MICROSOFT DYNAMICS 365 CASE STUDY: Sasfin Wealth

MICROSOFT DYNAMICS 365 CASE STUDY: Sasfin Wealth

Microsoft Case Study

Driving data consolidation and strategic client insights with Microsoft Dynamics 365

Sasfin Wealth partnered with The CRM Team to centralise client data, enhance digital engagement, and power strategic insights through an end to end Microsoft Dynamics 365 solution.

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The CRM Team
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Oct 12, 2025
20 Mins Read

About The CRM Team

The CRM Team is a Microsoft Gold Partner that implements world class CRM solutions for companies, transforming their customer experiences to increase revenues and reduce costs.

Using state of the art Microsoft technologies, we help companies automate marketing, improve sales forecasting and deliver omni channel customer service. Our unique implementation and training approach ensures that our customers get excellent user adoption. This ensures the shortest time to value.

This case study was put together in collaboration with Sasfin Wealth.

“Dynamics is key to our digital strategy and will be the core of our client engagement.”
Tinus Verster, Wealth Technology Strategist, Sasfin Wealth

About Sasfin

Sasfin Wealth comprises Sasfin Healthcare, Sasfin Wealth Management and Sasfin Securities, a member of the JSE and a pioneer of private client portfolio management in South Africa. With roots dating back to 1890, Sasfin Wealth has grown into one of South Africa’s leading wealth management and stockbroking businesses.

The company’s digital ambition is to enhance the client experience through more modern and professional digital engagement.

The company had set itself a challenge to manage data more effectively and improve client engagement.

Most importantly, Sasfin Wealth wanted to develop a deeper understanding of clients’ interests, needs, wants and preferences.

The CRM Team was chosen to facilitate that journey.

Insights and efficiency: A new approach

Recently, Sasfin Wealth embarked on a technology drive with a focus on client experience.

Thinking bigger and building beyond

Alex Elsworth, Chief Technology Officer at Sasfin Wealth, notes:
“Our value proposition lies in the personal service and attention which we apply in managing our client portfolios. As a business philosophy, client relationships, client orientated processes, client retention and superior client value are core to our offering.”

One of Sasfin Wealth’s key strategic objectives is to enhance its technology platform, ultimately improving client experience.

“The right technologies enable us to keep the client at the core of everything we do,” emphasises Elsworth.

“Client information was stored in several different systems,” explains Marzanne Raubenheimer, Programme Manager, “and the integrity and quality of data were being compromised due to a lack of validation.”

Sasfin Wealth’s existing systems were also limited in their ability to capture information. Further data issues were arising as different branches and users were following inconsistent approaches.

The CRM Team was selected to work with key Sasfin Wealth stakeholders in developing an end to end CRM solution that would resolve the tactical and data consolidation issues the company was experiencing. Once fully implemented, the solution is set to power strategic insights, enhance business process efficacy and boost operational efficiency.

“We conducted extensive research into technology that would service both internal and external clients in a more meaningful way.”
Tinus Verster, Technology Strategist, Sasfin Wealth

The CRM partner decision

“The Sasfin procurement process requires that a minimum of three solutions and or providers are considered before a recommendation is submitted for approval to proceed,” explains Raubenheimer.

“Following the evaluation of possible solution vendors, and taking into consideration the technology architecture, alignment to business strategy, cost, skills and experience, Microsoft Dynamics 365 was identified as the preferred solution, with The CRM Team as the partner for the implementation.”

Both strategic and customer focused elements were key parts of Sasfin’s CRM journey. The company wanted a central view of Wealth client information and the ability to track client interaction effortlessly. Essentially, Sasfin Wealth wanted to bring its hands on client experience into the digital age.

“During our research and evaluation, the Microsoft Dynamics 365 solution proved to be the platform that would best suit our needs and requirements,” notes Tinus Verster. “Microsoft Dynamics 365 has the capability to integrate into existing backend systems. It is key to our digital strategy.”

“One of our key strategic objectives is to enhance our technology platform, ultimately, to improve our client experience.”
Alex Elsworth, Chief Technology Officer, Sasfin Wealth

From fragmentation to consolidation

Zamo Hadebe, Business Analyst at Sasfin Wealth, notes that Microsoft Dynamics 365 has the capability to address the company’s need for both a client information and relationship management system.

