Analysis to ongoing operations: services for B2B projects

It begins with the question of what should be improved, simplified, or digitalized: a new digital sales channel, a customer portal, a more efficient ordering process, a spare parts service, or an AI application.

ECOPLAN analyzes the underlying processes and derives a suitable solution from them. Special rules that have grown over time are reviewed in the process: are they still necessary, or can they be implemented more simply and cost-effectively?

Already during consulting, ECOPLAN clarifies which systems are the leading ones and how ERP, CRM, PIM, or DMS will be integrated into the future solution. The goal is to reuse existing data and processes and not to build parallel structures.

Anyone who has had bad experiences with endless rounds of alignment is usually surprised at ECOPLAN. The essential requirements are captured in just two workshops. Afterwards, around 80% are usually clarified, and only a few further meetings are needed. This saves above all the time of your employees from sales, IT, and business departments.

During implementation, the solution is first configured: roles and permissions, pricing and product range logic, approval processes, languages, design, and content. Where standard functions are not sufficient, ECOPLAN implements custom extensions, exactly where the workshops determined them to be necessary. In parallel, the ERP and other systems are integrated.

Each implementation stage is provided on test and staging systems and reviewed together. Insights from this feed directly into the further implementation. This means that not all detailed questions have to be resolved before project kickoff.

Your project manager from the workshops remains your point of contact and coordinates directly with your IT and the system service providers involved for integrations.

In B2B projects, customer structures, prices, terms, availabilities, orders, and documents are usually already in the ERP. ECOPLAN clarifies which system is the leading one for which data and integrates ERP, CRM, PIM, DMS, and other systems so that data does not have to be maintained twice.

Technically, ECOPLAN uses APIs, synchronization, or middleware depending on the requirements, generally following the API-first approach. A particular focus is on SAP, with experience in SAP ECC, SAP S/4HANA, and SAP Business One.

New solutions usually start with one area, one user group, or selected customers. Experience from the first productive use feeds into the further rollout before additional countries, legal entities, brands, or business units follow.

In the process, ECOPLAN clarifies what can be standardized centrally and where local differences are necessary, for example in product ranges, prices, languages, processes, or ERP systems. This creates a common platform that can be extended without being rebuilt for each new area.

For ongoing operations, there are defined service hours, service level agreements, and a ticketing system. Incidents, technical questions, and new requirements are captured, prioritized, and handled in a structured way. Depending on need, different service and on-call models can be agreed.

ECOPLAN has several agile development teams of four to five people each. In support, the teams rotate regularly, so every team looks after every customer. This way, every team member knows the configuration, the special features, and the integrations of your solution. Your support therefore never depends on a single person, not even during vacations or illness.

Operations also include keeping the solution up to date: updates, maintenance, and security patches. Because ECOPLAN avoids unnecessary custom development already during design and implementation, updates and operating effort remain manageable in the long term.