SAP Business Technology Platform as a customised portal solution
How can you offer customers better service while at the same time reducing the workload on your own office staff? At first glance, this may sound like a contradiction in terms. Together with CONCETO, Pluradent wanted to digitalise its system landscape and develop a service portal that offers added value for the end customer.
No problem! But that's not all: together we have also created the first building block for future challenges.
See for yourself in the Video of the result!
The initial situation
Pluradent is one of Germany's leading specialised dental trade companies and supplies not only dental practices but also dental clinics and dental laboratories with materials, equipment and teeth. Pluradent stands for customised solutions and pioneering concepts. Just like CONCETO!
However, if you want to guarantee first-class customer service in the back office, you need to keep the sales department and customer support free. Tasks such as requesting invoice reprints and repair enquiries to technicians should, for example, be carried out by end customers themselves wherever possible - and not by the back office. Furthermore, shorter waiting times and faster feedback also promote customer loyalty.
The challenge
A key challenge of the project was the time pressure: the first release with comprehensive functionalities was to be provided after just four months. At the same time, the internal IT resources had to be able to continue to ensure the smooth running of day-to-day business. Which solution is the right one for Pluradent? This question first had to be clarified together. At first glance, the most obvious solution was to rely on the internal Netweaver Enterprise Portal 7.4 (OnPremise). However, this will only be maintained and further developed by SAP until the end of 2020, which is why this approach did not seem very sustainable. The decision was therefore ultimately made in favour of SAP's SAP Cloud Portal Service. This offered several advantages at the same time: On the one hand, the cost risk can be significantly reduced through the pay-per-usage approach. In addition, the development effort was kept surprisingly low thanks to the appropriate SAP templates. Last but not least, Pluradent's internal IT resources can breathe a sigh of relief in the long term: SAP is responsible for the infrastructural support of the platform.
The solution
In order to realise the project technically, the SAP Business Technology Platform was introduced as a platform as a service at the customer. To establish secure communication between the cloud components of SAP BTP and the on-premise landscape, only the SAP Cloud Connector had to be installed and configured. With the SAP Cloud Portal Service, the customer portal was then realised quickly and cost-effectively using SAP templates. The connection to SAP ERP 6.08 was also quick and easy.
The customer user interface has been optimised thanks to SAP Fiori Elements and minor customisations using UI Theme Designer. The portal can therefore be accessed by customers quickly and from any device.
The result
The results after four months were impressive: The first self-services were made available to customers. Customers were now able to independently produce invoice reprints or order service technicians, for example, without the help of an office employee. And: Pluradent not only created greater freedom in the back office, but also a future-proof solution for future requirements. The possibilities of such a portal solution are diverse and can often be realised quickly. Increasing customer loyalty, opening up new business areas and freeing up internal resources at the same time? That's not a contradiction in terms - it's easier and cheaper than you might think.
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