Solvay Deploys Salesforce CRM Customer Service and Support Apps in Two Weeks to Underpin 3S Solvay Shared Services Center

Challenge

• Creation of a single European center for shared services to manage critical HR and finance activities: payroll, accounts receivable/payable, travel expenses and ‘closing the books’
• Service provided to 50 sites across 10 European countries, US and Canada
• Goals of Solvay Shared Services (3S): increase efficiency; introduce clear roles and responsibilities; and enhance quality of service and transactions
• Demanding service level agreements (SLAs)
• Requirement to manage and centralize all channels of communication (email, phone, fax, internet form) into one single tool
• Need to log, follow up, and treat all requests to 3S
• Desire to design and deploy system within one month
• Need for a flexible system that could evolve with the new growing center

Solution

• Salesforce.com service and support applications and Salesforce.com Premier Support
• Deployed to more than 160 users
• Proven Internet-based cloud-computing application
• Implemented functionalities: email integration, routing/assignment rules and queues, workflow and alerts, reports and dashboards.
• Self-service portal
• Next steps: integration with SAP and call centre system (CTI), Salesforce CRM's customer portal

Results

• Prototype running in 24 hours and production within only two weeks, confirming ease of customization
• More than 2,000 contacts: external (suppliers) and internal requesters
• More than 2,000 tickets per week
   
• No infrastructure to manage and no headaches with upgrades enable 3S to focus purely on service delivery
• Excellent support from salesforce.com sales team and Salesforce.com Premier Support
• Training completed on average 15 minutes per user – important in instances of staff turnover
• Good reporting to follow and ensure service level
• Extensive on-line documentation
• Easy to adapt to the growing & changing needs of the new Shared Service Center
• Tests on production system during the selection process – thereby reducing risk
• Running costs easy to forecast