Nintex > Case Studies > STIEBEL ELTRON Enhances Productivity with Workflow Automation

STIEBEL ELTRON Enhances Productivity with Workflow Automation

Technology Category

Functional Applications - Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES)
Sensors - Camera / Video Systems

Applicable Industries

Telecommunications

Applicable Functions

Product Research & Development

Use Cases

Additive Manufacturing
Manufacturing Process Simulation

Services

Training

About The Customer

STIEBEL ELTRON is a German manufacturing company that designs and produces energy-efficient solutions such as tankless water heaters, heat pumps, solar panels, and ventilation systems. The company promotes energy savings for customers in 120 countries. To serve its customers, STIEBEL ELTRON maintains five manufacturing plants and 24 subsidiaries. As a private company, they prefer not to share product development and other information via public cloud services. They were in need of a secure, self-hosted file-sharing solution that would allow them to share large files with external partners and customers while protecting customer and internal data.

The Challenge

STIEBEL ELTRON, a German manufacturing company, was facing challenges in managing shared data and eliminating paper-based processes. The company, which designs and manufactures energy-efficient solutions and operates in 120 countries, needed to protect customer and internal data while keeping a clear track of project details. As a private company, STIEBEL ELTRON was reluctant to share product development and other information via public cloud services such as Dropbox, Google Drive or OneDrive for Business. They were in need of a self-hosted, secure file-sharing solution that would allow them to share large video and image files with external partners and customers. The company attempted to develop collaboration sites using SharePoint 2013, but found it to be cost-prohibitive, time-consuming, and lacking in transparency.

The Solution

STIEBEL ELTRON adopted Nintex Forms and Nintex Workflow, a solution introduced by IPI GmbH, to create a dynamic and secure content-sharing solution. When the company needs to share information with an external customer, an employee can request a temporary file-share using a Nintex Form. This form initiates a Nintex workflow that automatically creates an internet-accessible folder in STIEBEL ELTRON’s site collection library, as well as an Active Directory (AD) account for the external customer. The customer then receives a message with necessary credentials. The Nintex workflow assigns permissions allowing only internal employees and the external customer to share content. After a pre-defined timeslot, the content is archived automatically and the external user’s account is deleted. This solution has saved the company significant time and has increased transparency and standardized communications.

Operational Impact

The implementation of Nintex Forms and Nintex Workflow has brought about significant operational improvements for STIEBEL ELTRON. The solution has provided much-needed transparency as to what information was being shared and with whom. Standardized communications processes have prevented information from getting lost in email, allowing decisions to be made much faster. The user-friendly forms and their dynamic content abilities have been particularly appreciated, providing immediate answers for customers and freeing up staff for other tasks. The status of each workflow is visible at all times, offering 'perfect usability'. The company currently has 20 running workflows, with more planned. Users from all over the world can now book training and events without engaging IT, and can create collaboration teams and project rooms directly and conveniently from their smartphones.

Quantitative Benefit