Viseven Expands Business Using Creatio's No-code platform
A forward-thinking MarTech services provider streamlines its sales planning workflows with no-code
Viseven is a global MarTech (marketing technology) services provider that helps Pharma and Life Sciences companies worldwide deliver pioneering and personalized omnichannel customer experiences by offering end-to-end tailor-made MarTech solutions.
Viseven's solutions are used by companies that rank among the top fifty in the world in the fields of pharmaceuticals and healthcare. Their team consists of 700+ industry professionals who work toward implementing the best-in-class omnichannel projects and communication strategies for the global pharmaceutical market.
Innovation — A Path to Better Results
Viseven places a strategic emphasis on innovation as a pivotal tool for ensuring the future resilience of both their own business and that of their clients. Their comprehensive suite of services reflects this focus, providing clients with multifaceted support that includes assistance with implementing omnichannel marketing strategies, the setup and configuration of systems for digital content storage and categorization, and seamless integration with third-party services. Additionally, they guide the transition to modular content and engage in a broad spectrum of tasks related to custom software development, all tailored to meet the unique needs and aspirations of each client.
In search of ways to optimize internal processes, Viseven decided to change the process of sales planning and budgeting.
Viseven operates with a unique managerial process that has two main aspects. First, the company has a complex management structure, with the organization divided into separate regions and product directions, each having responsible parties. Even at the planning stage, it's vital to know which team will handle each request, necessitating a flexible approach to planning and budgeting.
Second, Viseven offers a wide array of services to its clients, serving over 150 global brands with regional branches. These services may involve many small, individual requests, but they add up to thousands every month. The cost of these services varies depending on factors like the type of product or service, region, workload, and client discounts, with nearly a hundred different variables at play.
Given the intricacies and volume of the planning processes, Viseven needed a comprehensive and multifaceted approach to manage its data effectively.
"When we were building the new planning system, we understood that to see the current picture at every moment and manage efficiency, we needed to track even the smallest client request. This would then be followed by data consolidation and analytics across various dimensions. With the technologies provided by Creatio and Sales'Up, we managed to do this 100%," commented Andriy Demchenko, Financial Director of Viseven.
Transformation Step by Step as a Strategy for Success
Viseven has been using the Creatio platform for years. Consequently, when the need arose for workflow automation, the project was built using Creatio's no-code platform. Implementation was spearheaded by Sales'Up, a company that specializes in providing ready-made solutions on the Creatio platform as well as custom projects tailored to individual client needs.
A logical step within the implementation of the project was to expand the platform’s capabilities to incorporate the universal solution of Sales'Up Data Management, meticulously tailored to meet the company's specific requirements. The experts at Sales'Up played an instrumental role in configuring individual models, skillfully crafting an integrated planning and budgeting process that aligned with the company's objectives and needs.
Within this integrated system, essential documents are generated, and payment monitoring is conducted with efficiency. Managers receive daily reports every morning on the payment status, enabling timely communication with clients and the seamless updating of data.
"We have been working with Creatio since 2019. For us, the main advantage of the platform is its flexibility. Essentially, it is a constructor, with which you can assemble any solution for business automation. For example, using Data Management tools, we not only created the necessary planning models but also set up team interaction, and also embedded planning and forecasting into Viseven's overall sales processes," commented Andriy Demchenko, Financial Director of Viseven.
The Journey
Trial and Error: Building the Budgeting Process
At Viseven, sales serve as the foundation for all budgeting processes. To support this, the financial team crafted a meticulously structured master file in Excel, consisting of over 30 columns, and established corresponding linked files. These files were designated for sales managers to complete, segmented according to clients, markets, countries, products, and additional analytical categories. By gathering and synthesizing this information, consolidated plans were created. These plans were then imported into the ERP system and subsequently integrated into data analytics tool, facilitating the execution of management workflows across various organizational levels.
"The timeliness and correctness of the data is very critical to us," commented Andriy Demchenko, Financial Director of Viseven. "Thanks to data management, we have learned to properly determine how much and what kind of content will be needed by our clients in the next year. Then, based on historical data, we learned to calculate the number of people needed in different departments and regions. A significant component of our expenses is operational expenses, so the quality of sales planning directly affects the quality of expense planning and the budget as a whole."
The Journey
Trial and Error: Building the Budgeting Process
At Viseven, sales serve as the foundation for all budgeting processes. To support this, the financial team crafted a meticulously structured master file in Excel, consisting of over 30 columns, and established corresponding linked files. These files were designated for sales managers to complete, segmented according to clients, markets, countries, products, and additional analytical categories. By gathering and synthesizing this information, consolidated plans were created. These plans were then imported into the ERP system and subsequently integrated into data analytics tool, facilitating the execution of management workflows across various organizational levels.