Elsworth adds:
“The CRM system is key in the technology roadmap, as the client is so central to everything we do. Dynamics 365 will be the core of our systems landscape and a key integration point for all our other systems. Implementing Dynamics 365 will allow our client relationship managers to spend more time with clients, continuously enriching the information we have on record and tailoring the engagements specific to the clients’ needs.”

The solution being developed by The CRM Team will power 360 degree client views, the ability to log leads and opportunities, assign work to both the relevant people and regions and onboard clients seamlessly.

“The engagement and interaction with The CRM Team has been exceptional,” notes Marzanne Raubenheimer. “The CRM Team is very professional and proficient. It has only been a pleasure to work with them. Sasfin engages with a significant number of providers and The CRM Team is definitely on our Top 10 List. We strongly recommend The CRM Team to any organisation considering embarking on a CRM journey.”

Continued confidence and ongoing improvement

Through the final Dynamics powered solution, Sasfin is set to benefit from a range of new business boosting capabilities. At the foundation, the company will be able to access 360 degree customer views encompassing all products, client relationships, roles and household structures. A streamlined client onboarding process spanning KYC, FICA, compliance and risk requirements will provide efficiency gains.

At the tactical level, end to end document and customer information management and critical improvements regarding the identification of on and up sell opportunities are set to provide further business benefits.

“We will be able to constantly enrich our data and use it in a meaningful way to tailor our offerings to the client’s requirements,” notes Verster. “Microsoft Dynamics 365 enables us to gather relevant information on the go, as well as launching workflows that will reduce the current turnaround times. Dynamics is key to our digital strategy and will be the core of our client engagement.”

Key Benefits Obtained

    Key Benefits Obtained

    • Data consolidation
    • Streamlining of the onboarding process spanning KYC, FICA, compliance and risk
    • Improved document management
    • Superior identification of both on and up sell opportunities

    For more information about Microsoft Dynamics 365, go to
    https://thecrmteam.com

    This case study is for informational purposes only. THE CRM TEAM MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.

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    Customer Success Story Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift Europe

    Customer Success Story Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift Europe

    Microsoft Case Study

    Improving Customer Satisfaction and Operational Efficiency with Microsoft Dynamics CRM

    Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift Europe unified sales, service, and dealer operations through Microsoft Dynamics CRM, enabling centralized data, automated processes, and improved customer satisfaction across multiple regions.

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    Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift Europe

    Forklift Manufacturer Improves Processes, Increases Customer Satisfaction

    Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift Europe manufactures, sells, and distributes more than 18,000 forklifts each year throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The organization needed a way to capture sales and service information in a single repository and extend configuration and spare parts order processes to its distributors throughout the region. Microsoft Dynamics CRM delivered out of the box sales and service functionality, workflow automation, and management visibility into data. Equally important, MCFE was able to deliver a portal solution to its distributors, all on the Microsoft environment its people already knew and used.

    Situation

    With more than €400 million (U.S.$600 million) annual revenue, Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift Europe (MCFE) manufactures, sells, and distributes forklifts and related spare parts in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa through its network of approximately 100 distributors. MCFE was founded in 1992 as part of a joint venture between forklift manufacturers Mitsubishi and Caterpillar.

    The head office is located in Almere, a city outside of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, where it produces approximately 18,000 forklifts a year at its 66.000m2 (16.3 acres) manufacturing plant.

    MCFE’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, built on a MAPICS AS/400 platform, handled all primary functions but lacked several elements needed to meet new requirements. “Our business requirements have changed the last five years,” says Robert Vleeschhouwer, General Manager of MCFE’s Information Systems Department. “Service towards our dealer channel has become more important to us. We wanted to be able to manage the communication with our dealers. We used to manage these communications in several locations using a great number of small databases. Because of that, it was hardly possible to collect management information concerning contact-related processes. It was also difficult to enter standard work instructions.”

    MCFE also had a dealer-facing configuration system, but found it unstable and difficult to manage. “If the system failed, we couldn’t find out why,” explains Vleeschhouwer. Dealers couldn’t tell if shipments were on schedule, and if the wrong part was received, MCFE had a hard time tracking down the source of the error, causing delays in correcting the situation. After a careful technical review, MCFE determined that expanding the existing system would not serve its need to manage these additional functionalities.

    Vleeschhouwer notes, “We were looking for one additional solution which could manage the communication with our dealers and services organization, and automate more processes.” Key needs for this system included contact management, a dealer information sheet, and tracking of service and sales calls. The company researched which solution would fit its requirements and selected Microsoft Dynamics™ CRM business software.

