The Bold Moves Powering Fine Hygienic Holding’s Global Growth
Learn how Fine Hygienic uses centralised data and smarter processes to prepare for global expansion.
When a sales rep from Fine Hygienic Holding (FHH) walks into the Dubai branch of a global hotel chain, she knows exactly what this customer needs. She knows how many boxes of tissues they ordered last time, and that the products and standards should be identical to branches in Egypt, KSA, and Jordan. She knows about a previous dispenser need. And she knows how much revenue this customer generated last quarter – and that they’re happy with FHH’s service and quality.
But it’s not just her who knows this.
Her entire team back at FHH knows this too. And with this customer-centric approach to business, it’s no wonder the wellness company is aiming for global expansion.
Fine Hygienic Holding (FHH) operates across the Middle East and North Africa and provides everything from tissues and nappies to all-natural teas and supplements. During the pandemic, it also provided much-needed PPE and long-lasting germ protection solutions to B2B and B2C customers.
At this trailblazing company, failure means failing to take a chance on success. And the results speak for themselves: a 360-degree view of the customer is helping to build stronger, value-driven relationships, while automated processes free the team to work faster and smarter.
Aseel Suliman, Global Salesforce & PMO Manager, Fine Hygienic Holding, was the driving force behind the company’s transformation. Let’s take a look at how she established a cloud-first approach to get FHH ready to take on the world.
1. Put foundations in place to prepare for future growth.
With global expansion and IPO on the cards, FHH needed a solid foundation. And while the company expanded across four countries using just spreadsheets and an ERP system – this wouldn’t be enough to support the next stage of its growth.
Its manual processes were complex, and sales teams lacked visibility into customers, service level, and the overall experience. Plus, disparate systems and a reliance on spreadsheets meant data was hard to validate.
By centralising sales and service on one integrated platform, FHH unlocked a 360-degree view across the entire business.
Not only does this guarantee clean, compliant data, but it acts as a single source of truth for new starters – a vital resource for scaling efficiently.
“With Salesforce, we’re setting the foundations for global expansion. We have everything we need for scalable success – from the right processes to best practice.” Yahyah Pandor, Chief Information and Digital Officer, Fine Hygienic Holding.
2. Bake change management into every step.
Helping users adapt to a new way of working is key to success. But operations in the UAE, KSA, Jordan, and Egypt – as well as sales reps from India, Europe, and the Philippines – meant Suliman and Pandor had to navigate different cultures, unique pain points, and diverse ways of thinking and working.
Plus, FHH’s legacy system was heavily customised around the existing sales process. And initially, the move to a new system and new processes was met with resistance.
So, with strong executive support, Suliman focused on a change management programme. And together with Salesforce Customer Success and implementation partner Cloudzlab, the team increased adoption rates.
FHH appointed an ultimate Salesforce champion within the business. In addition, each country has a nominated Salesforce champion to inspire staff and encourage everyone to use the new system. And in just a few months, the hard work paid off. Users see the power of better visibility and automation first-hand – and feel like they’re part of the bigger Salesforce community.
“Compared to other systems, Salesforce has a very user-friendly interface,” said Suliman. “And now, people love working on the platform.”
3. Take a bold approach to process improvement.
The source of many organisations’ problems? Manual processes. They don’t just waste valuable employee time – they put the brakes on growth too.
The most common task for an FHH sales rep is opening a customer account. Before using Salesforce, the rep would take physical papers to the Finance team and wait for approval to onboard the customer. This would take 48 hours.
Now, using Sales Cloud, it takes less than two hours.
And for Suliman, this is proof her bold approach to process optimisation works. Instead of customising the platform to fit legacy ways of working, Suliman and her team challenged every internal process. Then they free-engineered those internal processes to fit Salesforce best practice.
Likewise, different regions had different ways of offering service. And while diverse cultures have specific requirements, the company needed a centralised standard for customer experience. Using Service Cloud and Sales Cloud, FHH unified its service processes: from how it contacts customers to how it collects feedback.
4. Break down silos to build a 360-degree view of the business.
Customers expect a seamless journey when they contact a business – regardless of whether they’re making an order or submitting feedback. But entrenched silos and poor visibility create a disjointed, uncoordinated experience.
Which is why FHH chose a multi-cloud solution. The entire customer journey – from initial outreach, to invoice collection, to predictive service – is now part of a single, integrated platform.
With a comprehensive overview of customers and past orders, agents in the Customer Success and Experience team are a key part of the sales process. One critical KPI, for example, is identifying customers who haven’t ordered for three months. Now, the service team can contact these customers and find out why they haven’t made an order.
“Using Sales Cloud and Service Cloud closes the whole cycle, and gives us that 360-degree view,” said Suliman. “So our teams can use the same insights to work towards joint KPIs.”
And that’s not all. FHH integrated its Oracle Cloud Applications system, making all data available to all users, and effectively closing the order-to-cash cycle.
“With Salesforce, we’ve got centralised, trusted data and scalable processes across our entire business. Our workforce is united in delivering value to customers, and we’re ready to reach our growth goals.” Yahyah Pandor, Chief Information and Digital Officer, Fine Hygienic Holding.
5. Unlock authentic customer-centricity with new channels.
There’s no doubt about it: becoming a customer-centric organisation requires change. And FHH carried out a momentous transformation.
For the first time ever, FHH launched a service channel just for its B2C customers. By implementing a closed feedback loop, any customer comments are reported back to suppliers and manufacturers to improve quality.
Intelligent chatbots are integrated with the website and social channels to quickly resolve queries, such as where to buy products. And this is available in both English and Arabic. Plus, the chatbot can connect customers with a service agent for more complex issues.
Fine Hygienic Holding is pioneering not only its cloud-first approach, but also in its attitude to change.
“In the short term, a cloud-first transformation is a big investment. But we have a long-term vision to scale globally – and that is why we chose Salesforce.” Aseel Suliman, Global Salesforce & PMO Manager, Fine Hygienic Holding.
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