Bayer: Co-created event management solution optimized costs and improved sales
SENLA's solution facilitates relationships across departments and cuts event management expenses.
Realizing it's time for a change
Bayer is a Life Science company with a more than 150-year history and core competencies in the areas of healthcare and agriculture. The company focuses on developing innovative products and finding solutions to some of the major challenges of our time, such as improving the quality of life for a growing population, and preventing, alleviating, and treating diseases.
Hosting events for partners, doctors and researchers is one of the marketing tools that Bayer uses to establish itself as an industry leader. There are hundreds of events held every year for thousands of attendees. How do you manage such a complex process spread among multiple departments?
The old solution was barely working, it was a mix and match of outdated apps that would overlap in functionality, but wouldn’t be flexible enough to fit the current business processes. Nobody in the company liked using the current set of tools, the budget was growing out of proportion, and there was little collaboration and communication between the teams involved. It was time for a change.
Partnering with a seasoned expert
SENLA was recommended to Bayer by one of our partners, so the vetting process was relatively quick.
When Bayer came to us with an idea of developing an event management solution, it was just that, an idea. There were vague requirements and the scope of work wasn't clearly defined.
We had the necessary experience in business analysis to combine requests from various departments and build a unified solution that would make everyone feel included. We also impressed Bayer by having a business analyst with Ph.D. in Pharmaceuticals, improving our communication by speaking the same language our Clients used every day.
"Our most important role in this project was to listen to every stakeholder, validate their requirements, and make them feel included. Co-creating a solution that you use every day is empowering, it builds bridges between remote teams, it allows them to see the importance of each other’s work, and promotes respect and compassion.”
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Unleashing the culture of co-creation and creativity
After a few of our first meetings, it was clear that this project had actually not one, but many Clients. Accounting, L&D, Marketing, Logistics, and a few other departments all had their idea of how the new system should work.
We started by connecting with every team, listening to their experience of working with the current solution, what improvements they would like to see, and how we could automate the most repetitive tasks.
Having a local delivery manager helped a lot. Being right there on-site, and having face-to-face conversations with people really helps you understand how the company operates.
Developing one solution that fits all
After quite a lengthy phase of business analysis, we designed an architecture that worked for every team involved in event management. It allowed Accounting, L&D, Marketing, and others to expedite the process and cut down the expenses.
Our solution was built with React, so it works well on any device. Some of the features we implemented include:
- Internal chat and comments to collaborate with other teams
- Customizable interface for every department
- Budgeting approval flow
- Integration with accounting systems
- Ability to generate reports
- Ticketing
- Logistics of event planning
- Document management
- Swag ordering and distribution
- Flexible approval process
- Speakers riders
- Tracking events KPIs
- Integration with corporate calendars
The value: Synergetic relationships lead to better sales
We spent more than a year working with Bayer on creating a unified solution for their various teams. Our employees built warm professional relationships and new friendships during this time.
We worked in our regular 2-weeks sprint intervals, delivering a new demo to the Bayer team every Friday for their feedback. We are still delivering new functionality based on evolving needs and requirements.
When the solution was deployed, adoption and productivity grew tremendously, as well as communication and collaboration among the teams that used it. Bayer not only cut the costs and optimized the process, but strengthened the teams by allowing them to be co-creators aided by seamless technologies that empower our most human qualities: creation and belonging.