    Solution

    Microsoft Dynamics CRM best fulfilled MCFE’s selection criteria for improving sales and service effectiveness. Much of the functionality MCFE wanted was already built into Microsoft Dynamics CRM, helping speed time to value and return on current investments in Microsoft® technology, training, and resources.

    Workflow automation allows MCFE to automate many paper-based processes, increasing efficiency and improving management’s visibility into sales and service details. “We wanted to rebuild as little as possible, and Microsoft Dynamics CRM offers a lot of possibilities out-of-the-box regarding sales and services,” says Vleeschhouwer. “And Microsoft Dynamics CRM runs on the Microsoft platform, which is an advantage for us as we already have the platform know-how within our organization. And we want to maintain as few platforms as possible.”

    Because Microsoft Dynamics CRM works as a natural extension of the Microsoft Office Outlook® messaging and collaboration client, users have an intuitive understanding of the solution from the start. All e-mails, meetings, and calls are easily recorded and accessible from within a program widely used throughout MCFE, and users can incorporate CRM processes into their everyday activities without having to learn and use a separate system.

    Solution Overview

    Organization Profile
    As part of a joint venture between forklift manufacturers Mitsubishi and Caterpillar, Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift Europe (MCFE) manufactures, sells, and distributes forklifts and their related spare parts throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

    Business Situation
    MCFE wanted a centralized system for tracking customer service requests, and also sought to improve its forklift configuration application.

    Solution
    MCFE selected Microsoft Dynamics™ CRM and Experlogix to track all customer service requests and resolutions, and deployed a dealer-facing portal to streamline forklift configuration and other processes.

    Benefits
    • Established a centralized customer contact database
    • Created a knowledge base for managing customer service requests
    • Enabled a forklift configuration portal for dealers
    • Streamlined order entry processes
    • Improved customer service effectiveness

    Software and Services
    • Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0
    • Microsoft Office System
    • Microsoft SQL Server 2005
    • Experlogix Configurator

    Partner(s)
    • Experlogix
    • @work Management Associates B.V.

    Vertical Industries
    • Industrial Equipment and Machinery Industry

    Country/Region
    • Netherlands

    Centralized Tracking of Case-Specific Information

    The specific calls and e-mails related to an issue are tracked as a “case,” so anyone who needs to be brought up to speed on the issue can quickly and easily review the case materials and add input. Callbacks to the dealer are much more effective because the full record of the issue is housed in one place. If a customer service representative is out of the office, another representative can get up-to-speed quickly and help propel the case to resolution.

    Building a Knowledge Base

    Previously, when distributors called in to resolve an order issue or discuss a configuration, sales and support people would have to pull together information from multiple sources, such as referring to technical manuals, calling engineers, or relying on their own memories from past experiences to resolve the issue.

    MCFE is using Microsoft Dynamics CRM to build a centrally accessible knowledge base to record answers to known issues and share best practices for resolving situations using consistent and repeatable methods. When new issues are uncovered and resolved, customer service personnel can easily update the knowledge base to help other team members who may face the same issue. The knowledge base is searchable by issue, keyword, customer, and case number, making it easy to quickly identify if an answer has already been recorded for a particular issue.

    “We are now filling the knowledge base, so that the information in the future is available for our employees in a faster and better way,” says Vleeschhouwer. “Our dealers expect a high efficiency level with as few mistakes as possible, and due to Microsoft Dynamics CRM, we are able to hold on to this high efficiency service level, now and in the future.”

    Activity Tracking for Managers

    Because MCFE lacked a centralized system for tracking customer service requests, managers couldn’t measure the successful follow-up of each call.

    They also lacked visibility into the relative performance of the individual service centers and representatives.

    Without these performance measurements, MCFE could only hope it was improving customer service. Now, with Microsoft Dynamics CRM, service managers have a system for tracking the volume and status of service calls. Managers can see the number of open service calls and their rate of resolution, as well as identify service calls that were escalated. If a particular service representative is underperforming, or if one group is completing calls faster and more successfully than the others, managers can use that information to correct performance issues and share best practices, helping to improve customer satisfaction across the organization.

