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Schwan Cosmetics

Schwan Cosmetics: Impeccable Customer Centricity Thanks to Sales Digitization with Salesforce

Nothing is as constant as change. It was these changes that also confronted Schwan Cosmetics with new challenges. The global cosmetics manufacturer, with plants on almost all continents of the world, reacted to the changing market dynamics and increasing individualization of customer requirements and customer centricity. With the launch of the Salesforce Sales Cloud in just seven months, Schwan Cosmetics is tirelessly pushing ahead with digitization. This is accompanied by change management, which can be described as unparalleled, especially in the context of pandemic-related restrictions.


Benefit for our Customer

360-degree data view for all customers thanks to consolidation and centralization of customer data in Salesforce

more precise and faster matching of individual products and solutions for Schwan Cosmetics customers

more efficient planning of sales activities and a stronger focus on KPIs

  • Denise Jurrat, Vice President Global Customer Loyalty Management, Schwan Cosmetics

    „It was fun to carry out the project with you. All team members were always solution and goal oriented with pragmatic approaches and understood us very quickly and implemented topics accordingly. Each team member performed his/her role very well and always approached us proactively with clear suggestions. Corona and the implications certainly made this project a special challenge that you guys handled very professionally. We are sure that the system will be a complete success in our company!“


Reference at a Glance

Task

Establishment of networked sales with a uniform data base for customer acquisition and service.

 

Solution

Introduction of a CRM system based on Salesforce Sales Cloud and integration of SAP ERP for data synchronization of existing customers.

 

Result

Rapid response to changing market dynamics and increasing individualization of customer requirements.

 

  • Initial Situation

    The process of creating new products is as individual as the people who use the cosmetic pens of Schwan Cosmetics. In this sales process, the sales team supports the customers of Schwan Cosmetics – renowned cosmetics companies – as a contact partner from getting to know the product portfolio to ordering the customized product. Schwan Cosmetics relied on digital support in order to be able to serve customers even more intensively and in a more and more dynamic market and customer environment to enable the globally positioned sales team to collaborate more intensively and in a more networked way. Until recently, the sales team documented all customer-related content manually, including in Excel spreadsheets. Against the backdrop of fast-paced business, higher customer expectations and individualization, the cosmetics manufacturer decided to establish a networked sales organization with a uniform data basis for customer acquisition and support. An overarching reporting system should also support sales managers in more efficient sales management and provide needed forecasting capabilities.

  • Solution

    In the course of finding a solution, Schwan Cosmetics decided to introduce a CRM system based on Salesforce Sales Cloud. The premise was to remain close to the Salesforce standard and, in case of doubt, to question and adapt the company's own sales processes. Following a detailed business analysis and requirements specification, the project started on the basis of a minimum viable product (MVP) approach. During the course of the project, an integration of SAP ERP took place to synchronize data from existing customers to Salesforce, as well as a transfer of prospect data from Salesforce to SAP ERP when they become new customers. Furthermore, an integration of SAP BW to Salesforce was implemented for the display of key figures. In addition, Outlook was integrated and connected to other relevant Schwan Cosmetics applications, such as the Color Visualizer, which was also implemented by T-Systems MMS. After just seven months, the Salesforce Sales Cloud was live as the initial CRM application in English for 150 users in sales at the main locations in Germany, the Czech Republic, the USA, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and China.

  • Benefit

    With the consolidation and centralization of customer data in Salesforce, Schwan Cosmetics' sales department has a 360-degree view of all customers at any time, from any location and on any device, enabling them to tailor their products and solutions even more quickly to their needs. An expanded understanding of the customer base is also achieved by the availability of all existing customer data, with which customer analyses can be filtered by segment or desired key figures. This enables Schwan Cosmetics to plan sales activities more efficiently and align them more closely with KPIs. Even for departments without direct customer contact, Schwan Cosmetics customers have become more tangible in terms of their needs, thanks to the uniform data base. This contributes significantly to customer-centricity. Schwan Cosmetics achieved great success after the launch with a high user rate. However, this does not com from history, but is due to a unique change management, which was initiated before the time of Covid-19. The early involvement of future users in the selection of the technology, the use of in-house promoters including regular feedback sessions, and the high level of information transparency in different channels during the seven-month project period contributed to the high level of acceptance and motivation for the new Salesforce CRM.

About Schwan Cosmetics

Schwan Cosmetics is the inventor and leader in the development and production of cosmetic pencils and has more than 2,500 employees worldwide. Schwan Cosmetics is headquartered in Heroldsberg near Nuremberg and has nine production sites in eight countries. The private label producer is a wholly owned subsidiary of the internationally active family-owned company Schwan-STABILO.



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