Any company that operates as a service provider works according to this premise. And while Strategy Compass has a much broader vision, the reality of the situation was unfortunately rather different. The company knows that not only does it have to work exceptionally well in the eyes of the customer, but that efficient internal processes are also very important for the operation of the business. Unfortunately, the reality was not as expected. “CRM, support, accounting, various projects – for each area of the company there was an individual solution that not only exposed shortcomings in quality, but also increased the workload for everyone tremendously,” says Uwe Zeithammer, Head of Sales, in his assessment of the initial situation. “Everyone” here refers to the 35 employees who support nearly 150 clients at Strategy Compass. The software firm designs customized Microsoft Office solutions with the objective of taking communication and presentation to a whole new level. The focus is always on the demands and requirements laid down by the customer that need to be implemented. But when this philosophy clashes with cumbersome and time-consuming tools, what’s to be done? Plain and simple – tackle the problem head on! This was something that we at codafish were only too happy to help with.

Being a full-service digital agency, we instantly grasped and understood just exactly what it was that Strategy Compass cared about most: an intertwined work structure that not only makes things much easier for employees, but also incorporates the needs of customers into the process. And this at an international level.​

 “There were several requirements that had to be met for us when choosing a partner for our project. codafish impressed us not only with their expertise and clear structure, but also with their international presence. All things considered, we knew right away that with codafish we had opted for the right agency, since their way of working gave them the best understanding of what we needed in terms of a solution”. Bringing structure to a convoluted workflow is something that has always set our hearts beating faster at codafish. This is exactly the reason why we grasped the nettle with both hands and rapidly set to work on the design of the project plan after the initiation meetings.

Besides focusing on the integration of the standards and the deployment of the individual modules, we worked with Strategy Compass to identify their need for optimization in three areas. “Individual information silos for the most important areas had to be created from what was effectively a bit of a muddle: Sales, Projects, Account and Marketing. And this was important since it was precisely here that we focused our considerable efforts, given that it was difficult to transfer all the data on orders and customers in a consistent and uniform way to all the departments involved. As a result, the quality of communication and processes suffered”, says Uwe Zeithammer, recapping the status quo at the time.​A problem we at codafish know all too well: it is often the case that a lot of relevant information is processed and stored in many different ways and is not always made easily accessible to all the relevant people.​And yet the solution can be so simple – with Zoho One, we have a real structural dream on offer. This extensive solution digitizes all business areas so that they can be set up as a complete unit. Customer data, to dos, accounting – the 40+ Zoho online applications create effective interfaces that make it impossible for information to slip through. The most important thing? Comprehensive advice on which applications are ultimately best suited to the requirements. This is exactly what we at codafish offer our customers. We set up the modules for you and connect them in one interface.

Anyone who knows anything about project management knows that the mantra “the journey is the destination” is also usually fraught with stumbling blocks. Setbacks in the definition of goals, where expectations and reality sometimes do not match, workloads that are underestimated and then exceed the project time frame – all of this is not uncommon. All the more important, therefore, that the structure is established right at the beginning. Anyone who knows anything about project management knows that​”codafish had a clear agenda from the beginning and was thoroughly prepared.” As a result, the project goals could be compressed into three pillars: 1. The company needed an integrated platform that would encompass all information and processes right from the first contact all the way through to invoicing. 2. This information needed to be made available to all employees. And 3: Efficiency so that the time spent on researching this important information and analyzing the data would be noticeably reduced.”

​With this roadmap in hand, it was time to get down to business. We created the new technical structure and configured the various modules appropriately. Always with a keen eye on that project management kryptonite and the inevitable shifting responsibilities and disagreements about which requirements should really be implemented. This was also something that applied to this project at Strategy Compass. Yet here, too, we offer support as part of the overall holistic process by providing conceptual and technical solutions. “Very positive availability, a terrific response speed, appreciation and understanding of our problems, and expertise in terms of system integration – thanks to the team, the hurdles we faced always seemed surmountable and the project goal within reach.”

All systems operational, to dos set to “done”, access codes allocated: the stage was set for the new digital age at Strategy Compass, something we and the project managers anticipated with a touch of stage fright following the go-live – only to be rewarded with applause and a standing ovation. “The transition ran smoothly and the new system was very positively received by the entire team. In spite of the powerful tools and the features that everyone had to get to grips with first, it quickly became clear to everyone what Zoho One would mean for us in our day-to-day work: time reduction and new, sustainable paths for our work processes and customer loyalty,” reports Uwe Zeithammer as he put a check mark next to the point “Challenge accepted – challenge completed – holistic digitization taken forward.”