    “We have been able to reduce the amount of time we spend on service calls by an average of 80 percent per call. We now spend far less time chasing problems and more time improving the total quality of our business.”
    Robert Vleeschhouwer
    General Manager Information Systems Department, MCFE

    Utilizing Workflow Automation

    The case management system also helps prevent dealer calls from slipping through the cracks. MCFE is using the workflow automation functionality in Microsoft Dynamics CRM to speed response to each call. For example, when a case is opened, a workflow automation routine tracks the number of days the case is open. After three days, an e-mail is generated to alert the customer service representative and the representative’s manager of the case’s status, and the case is marked as “escalated.” This makes it much easier for managers to analyze the type of calls that are escalated and to take steps to solve underlying problems. With MCFE’s case management system, Vleeschhouwer reports that fewer service calls are lost. “Paper can be lost; it can pile up on somebody’s desk. With workflow, everything is streamlined. People shoot through the work; otherwise it’s escalated and gets handled by someone else. We have been able to reduce the amount of time we spend on service calls by an average of 80 percent per call. We now spend far less time chasing problems, and more time improving the total quality of our business.”

    Streamlining Order Management

    One of the primary goals MCFE had for its CRM solution was the ability to extend processes to its dealer channel. MCFE dealers are very much a part of its virtual sales organization, and providing effective sales tools to dealers will ultimately benefit the entire organization. MCFE had previously deployed a configuration engine for its dealers, but the tool wasn’t reliable and caused extra work for the IT staff to maintain and troubleshoot.

    Working with its Microsoft partner, @work Management Associates B.V., MCFE selected the Experlogix Parametric Configurator as an add-on to its Microsoft Dynamics CRM implementation. Experlogix Configurator is developed using the same .NET toolset Microsoft uses to develop Microsoft Dynamics CRM, so the interface and integration are completely seamless. “The old tool was very unstable. If the system failed, we couldn’t find out why,” says Vleeschhouwer. “Experlogix is such an open architecture, we can always see the flow of information from Experlogix to CRM to the ERP system.”

    Now, distributors can use the portal to configure products to fit their customer’s needs. The configurator guides the distributor through the steps needed to build a forklift order and will prevent incompatible builds. Once the distributor submits a configuration, the system automatically generates a quote. When the dealer accepts the quote, the quote automatically becomes an order within Microsoft Dynamics CRM and is used to create the order in the existing ERP system. The system generates a promise date, which is then shared via the portal, eliminating much of the back-and-forth phone calls and paperwork of the previous available-to-promise process.

    The dealer portal enables distributors to correctly configure forklifts for their customers, reducing the time-consuming and sometimes error-prone process of working through a manual configuration process.

    Faster Order Processing

    Because dealer configurations can be automatically transferred to quotes in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, the order entry process has been streamlined significantly. “The savings in order entry alone are substantial,” says Vleeschhouwer. “For example, it used to take us on average five minutes to record an order into our ERP system. Today, with Microsoft Dynamics CRM, it’s more like 90 seconds to enter an order, and that’s only because we still need to interface with the ERP system. We would like to get it down to milliseconds, but in the meantime that’s a significant time savings.” MCFE processes approximately 22,000 orders a year, and this process improvement alone is saving the company more than 1,250 hours of labor each year.

    Improved Replacement Parts Ordering

    The Dealer Portal has also helped MCFE improve the accuracy and efficiency of managing the sale of spare parts. Because the configurator tracks the details of each forklift built for each customer, dealers can quickly look up and order the compatible replacement parts, without requiring MCFE to conduct time-consuming research for each order. Orders are filled more quickly and more accurately than before, reducing administrative overhead and improving the overall customer experience. If for any reason the wrong part is ordered, or if the correct part is ordered but a different, incompatible part is shipped, MCFE has a full record of the transaction and can quickly get to the bottom of the issue and straighten it out.

    Better Access to Information and Processes

    Microsoft Dynamics CRM has delivered more to MCFE than CRM functionality and a seamlessly integrated configuration tool. Because MCFE has deployed a framework for sharing information and processes with its dealers, as well as with its internal users, it can easily design and deploy integrated applications for related processes. MCFE is primarily using Web Forms to accomplish this task, and can easily roll information back into Microsoft Dynamics CRM to complete the process. “We put forms on the Web for our dealers to fill in, for example, to record an error in shipment,” explains Vleeschhouwer. “Dealers can tell us what the problem is and we can fix it. Sometimes it’s a drop ship, so we need to go back to the supplier. Now we can really chase those shipments and improve the customer experience.”

