About the organisation
ICL is a global leader in plant nutrition. Everything is focused on one goal: to make plants, crops and grass grow better. The 'Specialty Fertilizers' business unit produces advanced, high-quality products. The factory in Heerlen has been in existence since 1975, but has been part of the Israeli (Tel Aviv) ICL since 2011. More information about ICL? Then look at www.icl-sf.com.
Challenge(s)
ICL Specialty Fertilizers (SF) strives to provide customers with the best advice, and makes all necessary product information available for this. In this way, its customers can get the most out of the products. The Product Catalog collects, distributes and distributes the product information to the various communication channels, such as ICL's websites.
Transparency and meeting changing customer demand is crucial for ICL SF. To advise (new) customers about the fertilization of their crops or lawns, ICL SF salespeople visit the site. Varying communication material is used to show and discuss the product range with the customer. All the material was filled with product information from one source: a mega Excel file with more than 2.000 unique products. The file was manually updated by ICL SF's Marketing; no fewer than 200 new products are added every year. The Excel file was essential for the sales advisors to give the right advice, as it was the only source of product information. Much to the frustration of users, the ever-growing file became unworkable for the desired purposes.
Solution(s)
A real-time Product Information System was built within two months; the Product Catalog App. The composition of products is displayed on the basis of complex product data.
The Product Catalog application brings the following benefits:
- It solves error sensitivity, which increases sales and reduces incorrect sales;
- Structural changing laws and regulations can be easily applied;
- Data can be easily shared with any colleague;
- Always refer to material with up-to-date data and avoid delays in new product launches;
- Drawing up a reliable product composition with 1 push of a button, previously 15 minutes per product;
- Ensuring stability in the advice of various sales advisors.
The application is used worldwide on a daily basis by the Marketing, Sales, Regulatory Affairs & Logistics departments and the R&D team of ICL SF.
Benefits
The time previously used to keep the Excel file up-to-date, send the latest versions and fix errors can now be used for other purposes. For example, a Guaranteed Analysis (product composition on the back of the product) can now be drawn up quickly and reliably at the touch of a button. In addition, the marketing department is no longer a conduit for product data, but is available to every department. This gives the quality of employees more space, because the time savings are considerably high. The application ensures efficiency on many different fronts and departments.
For 10 years now, ICL SF and CAPE Groep have collaborated in a partnership in which various complex applications have been created that add a lot of value. “CAPE Groep is one of the few IT companies that do what they say,” says Vincent Einwachter.
