Atria uses custom application to manage customer, product, and cost center data

Published on September 27, 2018

Summary

At Atria, employees are often forced to go the extra step to manage master data for various sets of information across the organization. Managing such data often requires employees to rely on their memory to perform tasks in a specific order.

To solve for the lack of efficiency, Atria set out to find tools within Office 365 that could simplify and streamline their processes. With the help of Valo Intranet, Atria was able to implement tools such as PowerApps, SharePoint Lists, and Flow to modernize their business processes.

Challenge

To solve for the lack of efficiency, Atria set out to find tools within Office 365 that could simplify and streamline their processes. With the help of Valo Intranet, Atria was able to implement tools such as PowerApps, SharePoint Lists, and Flow to modernize their business processes.

Strategy

PowerApps – With PowerApps, Atria was able to create user interfaces for employees to use when requesting new data. Compared to basic list UI’s in SharePoint, PowerApps gives them the ability to create wizard-like data input, where selections in previous phases affect the required data in phases later on in the wizard. PowerApps also connects to SharePoint lists with different identities so that employees no longer have to have direct write access to the SharePoint lists used.

SharePoint Lists: Custom lists are used for plain data storage, for processed data. Custom lists are also used to store options for drop-downs in the PowerApps application as well as configuration information for the workflows created with flow.

Flow: Workflows built with Microsoft Flow are used to drive the process when requesting new data so that employees no longer have to remember what to do next. This includes sending e-mails to processors, kicking off approval workflows when an approval is needed, and sending out notifications and confirmations to the requestors as the process advances.

In the first phase of the project, the following types of data are processed using the Atria Master Data Management Tool:

  • Item numbers – When a new SKU for either a new product or existing product is launched, a unique item number is assigned
  • Accounts – When new accounting accounts need to be created, a two-step approval process is triggered, ensuring that all necessary information is entered. The final step of the process determines whether the account is needed or if an account with the intended purpose is already in existence.
  • Cost centers – This process ensures that the correct procedure is followed if a new cost center is created
  • Customers – In this tool, all information for new customers is entered and manages the various systems customers in different countries may need to use
  • Suppliers – new suppliers are created differently depending on where the supplier is registered. This tool takes care of adapting the required set of data depending on the suppliers country

Results

With the help of Valo Intranet, rather than relying on paper-based processes that require an abundance of thought and rely heavily on one’s own memory, employees at Atria now have a set of tools that enable them to efficiently and effectively enter various types of information for their specific business processes.