    Experlogix, Inc.
    27 W. Anapamu St., Ste. 310
    Santa Barbara, CA 93101
    (805) 504-9729
    www.experlogix.com
    info@experlogix.com

    The inherent integration of Microsoft Dynamics CRM with Web forms via its .NET architecture makes it easy for companies like MCFE to build the functionality it needs, without changing the underlying CRM application. “What we do is quite simple,” says Vleeschhouwer. “We don’t modify CRM internally, we use a lot of Web forms. Our dealers fill out the form online, and we spool the data into CRM.” Some of the applications supported by Microsoft Dynamics CRM include:

    • Quote Entry
    • Quality Inspection
    • Make to Order
    • Customer Shop Modification
    • Error in Shipment
    • Special Price Agreement Request
    • Accounts Receivable Inquiry “We use the logic of CRM for our own purposes,” says Vleeschhouwer. “Plus, it’s easy to upgrade to a higher version of CRM because we haven’t modified the base code.”

    Management Information

    Information collected in Microsoft Dynamics CRM is readily available to users and management, making it easy to track the status of quotes, requests for special pricing, shipment discrepancies and service call status. Information can be viewed directly in Microsoft Dynamics CRM, and can also easily be exported to Microsoft Office Excel® spreadsheet software, or into PivotTable® and PivotCharts® dynamic views that can be dynamically updated. MCFE also heavily uses Microsoft SQL Server® Reporting Services, which helps it extract, combine, and analyze data from its SQL Server and other databases.

    Since 2004, MCFE’s revenues have increased 30 percent, unit sales have increased 18 percent, and its share of market has grown by 7 to 10 percent in a mature, competitive market segment. More customers are purchasing more forklifts from MCFE each year, and intelligent investments in information and process management systems, such as Microsoft Dynamics CRM, are helping to drive service effectiveness and deliver increased customer satisfaction.

    Microsoft Dynamics

    Microsoft Dynamics is a line of integrated, adaptable business management solutions that enables you and your people to make business decisions with greater confidence. Microsoft Dynamics works like familiar Microsoft software such as Microsoft Office, which means less of a learning curve for your people, so they can get up and running quickly and focus on what’s most important. And because it is from Microsoft, it easily works with the systems that your company already has implemented. By automating and streamlining financial, customer relationship, and supply chain processes, Microsoft Dynamics brings together people, processes, and technologies, increasing the productivity and effectiveness of your business, and helping you drive business success.

    Streamline Your Operations Today

    Discover how The CRM Team can help your organisation build smarter customer connections and achieve operational excellence with Microsoft Dynamics 365.
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    Towards a revenue-generating sales and service management platform Microsoft Dynamics 365 & ICON

    Towards a revenue-generating sales and service management platform Microsoft Dynamics 365 & ICON

    Microsoft Case Study

    Towards a Revenue-Generating Sales and Service Platform with Dynamics 365

    ICON partnered with The CRM Team to build a scalable, brand-neutral Dynamics 365 platform that empowers financial advisors through intelligent sales, service and customer management.

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    About ICON

    ICON is an independent digital service provider that empowers financial advisors through tailor-made software solutions. Their financial advisor platform is designed to equip advisors with the tools necessary to engage, serve and manage customers through a single personalised interface.

    The result: massive efficiency gains in an industry long overdue for disruption.

    A brand-neutral, revenue-generating platform facilitating sales, customer and service management

    With its cloud-based data storage, investment reporting and engagement capabilities, the Icon platform is about to shake up the insurance industry. Scalability, automation and greater productivity are just some of the benefits Icon is already realising through a solution that enables subscribers to access a variety of critical, value-adding services.

    Key Benefits

    • Client engagement, end-to-end reporting and intelligent data consolidation
    • Process standardisation, scalability and access to strategy-guiding insights

    A slow-evolving industry in need of disruption

    ‘We had been operating in very much the same way for decades,’ notes Jacques Joubert, business analyst at Icon. Unlike in other industries, little disruptive innovation had streamlined business practices. The result was a slow process evolution and an operating environment that was still stubbornly paper-based.

    ‘The market also faces a huge degree of compliance and legislation,’ Joubert adds. More than this, cost-ineffective distribution, non-scalable distribution models and the inability to keep up with changing product needs have been placing strain on advisors. As a result, many have begun to struggle, falling short of delivering an attractive value proposition, and unable to cater to changing consumer needs and trends.

