Hermes was looking for a modern customer relationship management solution that is cloud-based, flexible and has secure interfaces to other programs and databases. The goal was to implement an integrated solution within the Hermes omnichannel strategy. The primary aim was to achieve functional optimization of data flows. Modern usability, technical expandability, simple access control and compliance with data protection criteria were also among the high requirements.
After intensive analysis, a combined sales and marketing solution from a leading global provider of cloud computing solutions was chosen. An agile approach with two-week sprints was adopted for both phases of the project. Management consulting company Acando, with which Hermes had already worked well in the past, was assigned project management responsibility for the selection, screening and implementation of the large-scale CRM project.
“I have implemented many IT projects successfully - both classic and agile - in my career and learned about the advantages of agile process models. I didn’t want a classic approach for Hermes. Instead, I wanted to work iteratively in sprints. That's why I decided to go with Acando because I could sense that they have an agile mindset," explains Johannes Modersohn, Team Leader CRM & Customer Data Management Division IT at Hermes Germany.
The agile approach also ensured that all the requirements requested by Hermes in its specifications were up to date and offered the greatest customer benefits before being developed and implemented. Coordination between the business units and IT was optimized and the resource requirements for external test teams reduced to a minimum. This not only saved a lot of time, but also encouraged proactive and successful teamwork.
“Thanks to agile project development, we implemented the new CRM system at Hermes in time, in scope and under budget,” says Alexander Krieg, Senior Consultant and Agile Coach at Acando. The new CRM system has been in productive use at Hermes since the end of 2017.