range and only allowed a rough price estimation.

When an order is placed, it is also prepared in the CRM solution and transferred to abas ERP. The CRM support does not end with the order: all details regarding order processing, technology, production and tickets are documented in the project file and can be analyzed in detail. Evaluations of due quotations, the forecast or the average processing time are just a few examples that facilitate targeted sales work and competent customer support at Hermann Ultraschall. The company also relies heavily on the task manager and scheduling tools in SMARTCRM.Organizer. For example, the documentation of all service appointments in the schedule enables optimal planning and use of resources. Functions such as reminders and due dates provide valuable support.

The marketing department also benefits from SMARTCRM. The major advantage here is the standard interface between the CRM solution and the email marketing tool Inxmail Professional. Herrmann Ultraschall has stored various mailing lists and templates in this tool. The respective recipients are selected in SMARTCRM using features and automatically transferred to Inxmail via an interface on a daily basis. The personalized dispatch and the subsequent evaluation of the mailings take place in Inxmail.

SMARTCRM is used extensively in all departments at Herrmann Ultraschall, and the collaboration between the company and SMARTCRM is just as intensive. Weekly meetings with key users and the SMARTCRM project manager ensure that the CRM project stays on track, questions are answered quickly, and new requirements are integrated. It is therefore no surprise that Herrmann Ultraschall is highly satisfied with SMARTCRM, even after 20 years of use.