    The industry needed a game-changing solution, one which ‘minimises admin burdens and enables our clients to optimise how they spend their time,’ Sean Kelly, Digital Platform Manager notes. The Icon team wanted to bring exactly that to the market. To do so, however, they needed an innovative and committed partner.

    “We enjoyed the flexibility and ‘anything is possible’ attitude … this really spoke to a partnership we wanted to be involved in.”
    Sean Kelly, Icon

    The one solution feel

    ‘We considered several partners,’ says Kelly. ‘We searched for well over a year and went through multiple platforms …’ Ultimately, however, it became clear that the Microsoft Dynamics 365 The CRM Team combination was the right one.

    One challenge Icon faced was around environments. ‘As a start-up, cost is a huge factor,’ Kelly notes, ‘and so not being able to afford all the environments, from production to UAT … put pressure on both the operational capabilities of the company as well as the development abilities of our partners, The CRM Team.’

    Nonetheless, Dynamics’ superior flexibility, scalability, ability to integrate seamlessly with Office 365 and Azure were all factored into the final choice, notes Kelly of Dynamics’ ‘one solution feel’.

    The CRM Team’s flexible and integrated ‘business consulting’ approach also aligned with Icon’s business vision.

    Nic Bowman, Strategic Operations, said that the use of Agile methodology and ‘anything is possible’ mindset were further benefits of working with The CRM Team. Overall, says Bowman, the combination made for a highly attractive partnership.

    “The CRM Team are not just developers, but provide a far more wholesome offering.”
    Sean Kelly, Icon

    Driving insight with digital

    The solution needed to allow advisors and their clients to interact in new ways. It also needed to drive both functionality and insight.

    A consolidated view of advisors, their practises and their clients was critical, notes The CRM Team’s Head of Delivery and Projects, Jessica Du Toit. The ability to handle lead logging, sales pipeline tracking and contact type differentiation were also key.

    Additional requirements centred around document loading, quote generation and effective query resolution through case management. The solution also needed to be scalable, and allow for white-labelled across a variety of spaces.

    On the front end, the capstone was a self-service portal, one that could be accessed by both advisors and their clients.

    Leveraging Agile, flexibility and more

    ‘The CRM Team’s flexibility … and their ability to deal with our constantly evolving needs as a start-up has been a big plus for us,’ says Nicholas Bowman. He adds that the team’s Agile approach also facilitated a great deal of in-house learning.

    ‘We are learning what works and what doesn’t work, giving us great ideas on future builds and iterations … It has been enjoyable to deal with a team who are more than just executors.’

    Bowman adds that The CRM Team have a great support infrastructure. Quick turnaround times and a genuine willingness to help provide huge comfort in knowing that when things go wrong they are there to assist.

    The CRM Team have taken a keen interest in understanding Icon’s business and industry, which has enabled them to offer valuable insights into the direction of each solution, as well as ensuring that the solutions are appropriate and future-proof.

    Finally, Bowman emphasises that through their experience with the Dynamics 365 platform, The CRM Team are able to offer solutions that they are currently testing or proofs of concept which they have built. This has started to make proper waves in Icon’s business, providing a competitive advantage and enabling exploration of new ideas and technologies alongside The CRM Team.

    On the digital journey

    ‘Our implementation is currently still in progress and is being taken on in two stages,’ Sean Kelly notes. ‘The first stage is what we call our Pilot stage. During this time we are taking on users who we believe are best positioned to be beta testers.’

    This stage will provide Icon with both a live testing environment and user base, enabling a feedback loop that improves the focus of each iteration and allows for any bug fixes.

    ‘Our second stage of implementation will be the launch to market. We have not yet entered this phase but will be doing so in Q1 of 2018 and are very excited to see how the market reacts,’ Kelly highlights.

    Yet, the Icon team has already started realising major benefits. On the subject of scalability, Kelly states that the solution has assisted internal operations and customers to improve efficiencies and automate sectors within the business. It has enabled communication with the entire customer base in multiple ways, allowing Icon to keep them up to date with relevant personalised content, prompting positive responses in terms of engagement and sales opportunities.

    Jacques Joubert highlights that advancements on the platform are becoming known industry-wide, with Icon being approached by key stakeholders from many corners of the industry.

    Next Steps

    The future of the solution sees a driven focus on the Single Platform concept and the building of a community-centred offering, as opposed to one that is industry specific.

