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ASIAN PAINTS:THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE GETS ANEW LOOK WITH SAP CRMBUSINESS TRANSFORMATION STUDYAsian Paints, partneringwith SAP, transforms itsprocesses to extend itsbrand and ensure longterm growth.

HighlightsAt a Glance3Key Challenges5Why SAP Was Selected6Implementation Process and Best Practices7Business Process Transformation and Value Realized10Future Road Map12Lessons Learned13

ASIAN PAINTSAT A GLANCEProfileCompanyAsian Paints LimitedLocationMumbai, IndiaIndustryConsumer productsProducts/ServicesPaint and painting servicesRevenueUS 680 millionEmployees4,700Web SiteSAP Solutionsand Serviceswww.asianpaints.comSAP Customer Relationship Managementapplication (lead and opportunity management,partner channel management,analytics functionality), SAP ERP application,SAP NetWeaver platform, and WebDynpro development environment (onlineordering and accounting)Asian Paints Limited, with annual revenues totalingUS 680 million, is India’s largest paint companyand the third-largest paint company in Asia today.The company has an enviable reputation in thecorporate world for professionalism, fast-track growth,and customer-centricity. Asian Paints has offices in22 countries, and its 30 paint manufacturing facilitiesservice consumers in over 65 countries.Key ChallengesWhy SAP Was Selected Develop a direct link to the customer Ability to meet all criteria Standardize sales delivery processes used by Asian Paints HomesSolutions providers Integration of the SAP NetWeaver Business Intelligencecomponent Institute an online ordering and accounting system for providers Scalability Implement a real-time reporting system for employees andbusiness partners SAP supportImplementation Best PracticesFinancial and Strategic Benefits Targeted revenue of US 8 million to 10 million in 2006–2007Pilot firstUse a cross-functional project team of business and IT staffImplement a training program for end usersInstitute ongoing user support Established direct sales channel to customers thanks to help fromthe home solutions business Built relationship with applicator community across 30,000customer sitesOperational Benefits Improved financial controls Realized the ability to scale business in 12 cities across India Gained online view of the business with optimized informationflows Improved customer satisfaction3

“The implementation of SAP CRM gave Asian Paints greater visibility intoall financial transactions during a job.”“SAP CRM transformed our organization and allowed us to expand intothe services business.”Deepak BhosaleSenior Manager, CRM InitiativesAsian Paints Limited4

KEY CHALLENGESA Fresh Approach to the Customer ExperienceDeveloping a Customized SolutionAsian Paints Limited, India’s largest paint company, hasa reputation for professionalism and fast-track growth.Customers are at the core of all Asian Paints businessactivities. A simple but unbeatable concept of “going wherethe customer is” drives all its major initiatives.Standardizing the sales delivery processes and establishingfinancial controls would necessitate developing a customsolution. This solution required a secure Web interfaceenabling leads from the help line to be forwarded to ahome solutions service provider for handling. This serviceprovider might be an independent home painting firm orinterior designer, for example, in the Asian Paints network.In 2001 Asian Paints executives realized that the firm’s longterm growth depended on their ability to forge ever-closerties to the end consumer. At the same time, the AsianPaints help line had received calls from these consumersexpressing a need for a more complete solution to theirhome painting needs – and Asian Paints learned that theyhad demanding expectations when it came to serviceand overall project execution. But because the companysold its products through a network of dealers, it lackedvisibility into the entire painting process and the needsof the homeowner. This situation prompted Asian Paintsexecutives to explore ways to establish a more direct linkto the end customer.Launching a Service BrandWith this in mind, Asian Paints made the decision to movefrom a strictly product-based manufacturing business toa services model. With the launch of Asian Paints HomeSolutions, the firm would build a “service brand” byoffering value-added services ranging from in-person colorrecommendations to feng shui consultations. The goal wasto deliver an Asian Paints “signature look” through the useof specific color combinations and themes.The home solutions provider is responsible for using thesystem to perform all major tasks associated with a job:schedule appointments, record completion of site surveys,submit job estimates, order paints through Asian Paintsdealers, record progress of jobs, invoice customers, andconduct customer satisfaction surveys. The new solutionwould allow both the provider and Asian Paints HomeSolutions to view all customer interactions and financialinformation in real time. This same system would alsoprovide updates on the status of marketing rewardsprograms.In addition, robust reporting functionality was requiredto generate a variety of sales, lead, and activity analysisreports. This functionality would also be used totabulate results of the customer surveys submitted at thecompletion of a job.To achieve this goal, Asian Paints needed a scalablecustomer relationship management (CRM) system thatcould map the major business processes of Asian PaintsHome Solutions and provide visibility into all customerinteractions. First, it required state-of-the-art call centercapabilities that would include activity management forcustomer calls and activity scheduling, as well as a leadmanagement system that could prioritize and route leadsfor proper handling.5

