Super-easy complex planning at HCI

Stubborn software (replaced by tech that works).

A company scaling up at full throttle implies new products and services, new wishes and needs from customers, and new ways of working. All those novelties, however, will wreak havoc on an ERP system that you can’t customize and which can’t further digitize or automate existing processes.

HCI’s ERP software—as is the case in many companies—was not designed to be constantly modified and expanded upon. They had to relegate their old software to the trash heap and start looking out for something new.

And they found it. The Salesforce platform HCI is now using is a solution that was actually designed to keep evolving along with their business. It also enables HCI to modify or add on functionalities to actually help the company get ahead, rather than stymieing it at every turn.

An excess of excel sheets (in the bin).

The software being so pig-headed, many processes just forwent the ERP system entirely. People just want solutions, don’t they? The piles of separate Excel files—to take care of all sorts of things the ERP system couldn’t deal with—grew bigger every day. Duplication of effort, unreliable reporting, a lack of overview and control, and, as a result, frustrations galore.

Today, everything’s in a single integrated platform. No more cluttered desktops, no more excess directories, no more fuss. All data is now only inputted once and it’s always correct and up to date. Now, if you want to know about the current state of affairs, there’s only one place to look.

The unworkable work schedule (that's now working more efficiently then ever before).

One of the core tasks of HCI’s ERP system was the work schedule. Correctly scheduling the right certified people and tested vehicles and specialized equipment for all the different assignments. But the software was missing important information, such as equipment availability and personnel qualifications, in order to correctly determine who and what to deploy for which job. A part of that data was always tucked away in other systems or in a separate Excel sheet, as mentioned above. Tricky.

But ever since all information (yes, all of it) is stored in a single integrated solution, it’s the software that searches and combines all the parameters. Auto-match and auto-plan. The schedulers now receive scheduling prompts. All they have to do is confirm them. No more endless searching and swearing under their breath. Now, there’s finally time to optimize the schedule, take into account specific demands, or anticipate temporary peaks.

A quick recap?

Sparklink’s smart, integrated, customizable tools didn’t just solve HCI’s problems. They ensure its entire business process runs like clockwork and is easily surveyable and cost-effective. Also, the tools can be modified at any time to keep growing with the company. Sans growing pains.