    Up until now, the development has focused on setting the foundation for a single interface experience through internal service management components, data storage and hierarchy structures, user-friendly access points, sound communication processes and efficient automation.

    Going forward, this will be achieved by adding to and integrating various services within the customer platform. Tools such as robo-advisors, case and new business management pipelines, storage facilities, portfolio construction tools and access to powerful business analytics reports are just the beginning of the journey which will see Icon becoming THE interface for Financial Services.

    It has been an exciting journey for Icon so far, but one that is far from over. Watch this space.

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    Discover how The CRM Team can help your organisation build smarter customer connections and achieve operational excellence with Microsoft Dynamics 365.
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    Hitachi Construction Machinery Dynamics CRM case study

    Hitachi Construction Machinery Dynamics CRM case study

    Microsoft Case Study

    Accelerating Time-to-Quote and Improving Order Accuracy with Dynamics CRM

    Hitachi Construction Machinery improved quoting accuracy, reduced time-to-quote, and increased CRM adoption across its national distribution network through an integrated CRM and CPQ solution.

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    Challenge

    Heavy construction machinery, excavators, dump trucks, wheel loaders, and graders are highly complex pieces of equipment, typically custom ordered to fit the needs of each customer. Hitachi, a globally recognized brand, was increasingly challenged to configure orders with their current systems and procedures in place.

    HCA operates 25 branch locations across Australia. The company had implemented Microsoft Dynamics CRM to better manage its diverse customer base. Microsoft Excel was used at each center to configure and manage quotes and orders. Not only was it extremely difficult to ensure that each instance of Excel contained the most current component parts and correct pricing, but the system was error prone due to heavy dependence on proficiency of workers remembering what parts could – and could not – be configured with each product. In addition, Dynamics CRM and Excel were not integrated, and it was difficult to instill discipline in using Dynamics CRM.

    The company made the decision to invest in an automated product configurator that would seamlessly integrate with Dynamics CRM to improve quality assurance of configurations and quoting.

    “Experlogix has made it much faster to create valid orders. We’ve seen about a 50% improvement in time-to-quote. And accuracy in quoting has also improved about 50%.”
    – Craig Walsh, CRM Administrator

    The Solution

    HCA investigated four product configurators before selecting Experlogix CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote).

    “Experlogix fit our business needs, and it integrated seamlessly with Dynamics CRM,” says Craig Walsh, CRM Administrator. “Integration with Dynamics CRM was huge. It meant that sales representatives couldn’t randomly generate a quote outside of Dynamics CRM – and that the customer had to be in the CRM database.”

    Result

    One of the big benefits in the implementation of Experlogix was a huge increase of Dynamics CRM usage across all seven divisions of the company.

    “With an integrated CRM/CPQ environment, there’s so much information available at your fingertips and everyone began to see the value in it,” says Walsh.

    Experlogix has also had a significant impact on time-to-quote, which greatly reduces time-to-market of assemble-to-order products.

    “Experlogix has made it much faster to create valid orders,” he says. “We’ve seen about a 50% improvement in time-to-quote, and accuracy in quoting has also improved about 50%.”

    Experlogix also fits neatly into HCA’s ISO9001 environment to ensure document versions are controlled. The end benefit and result ensures equipment orders are supplied correctly to the customer.

    Accurate quoting with Experlogix in Dynamics CRM affords more accurate forecasting of inventory requirements.

    Walsh’s job has been made easier with the quality of service received from the Experlogix support team, noting their responsiveness and commitment to ensuring the system works as required before handover.

    Streamline Your Operations Today

    Discover how The CRM Team can help your organisation build smarter customer connections and achieve operational excellence with Microsoft Dynamics 365.

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    Customer Success Story: MTN

    Customer Success Story: MTN

    Microsoft Case Study

    Building Meaningful Customer Relationships with Dynamics 365

    MTN implemented an intelligent Dynamics 365 solution to unify customer data, track all customer interactions in one environment, and enable effective sales, marketing, and customer service across the organisation.

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    The Problem

    MTN require a customer relationship management solution like Dynamics 365 for Sales Enterprise, and Customer Service Enterprise, which is simple to use and can support their teams to build meaningful relationships with their customers. MTN wants an intelligent business application that keeps track of all activity, communication, quotes, phone calls and notes in one environment where it can be accessed by the users and management.

