Challenge

Three outdated business systems and a CRM system that was not used across the entire organization.

Solutions

Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement.

Result

An efficient, flexible, and cloud-based application that strengthens AS3's competitiveness in the market.

AS3 advises 30,000 executives and job seekers annually in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland. Despite the company's 30 years of experience, delivering satisfactory guidance became increasingly challenging due to outdated IT systems.

"Our challenge was that each of our three business areas had its own outdated system. We spent a lot of time and money on maintenance. In addition, our old CRM system was not implemented throughout the company," says Jens Hankert, COO at AS3.

To address this challenge effectively, a digital tool was needed to manage the relationship between customers and AS3, as well as the relationship between the many candidates receiving ongoing counseling and their advisors. However, achieving this proved to be an unnecessarily tough battle for AS3 due to their outdated systems.

"We struggled to adapt the systems to new business requirements because they were from around the year 2000. This also made it difficult for suppliers to support them," says Jens Hankert.

The solution is Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement

AS3's response to the challenge was to consolidate the four systems into a single, modern, cloud-based application. Since the most important data in the company's administration system was AS3's customer data, the advisory firm, after careful consideration, opted for Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Engagement with Cepheo as the supplier.

Customer Engagement is a cloud-based application designed to help manage client relationships by streamlining processes, centralizing client information, providing analytics and enabling faster customer service. The application is also built to enhance the efficiency of sales and marketing teams with data analysis and intelligent insights from Business Intelligence. It is also easy to integrate with Microsoft's other applications such as Teams, SharePoint, Word and Excel.

However, AS3 did not choose the standard version of Customer Engagement. Instead, the company, in collaboration with Cepheo, decided to further develop the standard solution based on very specific wishes and needs.

"We had some ideas that we presented to Cepheo and Microsoft. They agreed that our ideas were realistic and that they would transition us to a modern platform that was more efficient to operate and develop new functionality on," says Kim Kragh, Head of Technology at AS3.

The idea was to develop a reliable, modern and future-proof solution that could be used across the company's three business areas. Furthermore, the solution had to function in the same way as, and in conjunction with, their ERP and CRM systems.

The HR advisory firm has achieved this after developing the solution further, allowing data to flow between Dynamics systems and other systems. This has given AS3 with a more transparent, flexible and secure IT landscape.

”We use the system better now because everyone uses the same application, can help each other, and get value from maintaining data in the system. It creates a self-reinforcing effect that was not present in the old systems.”

Kim Kragh

Head of Technology, AS3

AS3 wins two major projects thanks to customer engagement

After 2 years of developing and consolidating three older systems ‒ each with its own functionality ‒ into one Customer Engagement system, the Nordic consulting firm now has the perfect tool to support the entire business.

"We have a modern solution to the challenges we faced in the old systems. Our Microsoft platform has delivered a number of efficiencies and synergies," says AS3’s Head of Technology Kim Kragh, and elaborates:

"With the solution, we have complete control over our data, allowing us to quickly and continuously gain insights through dashboards that provide a clear overview of our business. This strengthens our position in the market and enables us to deliver even greater value to our clients and candidates."

Customer Engagement enables employees in different departments to follow work processes and track their status. The application has also automated many work processes, including billing and compensation, which now run automatically, freeing up time for more important and valuable tasks.

All the benefits and possibilities enabled by Customer Engagement have given AS3 some significant strategic advantages in a competitive industry:

"We have been able to expand and tailor the application to new opportunities in the business. This has directly resulted in winning two major projects that we would not have won before," says COO Jens Hankert.

It is also easier to be react quickly when unexpected events occur, he adds.

"It has been a significant advantage for us in the turbulent years in 2020 and 2021 to have a common platform, allowing us to quickly convert all planned meetings to video meetings. It has been crucial for us," says Jens Hankert.

There is also no doubt that the consulting firm has a positive future outlook, thanks to the cloud-based application.

"We hope and believe that it will be an effective application for a long time to come, strengthening our competitiveness in the market by continuing to develop and adapt functionality to meet business requirements," says the COO.

”Microsoft recommended that we contact Cepheo. They did this because Cepheo has extensive expertise in the field, with plenty of consultants to cover our project.”

Jens Hankert

COO, AS3

Employees experience an easier workday with Customer Engagement

Customer Engagement hasn't just provided more strategic opportunities, it has also made employees' workdays more flexible and straightforward.

"Many of the employees were used to older systems, but they have really embraced the application. Many colleagues comment that it is easy to use because it offers many flexible capabilities. It is also a plus that Customer Engagement conceals GDPR-related data that is not relevant to individual employees," says Head of Technology Kim Kragh.

The decision to scrap three separate business systems and the former CRM platform in favor of a unified application gives employees new opportunities to collaborate across the organization.

"We use the system better now because everyone uses the same application, can assist each other, and get value from maintaining data in the system. It creates a self-reinforcing effect that was not present in the old systems," says Kim Kragh.

Microsoft recommended Cepheo as the application provider

When AS3 needed to choose a partner for Customer Engagement, the company reached out to Microsoft for a recommendation for the right IT provider.

"Microsoft recommended that we contact Cepheo. They did this because Cepheo has extensive expertise in the field with plenty of consultants to cover our project. It turned out that Cepheo had a project model we could relate to, and the chemistry in the collaboration was also good. After a pre-project to clarify initial questions, we agreed to tackle the project together," says Jens Hankert.

The project was significant, taking more than 8,000 working hours to complete. It presented some challenges, but they were professionally addressed.

"We have been very satisfied with the collaboration. There have been skilled people on the project who have worked hard to make it succeed," he says, adding:

"Now that we have a working application, we are very pleased and we still have a good partnership with Cepheo." concludes COO Jens Hankert.