We reached a performance level we never thought we would half a year ago

Company

Altimex Pro Internațional has over 15 years of experience in import and distribution of professional ventilation and air conditioning equipment and trades  famous brands such as  Toshiba, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Carrier, Johnson Controls, Schneider Electric, Stulz, Tecnair, Condair, LMF, Dantherm, Camfil –Farr, Intesis, ALP and PDM.
Its products are sold through authorized products (dealers), the company being a hub of technical products, solutions and services. Altimex has a wide range of applications such as:  residential (apartments, houses, villas), commercial (bank headquarters, stores, and restaurants), industrial (warehouses, production areas), hospitals (operating room) and business (office buildings, hotels, assemblies, commercial and relaxing centers).
In 2014, the company’s turnover increased by 40% and it is expected to double in 2015.

Challenge

The ERP system Altimex was using at the beginning of 2014 was not in compliance with the company’s requirements anymore. In terms of technology, the system was outdated. The major shortcomings related to the bidding activity which was not covered by the system, were managed in word and excel and the business analysis, as well. The national program of non-reimbursable European funds for computerization was a great opportunity that Altimex took advantage of.
 “We accessed European funds to implement an ERP system to help us build business flows much more easily, to measure our results and to have a better transparency over both operational and financial activity. We believed that, in order to correctly apply new and modern principles, it was necessary to keep up with the technology “ appreciates the Senior Managing Partner of Altimex Pro Internațional.

Solution

Charisma, the software solutions suite, with its ERP, CRM, BI and HR components, allowed centralizing the information in a unique database and managing the accounting activity unitarily  and with a better precision.
Moreover, Charsiama ERP included the service activity, which was very important for the company, removing thus the reports in excel. Though the business processes were complex, Charisma enabled to customize clear flows and automate the activity. Practically, all the data had traceability in the system for activities such as filling a service request, calculating an estimate depending on each client’s particularities and solving the request.
An essential role was played by the CRM component which was used to order the company’s bidding activity. Because of Altimex’s technical products and services, the bidding activity implied a lot of manual work in excel and word. Too many versions of documents and complex charts did not allow an organized working way. It was essential to integrate Charisma ERP with the CRM solution in order to centralize data and automate processes.
“One single client can receive 20 offers until taking a decision and often, the changes are substantial. Everything has to be tracked carefully, from equipment to the price policy and discounts. Such a project can last even one year and during this year project managers can change. In this context, keeping a clear and centralized history of each client is vital” states an Altimex project manager.
The BI solution completed the system with detailed analysis functionalities of sales indicators, cost centers etc.

Results:

• The back office work was removed after automating the flows that support the service activity. “We won’t waste one hour to calculate and verify the service offer; the system does that automatically, based on existing data. The accuracy is now completely different. The efficiency has increased from the first contact with the client to the invoicing and collection activities; we clearly observe the system’s utility”.
• The CRM system for the optimal customer relationship management has an impact at sales level inclusively. “The history is very important for the selling process itself. When you start to understand the client’s profile, it is much easier to close the selling process successfully. Knowing the kind of offers, the client’s type, profile and activities, what equipment was purchased from us, we can build a long-term relationship with our clients.”.
• The processes and the working flows in the company are clearer and have impact on each team member. “The interference areas between two job descriptions are now more clearly defined. And this due to the flows defined in the system. Responsibility differences between a sales man and a financial or logistics one are much more transparent”.
• The BI component offers valuable data for the management, at a higher level with decisional impact. “Charisma best meets our business and analysis needs, offering a better view on our business”.
• The operational efficiency has increased and Altimex managed to accomplish many things with few resources, in a shorter period of time. “Normally, a paper-based company increases the number of its back office employees at least as many times as the turnover. We reached a performance level we never thought we would half a year ago. In 2015, we will double our turnover with fewer back office employees. Charisma system had a great contribution to all this” .