Say Hello To Höganäs
Höganäs, founded in 1797, is a global leader in iron, metal, and ceramic powders, known for its sustainable innovation in automotive components, brazing, electric motors, and additive manufacturing.
They recognized that automation was the solution they needed but were unsure of how to implement it effectively. They required a structured, cost-efficient workflow that could be executed quickly to address their operational challenges.
Services
– Process Automation
Technologies
– Power Automate
Integrations
– Infor M3
– Allianz
– Microsoft Forms
To assist, we collaborated with them to understand their processes, identifying key areas for improvement. This helped us create a visual workflow diagram showing potential time savings from automation with Power Automate. Our continuous improvement approach adapts to updates in third-party applications, ensuring smooth operations.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ♦ INNOVATIVE PRODUCTS ♦ METAL POWDERS PRODUCTION ♦ SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ♦ INNOVATIVE PRODUCTS ♦ METAL POWDERS PRODUCTION ♦
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ♦ INNOVATIVE PRODUCTS ♦ METAL POWDERS PRODUCTION ♦ SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ♦ INNOVATIVE PRODUCTS ♦ METAL POWDERS PRODUCTION ♦
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ♦ INNOVATIVE PRODUCTS ♦ METAL POWDERS PRODUCTION ♦ SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ♦ INNOVATIVE PRODUCTS ♦ METAL POWDERS PRODUCTION ♦
Höganäs Pain Points
- Employees spend time entering the same information into both Excel and the ERP system due to system limitations.
- Manual data entry leads to frequent errors and mismatches between ERP & Excel, affecting data quality.
- Employees spend significant time on customer registration and approval processes, losing 80% of time on manual tasks.
- Despite having large amounts of data, the team struggles to leverage it effectively for informed, data-driven decision-making.
Four Main Goals of Höganäs
Free up employees’ time spent on manual data entry.
Use their large data set for strategic decision making.
Have a centralized system all over their sites.
Reduce the time from creating deliver reports.
We identified 3 key features to meet Höganäs needs, whose automation saved time & money.
Here’s how:
- Delivery Report Creation
- New Customer Registration
- Credit Limit Approval
⸻ PROBLEM #1
Manual Customer Registration is Repetitive and Takes 60 Hours per New Customer
Höganäs’ customer registration process took up to 60 hours for each new customer due to repetitive and inefficient tasks.
- The team had to manually input customer information from a Word document into the M3 ERP system.
- Manual data transfer led to a higher risk of mistakes.
- Juggling between applications caused confusion & delays.
Our Solution
We automated the entire process with directly from Teams, reducing the manual workload:
- Instead of entering data from Word documents, customer information is collected in Microsoft form via an email by entering email id in Adaptive card.
- Easily add additional information using adaptive cards, with data instantly updated in the Infor M3 system.
- Salesperson is automatically assigned, streamlining the follow-up process and ensuring quicker customer onboarding.
“ I think it was Yash or maybe Ronak, they asked if we had lean or process flow maps. That question made me more comfortable reaching out and taking things seriously. It showed me the company is focused on solving problems the right way and asking the right questions. ”
Nasser Ahmed
VP - Digitalization, Höganäs
⸻ PROBLEM #2
Data Silos & ERP Limitations
Höganäs encountered several challenges like visibility issues and data integrity in tracking delivery reports due to the limitations of their outdated ERP system (Infor M3):
- Delays in delivery dates were often entered in the ERP, but the reasons were not visible, leading them to maintain a separate Excel sheet to track the data.
- Accuracy was a significant concern due to the increased risk of human error, including data mismatches between M3 & Excel.
- Managing complex Excel sheets with numerous formulas added extra effort.
Our Solution
To address these inefficiencies, we implemented an automated workflow using Power Automate.
- Information is now entered once in the Infor M3 ERP, with Power Automate automatically saving it in a central database, preventing any errors.
- Users can easily message a bot on Microsoft Teams for an adaptive card to get a quick summary or generate detailed delivery reports in Excel based on a specified date range, significantly reducing manual work.
- Late delivery details are automatically highlighted in an Excel report, ensuring visibility and accuracy without repetitive work.
⸻ PROBLEM #3
Credit Approval Slowing Down the Customer Approval Process
The sales team faced delays and inefficiencies in their credit approval process due to manual handling:
- Customers submitted loan requests in Word documents, complicating submissions.
- A 48-hour wait for final approval from Allianz added to delays.
- Data was manually logged into Excel, and then into ERP creating administrative burdens.
Our Solution
The previous credit approval process took nearly 2 hours, not including wait times. Now, it’s completed in under 10 minutes without the stress of updating the ERP. Here’s how:
- Loan request details are automatically sent to the account representative from the registration form and forwarded to Allianz upon approval, eliminating the need for repeated email exchanges.
- Comments and approvals are tracked directly within the email thread for better communication flow.
- All data and approvals are instantly synced to Excel and the ERP, giving teams real-time updates without delays or manual data entry.
Impact
- Savings of up to 80-90% of the time spent on customer onboarding and credit processes.
- Delivery report creation time reduced from 5 hours to under 1 hour.
- Increased accuracy and faster processing of customer credit approvals, reducing human error and delays.
- Achieved real time updates without doing manual or repetitive work.
Meet the Project Team
We selected a team that could truly understand Höganäs challenges and provide
effective solutions.
Streamline your workflow like Höganäs and save up to 60 hours per customer registration!
Overcome data silos, inefficiency and inaccuracy by automating your processes with Power Platform.
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