Case Study HELM AG:
More efficient collaboration of cross teams

As part of the Pharmaceuticals business unit, with over 100 offices worldwide and a broad sales portfolio, the family-owned company must have efficient team collaboration. BridgeFlow helped sharpen synergies for its transnational and cross-functional teams. The consulting approach to implementing Asana and mapping the company’s own processes ensured that team members quickly adapted to the tool. With success: In just one month, the targeted goals had already been achieved to a large extent.

Quick Check

Facts:

Collaboration needed to become more efficient
Implementation with coaching approach
Mapping of own processes in Asana
Active participation during rollout

Objectives:

Eliminate media discontinuities
Information on a uniform platform
Provide clarity and transparency for responsibilities
Improve efficiency of cross-functional and cross-location teams

Period:

2 months analysis phase, approx. 7 months consulting process

Results:

Optimized process flows
Increased clarity of responsibilities
Simplified prioritization of tasks
Merging of information from different sources

The challenge

Inefficient collaboration across transnational and cross-functional teams

The Hamburg-based family business operates worldwide with sales in the chemical, crop protection, pharmaceutical and fertilizer sectors. With over 100 subsidiaries and affiliates in around 30 countries in Europe, North and South America, the network of switching points that depend on smooth cooperation is considerable. Therefore, HELM AG’s main goal in implementing Asana was to achieve improved efficiency in collaboration among cross-functional and cross-location teams, as well as to establish project status transparency for management.

Consolidate information, increase transparency

The goal for using Asana was to eliminate media discontinuities and bring together project-related data and information on a unified platform. This was intended to create clarity and transparency in terms of responsibilities and facilitate cross-functional and cross-locational collaboration to improve efficiency. At the same time, the aim was to provide management with transparency regarding project status.

The main problems that prompted the use of Asana were manifold and mainly related to inefficient cross-functional and transnational collaboration within the company. The use of inflexible Gantt charts and rigid waterfall planning as a project reporting system proved to be a hindrance, as it made it difficult to adapt to changing requirements and priorities.

In addition, data had to be regularly compiled manually from various scattered sources such as MS Projects, Excel spreadsheets, Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, and meeting minutes, resulting in constantly outdated information in the system. This in turn resulted in team members spending much of their time explaining and organizing work, loss of efficiency, partly due to duplication of effort, and delayed problem identification were other pain points. The lack of an overview and unclear distribution of tasks also contributed to these problems, which were felt throughout the development area as well as at its interfaces.

Solution

Implementation process with coaching approach

The implementation of Asana went smoothly, as the entire operational process was carefully planned to provide a comprehensive overview of the things that needed special attention. The key points were:

Structured approach
Flexibility
Adaptability
Active participation

The structured approach created a solid foundation for the entire process. At the same time, the rollout was characterized by sufficient flexibility to adapt the planned sessions and focus topics to evolving insights and actual learning needs. This adaptability proved invaluable in ensuring that the Asana rollout was always in line with current needs.

The entire process was more akin to a consultative approach, where pre-packaged solutions were not presented, but rather collaboratively developed. This encouraged active participation and knowledge sharing within the team and helped ensure that the transition to Asana was successful and sustainable.
The expectations coincided with the process that BridgeFlow developed together with the stakeholders:

Rapid implementation of Asana,
Provision and explanation of best practices,
Support in mapping own processes in Asana,
Training of key users.

Noticeable improvements right from the rollout

The analysis phase for the implementation took 2 months, and the entire consulting process, due to the staggered introduction in different areas, took about 7 months. During this process, the use of Asana presented no major surprises for those involved, but rather confirmation that the right decision had been made. The noticeable improvements were extremely satisfactory:

Process flows were significantly optimized, resulting in increased efficiency.
Most notable was the increased clarity of responsibilities and transparency among project members, which contributed to better collaboration.
Task prioritization was greatly simplified, allowing the team to better focus on the most important tasks.
In addition, merging various sources of tasks into Asana resulted in more time dedicated to actual issues and projects, as management and organization became much more efficient.

Excellent cooperation

The stakeholders involved in the launch process came from Marketing&Launch, Development, Life-Cycle Management, Operational Purchasing and Approval. The cooperation with all BridgeFlow employees was perceived as very good.

„Our direct contact for implementation was also available outside of the meetings to answer interim questions. The atmosphere was always relaxed, positive and focused on finding solutions.“

Dr. Thomas Roos, Director Life-Cycle Management, Marketing & Launch

Result

Clarity of responsibilities and a more transparent way of working

After implementing Asana, the biggest changes were seen in three project organizations: Development, Life-Cycle Management and Launch Management. It is now possible to track tasks in these areas much more easily, as Asana allows clear responsibilities and deadlines to be assigned. This delivered the first noticeable improvement, as less tracking effort was required. Team members began making updates and providing new information in Asana on their own initiative. There was also an increased willingness to independently add new tasks that resulted from previous tasks to the projects. This led to an overall more efficient and transparent way of working in the aforementioned teams.

Sustainability is achieved when teams derive maximum benefit

Just one month after implementing Asana, the teams were already able to achieve the intended goal to a high degree. The efficiency and organization of work processes improved significantly, and the teams were able to better coordinate and track their tasks.

The ideal state – eliminating media discontinuities and creating complete transparency in responsibilities – has not yet been fully achieved. This is partly due to the fact that new members are still being added to the team, coming from areas where neither project management nor experience with supported work management previously existed. It is expected to take several more months before the benefits of Asana are visible in all areas and teams can derive maximum benefit from this new way of working.

Recommendation

„We would definitely recommend BridgeFlow to others, because our collaboration has always been open and future-oriented. It was also possible to flexibly adjust activities, meetings and content, and also to move them around.“

Dr. Thomas Roos, Director Life-Cycle Management, Marketing & Launch

HELM AG is a family-owned company with a long tradition in Hamburg and a history of more than 120 years. As a multifunctional sales organization, it is active in the fields of chemicals (feedstocks and derivatives), crop protection products, active pharmaceutical ingredients and pharmaceuticals, and fertilizers. HELM is now one of the world’s largest chemical marketing companies and, with more than 100 subsidiaries, sales offices and affiliates in over 30 countries, ensures access to the most important markets through specific regional knowledge.

www.helmag.com

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Case Study HELM AG: More efficient collaboration of cross teams