"The timeliness and correctness of the data is very critical to us," commented Andriy Demchenko, Financial Director of Viseven. "Thanks to data management, we have learned to properly determine how much and what kind of content will be needed by our clients in the next year. Then, based on historical data, we learned to calculate the number of people needed in different departments and regions. A significant component of our expenses is operational expenses, so the quality of sales planning directly affects the quality of expense planning and the budget as a whole."
Automation of the Sales Planning Process
The need for change was acutely felt. A decision was made to introduce a unified system that would integrate all aspects of planning for over 100 Viseven employees. This comprehensive approach aimed to foster a more coordinated and productive work environment for all key stakeholders, including the sales department, budget controllers, client managers, and finance teams. By streamlining these processes, the project was expected to facilitate a more cohesive collaboration across the various units, thus enhancing overall efficiency.
“In the Sales'Up Data Management product, we have combined several capabilities that fully meet the needs of planning and forecasting data in companies of any size and with models of any complexity,” commented Alexander Andronik, CEO of Sales'Up. “Firstly, these are capabilities for recalculations and viewing large volumes of data in different sections. Secondly, it's classic BPM functionality, where the required objects, documents, or notifications are created in the system under certain conditions. Thirdly, these are tools for user interaction with the possibility to comment, discuss, and approve plans. We have created a technological enterprise solution that calculates million values while maintaining the simplicity of Excel tables, to which everyone is accustomed, including manual data adjustment.”
Convenient Planning Mechanism: From Short-term Budget to Strategic Plans
Sales'Up Data Management tools have allowed Viseven to combine the planning process in one environment and make it as simple as possible for users. Thanks to flexible settings and filters, each employee can work with the information needed at a particular moment — see their hierarchy of data, indicators, and details. Additionally, there is an option to change the appearance of tables — add new indicators, swap columns or rows, adjust width, color, etc.
In terms of collaboration, the system offers the flexibility to not only agree on a whole section of planning but also to leave comments on individual cells, complete with tagging and file attachments. This feature streamlines the process of organizing discussions and securing approvals for plans at various levels, all within a single interface.
Importantly, all model configurations are carried out by an analyst using user-friendly no-code tools. This approach provides a significant advantage over comparable solutions. By empowering the business to swiftly modify calculation schemes and construct new models, it enhances adaptability and responsiveness, making it an essential asset for dynamic planning needs.
Unified Space for Viewing Operational and Historical Data
Thanks to a composable no-code architecture, any applications created using Creatio technologies are easily integrated into a single platform. Therefore, when working with data, Viseven managers can quickly view any historical information for quality planning or, if necessary, add the required data or documents to Creatio. For example, to plan a sales budget, a manager can review all the historical data in one system, projects in progress, past and future payment schedules, commercial offers, etc.Instant Consolidation of Data
Currently, there is no need to manually update templates or collect consolidated data — the system does this automatically, so, at any given time, users work with up-to-date information. In addition, an advantage of the Sale’Up Data Management product is the ability to manually make changes to calculated data. In this case, the system adds a mark, showing the calculated value and the one adjusted manually. Considering that the result of planning may be influenced not only by the accuracy of calculations but also by the manager's experience or company strategy, this ability for manual adjustment is additional support for business development.
"Previously, the CRM system was a source of fact for us, now it has also become a source of planning. This is an important innovation that we received by combining the capabilities of Creatio and Data Management. Firstly, we have significantly simplified and improved the planning process. Secondly, we have received quality initial data, which is the basis for further calculation of expenses, the formation of P&L, analysis of profitability both for each individual project and for the company as a whole," commented Andriy Demchenko, Financial Director of Viseven.
Optimization and Development of the Planning System
Viseven is continuously tailoring Creatio to align with both user preferences and the specific needs of the business. By introducing additional automated functions that minimize manual labor, and by optimizing and simplifying planning models, they are methodically enhancing process efficiency. This improvement is further supported by detailed training and other targeted actions.
Looking to the future, Viseven has outlined immediate plans that include shifting to monthly updates of the expected invoicing plan and implementing a dynamic forecasting model. This new approach promises to further streamline the planning process. Whereas the anticipated planning was previously achievable only at 60-70% accuracy at the month's end, the next phase of the project development will enable the company to forecast the entire current month at 100% accuracy. Additionally, they will have the capability to make reliable predictions for the subsequent few periods, substantially improving planning effectiveness.
"Continuous development is a characteristic feature of Viseven; it is embedded into every interaction at the company. We are pleased with such close cooperation and are ready to support future innovations," commented Oleksandr Andronik, CEO of Sales’Up.