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Passionate about Dynamics 365, we believe in CRM projects as business accelerators for all companies. Dynamics 365 is a powerful cloud-based platform that offers a wide range of applications to help companies streamline their operations and improve customer relationship management. It already offers a number of specific solutions for sales and customer management. However, we aim to go one step further by introducing Sales+, a value-added feature that caters to the diverse needs of the sales force. Sales+ aims to optimise the daily operations of the sales force by enhancing functions such as offer and order management, article searches, price information, warehouse stock monitoring and automation of approval flows. By leveraging Sales+, users can significantly reduce processing times, minimise manual operation and boost their operational effectiveness.

provision for customers at the leading edge of the air technology industry.

“Especially in a changing business environment, it's important to be flexible and open for innovation,” says Nadine. “I'm not only responsible for the supply chain, but for the infrastructure at FläktGroup as well. We combine those two things, which for me is fantastic because I love IT and bringing them both together. It's with the benefits and then decide whether it's the right tool at the right time. Not all innovation is good innovation.

“But at the moment, digitalisation is super important for us and we aim to have user-friendly and efficient tools. Here, we have been working with Würth Phoenix for several years to introduce Microsoft Dynamics 365. I started to work with them on a sales project some years ago, and now a strong combination because if I see there are some processes or systems we need to adjust, I'm then responsible for those changes as well.

“As a company we are always looking for innovation be it in technological terms or digitalisation. But on the other hand, you cannot follow every trend and we won't explore them just because they're hip. Instead, we will compare our experience in my new role it’s a pleasure to work with them again on behalf of our service technicians. By working with Würth Phoenix, our service technicians can do most of their administrative tasks with a smartphone, say to record their hours or fill out service reports. Of course, many technicians within the group were able to do this before but as we are different companies put together, we used to have different systems. Now we would like to harmonise that into one global system for everyone.

“Another exciting technological innovation for our service technicians could be smart glasses they wear out in the field. That is one thing we are testing right now. Say the technician requires some support from the back office, their colleagues might need to see the unit as well to help them –especially with such technologically complex products. With smart glasses, the technician can share exactly what they are seeing with their colleagues – crucially leaving both hands free to continue their work on the ground. In turn, back office staff can then share images, instructions or files with the technician from their end as well and the technician will see them clearly within the device on a small monitor.

“Another important aspect of innovation and transformation for

“We put QR codes on our unit and customers can scan it and find all details regarding their orders like manuals, spare parts lists – everything they need for the order”

FläktGroup is to make life easier for customers as well. So we have started working with QR codes. For example, we put QR codes on our unit and customers can scan it and find all details regarding their orders like manuals, spare parts lists – everything they need for the order. Additionally, we put QR codes on components, so our customers can find a list of contacts and know where to order a new part easily and quickly.

“Besides these QR codes, our customers can also make spare parts requests directly on our website. What’s more, we also have some units that offer remote access and we will be expanding this feature to benefit our customers and enhance the assistance we offer them. As I'm responsible for the whole service supply chain, this includes digital service provision and site visits. Remote access has been a gamechanger because it saves time and costs for both parties, which is a fantastic innovation for us.”

Underlying the innovation and transformation at the company, Nadine highlights the importance of partnerships for FläktGroup’s supply chain strategy.

“So for us, strong and reliable partnerships are fundamentally important to our operations,” explains Nadine. “We are dependent on primary materials or components and our partners help us meet our requirements and support us in difficult situations. So even if there are lengthy lead times we can talk to our suppliers. If we don't have materials, we cannot produce units or parts. Without partners, there is no growth or success so partnerships are super important to our supply chain strategy and it all starts with the initial supplier. In turn we not only rely on the partnership with our suppliers, but we have to consider the relationships they have with their suppliers as well. Even if our suppliers have a high vertical integration, they rely on others at some point in their supply chain. As a result, it's crucial to share information. So if our supplier knows there are some parts that are at risk, but we know about that in advance, it's less of a problem because we can adapt accordingly. So if you have partners, you have to share information and be open to each other. Sharing information is important but I also think it's a huge advantage to have partners who know your requirements. For instance with Würth Phoenix, we've been working with them for years. They know our processes, they know our businesses and they know our IT landscape – so they know what we need. Long-term partnerships are essential for our business.”

At FläktGroup innovation, transformation and robust partnerships built on transparent communications are the core components for achieving success with its supply chain strategy. But what are some of the major challenges facing supply chain professionals today that these approaches help offset?

“More and more challenges are coming our way,” says Nadine. “At first it was about optimising processes, saving costs and things like that. Then we had to adapt to sustainability policies and new legal requirements such as the Supply Chain Act in Germany. Now we are facing a shortage of materials which in turn makes it incredibly difficult to decide about warehouses and what needs to be stored because it's always a question of capital commitment versus the risk of not having material. Supply chain professionals also need to consider new applications or technologies they could deploy – whether these are companywide platforms or dedicated software. But perhaps the most prominent challenge I see is the availability of materials coupled with rising inflation and therefore costs – especially when you need access to materials 24/7 for critical applications such as data centres.”

But despite these challenges facing supply chain professionals, Nadine loves her role and is excited about the future of the supply chain industry and how it might look different in the future.

“In the coming years, I hope that the availability of material will improve or return to normal, so we no longer have to create overstocks. But no one knows how long the shortages will last,” emphasises Nadine. “I think that digitalisation will become even more important and artificial intelligence will play a bigger role in inventory management, warehousing and so on. Lastly, I think the focus on sustainability will keep increasing in the coming years.”

For more information about FläktGroup, visit their website www.flaktgroup.com.