WHY SAP WAS SELECTEDPreparing for GrowthWhen the time came to select a new system, Asian Paintsstudied the functionality of the most recent release of theSAP Customer Relationship Management (SAP CRM)application very carefully. The company was alreadyusing SAP solutions and had implemented SAP CRMin its existing call centers. Asian Paints determined thatSAP CRM best met its criteria and opted to build onexisting infrastructure.Notably, total cost of ownership considerations didnot play a major role in this decision. Asian Paints wasbuilding a new service business and realized that therewould be attendant costs in creating a custom solution.The architecture called for the new solution, branded“project Tantra,” to retain the lead and opportunitymanagement functionality of SAP CRM. Then, all processassociated with sales delivery would be implementedthrough the custom solution.Integration with the SAP NetWeaver Business Intelligence(SAP NetWeaver BI) component was also a critical factor.Data from both SAP CRM and the custom solutionwould be uploaded to SAP NetWeaver BI to generatevarious reports.Lastly, Asian Paints, as an existing SAP customer, realizedthat development of a custom solution would require thestrong support that SAP could provide.The custom solution was a separate project that wouldrequire integration with the basic CRM system. Afterconsidering other options, Asian Paints decided on theSAP NetWeaver platform. The Web Dynpro developmentenvironment allowed for rapid application developmentas well as custom development of the user interface. Andit would integrate seamlessly with SAP CRM.“SAP CRM provided us with greater visibility intocentralized customer data in real time.”Deepak BhosaleSenior Manager, CRM InitiativesAsian Paints Limited6

IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS AND BEST PRACTICESDeepening Ties with End CustomersIn launching its new service business, Asian Paints’s keyobjective was to deepen its ties to the end consumer.As a result, the CRM system needed to offer visibility intoall customer interactions and financial transactions. Atthe same time, this system would standardize businessprocesses at each stage of a painting job. Thanks to theimplementation of SAP CRM and the custom solution,processes were optimized in the following areas:CustomerInteractionCenterLead details,SOA, and so onSAP CRMReports Asian PaintsHome SolutionsBusiness TeamSAPNetWeaver BISAP NetWeaver PlatformWeb-based Systemvia InternetFinancial controls – There is now greater transparencyinto all financial transactions from billing and collectionsto contractor–dealer payments.Sales delivery – Asian Paints standardized the salesdelivery processes to be followed by each provider. Sincethe sales delivery process can be lengthy, the systemallows Asian Paints to monitor the quality of serviceits customers receive from the start of a project to itscompletion.Customer data management – Asian Paints now hasone centralized system for managing all customer data,which provides greater visibility into customer needs andis now available for use in campaign management and inthe development of predictability models, among otheractivities. And because this data is available in real time,reports can be generated esAssociateFigure 1: Tantra IT Landscape SnapshotAsian Paints IT ArchitectureSAP SolutionSAP CRM applicationProjected Number of Users 50 internal and100 externalNumber of SAP InstancesDatabaseOperating System1OracleSun Solaris7

“As a result of ourimplementation ofSAP CRM, we haveimproved processcontrol and accountingtransparency.”Aroop ChatterjeeGroup Brand Manager of AsianPaints Home Solutions andGetting the Job Done QuicklyThe implementation project launched inDecember 2001, and the first component,the interaction center, went live in April2002. All other components includingthe custom solution were implementedby August 2002. The project team wascomprised of both business and IT staff,ensuring that both business and technicalrequirements were addressed.Interactive MarketingAsian Paints Limited8Close collaboration between AsianPaints and SAP resulted in adherenceto tight schedules. The SAP CustomerCompetence Center location in Singaporedeveloped prototype scenarios specificto Asian Paints, and SAP Labs madevaluable contributions to the design andconfiguration of the custom solution.A workshop on enterprise serviceoriented architecture, held for IT staff,assisted Asian Paints in developing ablueprint of its custom solution as anextension of its existing infrastructure.Two Asian Paints Home Solutionsproviders participated in a three-monthpilot – an essential element of theproject. Because many of the providersdid not have strong computer skills,a simple, intuitive interface would becrucial for user adoption. The feedbackreceived during the pilot was critical tothe successful deployment of the solutionand prevented delays when the systemultimately went live. The system initiallywent live in four major cities, and theremaining eight cities were added in early2007.