Royal Ahrend, a supplier of flexible office solutions and “Dutch design” furniture, has selected Cordys’ software, in order to innovate quickly as well as streamline mission-critical quotation-to-order business processes of Ahrend. This has helped in improving company’s sales force performance, company officials said.

 

Royal Ahrend was in need of business process innovation software that could reduce the time from quotation to order, as well as to innovate faster. Earlier, Ahrend utilized an ERP system, Triton, which provided a stable and reliable environment for business operations, but did not provide the agility required for today’s market and company’s ambitions.

 

With the help of Cordys’ software, Royal Ahrend reported increased efficiencies in its sales and order processes; a reduction in operational costs; and improved levels of customer satisfaction. All these were achieved without the need to upgrade its legacy ERP system, said officials.

 

In the release, Bas Schoones, corporate information manager, Ahrend, said that replacing the company’s reliable ERP system was considered a risk in terms of stability, and Ahrend acknowledges that it would not lead to an environment in which the company could achieve faster innovation of our business processes.

 

“Instead, we created a new, innovative sales configuration, and the Cordys software allowed us to leverage existing ERP functionality in this smart solution,” Schoones said. “The sales processes can now be monitored continuously, leading to more efficiency, faster improvements and, as a result, to higher customer satisfaction.”

 

In addition, Ahrend also adopted Office Furniture Modeling Language, or “OFML,” which is a standard of the Der Verband Buro-, Sitz- und Objektmobel e.V., or “BSO,” or the German Furniture Manufacturers Association. Created in 1995, OFML’s main objective is to have a common method of describing furniture products. OFML is widely accepted in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Benelux.  

 

“OFML allows us to use a standard data format that can be used across different systems and technologies, from complex CAD software to sales force automation systems,” Schoones said.

 

With the help of Cordys’ software, Ahrend was not only able to reduce the average time to process the front-office order in the back office, but also was also able to reduce the number of manual interventions. This is kind of achievement in a complex sales process with a large number of products and product varieties, varying discounts and customer-specific requirements, said Paul Zuidema, director of sales Western Europe for Ahrend.

 

“Every sales person can now generate a proposal anytime, anywhere, fast and easy,” Zuidema added.

 

“Royal Ahrend has shown how huge improvements can be made in business operations without touching existing enterprise software or legacy systems,” Hans de Visser, MD, Cordys Benelux, said. “The entire value chain - from prospect through sales, CAD design and financial administration, to order fulfillment - can now be continuously monitored and improved with the Cordys platform.”