- Company: Leuchtturm1917
- Industry: Stationery and notebooks
- Location: Germany
Background #
For companies and sales departments processing thousands of inquiries and orders every year, efficient quotation and order management also means recognizing sales potential and realizing it with active measures. The B2B sales department at Leuchtturm1917 faced precisely this challenge. The corporate gifts department of the stationery and notebook manufacturer processes around 4,000 B2B inquiries a year alone. Their experience with SeaTable shows how the right tool can transform complex and time-consuming processes into optimized, efficient workflows and keep the entire sales pipeline in view at all times.
The challenge: Complex and inefficient quotation management #
The six-strong B2B sales team at Leuchtturm1917 faced several challenges in quotation management. The internationally oriented company mainly sells notebooks with various finishes and personalization options. Each quotation must therefore include the basic product, the chosen finish(es), fixed production costs and shipping costs. Depending on the quantity scale, different discounts must be taken into account for each finishing or article. “Managing this complexity and managing different base prices for three currencies and three customer discount levels in two languages became increasingly challenging,” explained Björn Augustin, Team Lead Corporate Gift.
The solution: a fully customizable no-code database #
After the B2B department had reached the limits of Excel and the CRM component of their ERP system, they started looking for a more flexible solution. The aim was to implement a new tool that would allow them to keep a transparent overview of all processes in quotation and order management. One obvious solution was AirTable, with which the sales manager had already had initial experience. Ultimately, however, SeaTable was chosen after an evaluation phase. There were two main reasons for this. In addition to the better user experience during the evaluation phase, above all the fact that SeaTable, as a German company with servers exclusively in Germany, guarantees better data protection than the American competition.
The implementation was carried out by the department’s “Excel crack”, who took on the challenge of mapping all the team’s requirements and then implementing a process in SeaTable. And all without having to have interfaces or new functions programmed.
Björn Augustin, Team Lead Corporate Gift
Today, six to eight team members successfully use SeaTable to manage the entire sales process independently of the previous systems - from the initial inquiry to order placement. Only invoicing is still carried out in the ERP system. In the meantime, B2B marketing tasks are also gradually being integrated into SeaTable.
The result: more efficient processes and more transparent data #
The effects of the SeaTable implementation were immediate - and enormous:
- Significant time savings in quote preparation thanks to automations
- Call notes and status updates are now processed in a fraction of the previous time
- All in one system: Quotes, rejection reasons, conversion rates and customer order intervals
- More targeted customer reactivation measures thanks to integrated data
Björn Augustin, Team Lead Corporate Gift
By automating previously manual processes, the team gained time to focus on conversion. The user-friendliness of the system is particularly appreciated. Automated processes and the fact that all information relating to a quotation and order process is now clearly displayed in a database have noticeably improved collaboration and efficiency.
This success is just the beginning, as the team is not yet using SeaTable to its full potential. The next step will be to explore the possibilities offered by integrated scripts to further optimize data processing.
Goodbye complexity: lean workflows for future growth #
The B2B sales team at Leuchtturm1917 has successfully raised its processes to a new level in a short space of time thanks to SeaTable. Complex, non-transparent processes with various tools have been replaced by an automated, transparent and time-saving workflow in which all data flows together in one system. This means that team members now have significantly more time to concentrate on their core tasks: Converting inquiries into orders and initial orders into follow-up orders.
This success story shows how SeaTable can help manage complex pricing structures and quoting processes while ensuring high efficiency and data accuracy. The digital transformation of sales thus creates the conditions for the company’s future growth. Thanks to the no-code SeaTable platform, no complex implementation or expensive programming - and with many free templates for a quick start.