Without portatour®, two of our new employees would have seriously considered staying. Now they are fully motivated - and we are finally working efficiently.
Stephan Riffel,
Head of Sales
Sigma Elektro GmbH, based in Neustadt an der Weinstraße, has been a household name for innovative bicycle accessory products for decades, particularly in the field of bicycle lighting. Sigma stands for reliability, intelligent product design and a clear focus on the needs of cyclists worldwide. Under the motto "Simple. Safe. Smart Cycling.", Sigma sells a wide range of accessories that enable both amateur and professional cyclists to ride safely and efficiently.
Stephan Riffel is Head of Field Sales at Sigma. After almost two decades at another company, he moved to Sigma - bringing with him not only extensive industry experience, but also a clear vision: sales work must not be a product of chance. As someone who was already familiar with portatour® from his previous job, it quickly became clear to him that this tool would be the key to success.
Sigma is basically the inventor of the computer, has been in the industry for many years and then also entered the bicycle lighting sector.
Stephan Riffel, Head of Sales
Right at the start of his work at Sigma, Stephan Riffel gained a comprehensive picture of field sales force through trips, discussions and analyses. What he found was typical of many medium-sized sales companies: individual route planning without central control, documented on Excel lists or based on gut feeling.
"Colleagues sat down on Fridays, looked at their customers and thought: Where am I going next week?" says Riffel, recalling how things were before the introduction of portatour®. A professional strategy, for example to prioritize A-customers or to regularly support high-turnover locations, was hardly recognizable. The field sales force operated largely autonomously - which offered freedom, but also led to inefficiency and uneven distribution.
With around 3,000 customers to manage, it was clear to Riffel that they needed an intelligent system that would plan tours efficiently, use the time available sensibly and make reporting and workload traceable. portatour® was the ideal choice - both from a technical point of view and on the basis of its previous experience.
It was more or less a product of chance. Lists were used to document who was going where and when. There was practically no efficiency or strategic planning in the field.
Stephan Riffel, Head of Sales
The changes since the introduction of portatour® have been significant and sustainably positive. For example, five field reps save around half a day a week, as route planning is now automated. In addition, there are 25% fewer kilometers and driving time, as the tours are much more efficient than before. Less idling, better-timed customer calls - a benefit for the environment, time management and operating costs.
But customer service is also better now. portatour® takes visitor frequencies, business hours and geographical locations into account - so no customer is lost sight of. Particularly during seasonal peaks - such as before Easter or during the light season in the fall - field sales force can focus specifically on customers with high turnover. The ability to mark customers and reserve them for tours is worth its weight in gold: "That was a game changer for everyone in the team."
We now save around half a day a week per employee on planning. In total, we save around 2.5 days per week - that's huge.
Stephan Riffel, Head of Sales
Another eye-opening moment was the first territory optimization with portatour®. Previously, the customer distribution was often the result of random developments: "You looked to see where an employee lived - and then things were shifted around," explains Riffel. When the real data was imported into portatour®, it became clear that workload was completely unbalanced.
One employee was far too busy with over 200% workload, while others were only at 42%. With territory optimization from portatour®, this imbalance was quickly and transparently rectified. Initially skeptical, even experienced employees were enthusiastic after a short time: structured territories, clear responsibilities, fairly distributed visit frequencies. The positive effect on motivation and team dynamics was tangible.
After the optimization, the field reps themselves came and said: "My territory is now much more structured and better."
Stephan Riffel, Head of Sales
The introduction of portatour® went smoothly and without complications at Sigma. As an ERP system update was still pending, the company initially opted for standalone operation with manual import/export - a conscious decision that simplified the rollout.
The technical implementation and configuration were carried out in close cooperation with the portatour® team. The system was ready for use within two weeks - including data set, training and productive use. "Pleasant, efficient, absolutely problem-free," says Stephan Riffel, summarizing the process with satisfaction.
The implementation was totally easy. Everything was done within two weeks, together with portatour® - absolutely pleasant and problem-free.
Stephan Riffel, Head of Sales
A tool is only as good as its acceptance within the team - and this is exactly where portatour® scores particularly well. Although two of the team members have been working for many years, resistance was short-lived. "At the beginning, one of them said: This won't work for me - three weeks later he was the most active user," laughs Riffel.
The user interface is self-explanatory and hardly any training was required. The intuitive operation, a clearly structured map view, colored markings for urgent visits and the flexible design of call reports are convincing across the board - especially the "digital natives" in the team, who started their work from day 1 with portatour®.
After two weeks, the most skeptical colleague came back: "Nope, it's working great, I don't need any more training. The system is self-explanatory." The younger ones immediately said: "portatour® is a game changer!"
Stephan Riffel, Head of Sales
According to Stephan Riffel, there were other reasons for the decision in addition to the existing experience: "The price-performance ratio is excellent and you have flexible reporting and planning tools at your disposal. In addition, there is the fast implementation, the high user-friendliness and excellent usability," explains Riffel. In addition, existing contacts from the industry were able to confirm the positive experiences with portatour®. The support of the management was also immediate after a brief presentation of the tool: "The advantages were simply too obvious."
With portatour®, Sigma Elektro GmbH has not only gained a planning tool, but also a genuine sales platform. From efficient route planning and structured reporting to fair territory utilization, portatour® offers everything a modern field sales force needs. Time savings, motivation and transparency are the clear results. For Stephan Riffel it is clear: "Without portatour® we would not be where we are today. It has not only improved our work in the field - it has redefined it."
Without portatour®, two of our new employees would have seriously considered staying. Now they are fully motivated - and we are finally working efficiently.
Stephan Riffel, Head of Sales
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