Holland Colours Transforms with a New CRM and Future-Proof Middleware

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To streamline and improve business processes, Holland Colours implemented a new CRM system using Microsoft Dynamics 365. Additionally, the company utilized Boomi as middleware to create a powerful integration layer. Emixa assisted the globally active producer of high-quality color concentrates and functional additives for the plastic industry in this challenging project. Read all about it in this article!

Contributing to a colorful future

Color is one of the most important characteristics of a product and packaging. Beautiful, vibrant colors make an item stand out on the shelves and distinguish it from the competition. Holland Colours understands this and has been developing and producing high-quality color concentrates and functional additives for the plastic industry since 1979.

The company started modestly in an old paper mill but has grown into a global player with over 450 employees. Today, Holland Colours guarantees color concentrates and additives that improve the quality of recycled plastics, promoting the circular economy. The result? Plastic manufacturers can work more efficiently while reducing their ecological footprint.

New CRM

To further streamline business processes and modernize the IT landscape, Holland Colours needed a new CRM system. The company was still using Lotus Notes, a system for creating and visualizing databases, comparable to a combination of SharePoint and Outlook. Lotus Notes was popular in the IT world about twenty years ago, but better systems have since emerged.

For the new CRM, Holland Colours chose Microsoft Dynamics 365. Additionally, there was a need for robust middleware to seamlessly connect various applications and systems in a user-friendly way. Boomi and Solace came into play for this part of the IT transformation. This task aligned well with Emixa's expertise, as the company is a recognized and certified Boomi partner and specialist.

Wilfred van Essen - IT Manager: “Boomi ensures that all systems and applications within our organization can communicate seamlessly with each other, allowing us to accelerate the modernization of our application landscape.”

The Challenge: Migration and Integration

The CRM implementation and creating a robust integration layer with Boomi middleware presented substantial challenges. Managing and migrating all data (customers, leads, products) and interactions (complaint handling, product samples) was a meticulous task.

Moreover, Holland Colours and Emixa faced a greenfield situation: developing and building something mostly new. While Holland Colours had a wealth of knowledge about existing systems, working with Boomi was a new experience for the company. In such a situation, there are many parallel and novel aspects to consider.

The Result: A Modern CRM and Future-Proof Integration Layer

Through Scrum and an agile approach, Emixa and Holland Colours ultimately clarified everything and successfully turned challenges into solutions. The result? A modern and scalable CRM system that effortlessly connects and consolidates data from various sources in one central location.

By adding Solace (a message broker facilitating communication between various applications, services, and systems), Holland Colours now has an event-driven platform that enables employees to make decisions based on real-time data.

Additionally, Holland Colours acquired the Master Data Hub to manage master data across all systems. This consolidates all data into one master file, making data management more straightforward and clearer. If someone makes a change in one system, this modification is automatically reflected in other systems. As a result, Holland Colours effectively combats information fragmentation, ensuring that employees and intermediaries no longer work with outdated data in any system.

In practice, these implemented changes lead to a seamless improvement in the frontend. Users are unaware that there is an additional Boomi integration layer in the background (everything works smoothly and without delay), which is precisely the goal of such a solution.

Further Improvements

Looking ahead, Holland Colours is working on reforming and improving the IT environment in various areas. There is an ongoing Basware project to automate and enhance payment and invoicing processes, and Boomi will become the global platform for all branches of the globally operating company.

The collaboration between Emixa and Holland Colours is positive. Holland Colours is an enthusiastic and driven party that recognized a learning curve, especially in dealing with Boomi. Communication lines were short, allowing specialists from both parties to frequently collaborate. Thanks to the new CRM, future-proof middleware, and effective integration of all elements of the IT ecosystem, Holland Colours now has a digital infrastructure that aligns with the company's ambitious future goals.

Want to know more?

There are plenty of opportunities to drive forward digital transformation in the tech industry. Would you like to improve the digital state of your organisation? And are you looking for a partner who can help you achieve this goal? In that case, Emixa is the right fit for you. We translate complex issues into simple, user-friendly IT solutions that accelerate your digital transformation and take your business to a higher level. Don’t hesitate to contact us. We would be delighted to meet you!