    The Solution

    MTN has a technology platform that will allow them to bring together disparate systems that currently house various components of customer data across their teams and their head office. This overarching solution provides them with a ‘single record’ of each customer and allow effective marketing, sales, and customer service through an intelligent business application.

    Microsoft Dynamics 365 for

    Customer Service Enterprise

    Microsoft Dynamics 365 for

    Sales Enterprise

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    MICROSOFT DYNAMICS 365 CASE STUDY: Sasfin Wealth

    Customer Success Story: Wonga

    Microsoft Case Study

    Customer Success Story: Wonga

    Wonga partnered with The CRM Team to simplify customer engagement, improve cross-functional integration, and drive measurable growth through Dynamics 365 Marketing and Customer Service.

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    The CRM Team
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    Oct 12, 2025
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    About Wonga

    Wonga was founded in South Africa in late 2011 as part of the Wonga Group, which had lending operations in the UK, South Africa, Poland, Spain, Canada and Germany. In late 2018 the Wonga Group went into administration which led to the South African business unit being unbundled from the Group, and taken over by a local management buyout. Being a locally managed and owned business allowed Wonga to take a fresh view on consumer credit. Wonga exists to “Help people own their possibilities” – and is a purpose led organisation. As a FinTech that is disrupting the traditional credit space, Wonga measures their success on the positive outcomes for their customers who have hit a cashflow shortfall and, as a responsible lender, will never push them past what they need. They offer short-term cashflow solutions from R500 up to R8000, repayable over 4 days over up to 6 months.

    Challenges

    Prior to the implementation of Dynamics 365 Marketing & Customer Service, Wonga had been using a solution from a well-known Dynamics 365 competitor which the Wonga South African operation had inherited from the Wonga Group. According to them, the prior solution was overengineered and a complex system for their requirements as a company. It was quite difficult for the Wonga team to have cross-functional integration, in particular between the marketing system and other systems. This presented quite a few challenges for the Wonga team. The duplicate data across several instances that Wonga had was the company’s other major obstacle.

    Frictionless customer engagement across channels

    The decision to use Dynamics 365 was easy, according to Wonga’s Chief Technology Officer Michael Lazarus. After unpacking the solutions, everyone in the company felt it was a natural fit, and Michael understood that adoption would occur quicker for everyone. He describes the solutions as perfectly suited for their business needs. “We chose The CRM Team because they are product experts and they had a great understanding of the platform and features we needed to be using”

    Although they are still early in the implementation journey, Michael lists the advantages of utilizing Dynamics 365 as being the simplicity of Adoption and implementation, the ease of cross-business integration, and the solutions’ usability.

    “One of the successes so far for the Wonga team is that Dynamics 365 Marketing, has allowed them to track the effectiveness of their marketing emails and show a 4% monthly increase in the number of loan applications from customers through the email channel. Another achievement was the ability to successfully market to clients via SMS.”

    Lazarus goes on to say, “We are already receiving reports for bounce rates, which allows us the opportunity to remarket to those customers via an SMS campaign rather than an email. Therefore, we already have bounce-back rates that are logical and simple for us to interpret so that we can launch different marketing tactics to target those customers. We are seeing improved yields, with customers returning and updating their information so that we can market to them via an email campaign. It is a revenue driver for us, our business is based on targeting customers when they need us, in a very efficient way. Consequently, there has been a significant increase in top of funnel demand, and we will continue to improve on it over the next months.” – said Michael Lazarus.

    Partnering with The CRM Team

    “I would definitely recommend The CRM Team if you’re seeking a partner who fully comprehends the Dynamics platform. They really are experts when it comes to the product suites and the integration points of the various services, and it is very astonishing how rapidly the system could be implemented despite the impending deadlines. I absolutely take my hat off to The CRM Team.” – Michael Lazarus said.

    Next Steps

    With the successful initial phase of the Dynamics 365 Marketing & Customer Service project, Wonga is now looking for a full end-to-end embedded Dynamics platform in their business. The next phase is aimed at implementing the HR and Financial component of Dynamics 365.

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    Customer Success Story: MTN

    Customer Success Story VKB

    Microsoft Case Study

    Customer Success Story: VKB Group

    VKB simplified operations for its 30 companies by centralising customer information, streamlining KYC across the group, and introducing a single system to manage service requests. Integrated ERP data ensures accuracy, while improved visibility strengthens customer relationships at every touchpoint.

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    The CRM Team
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    The Problem

    VKB has around 30 companies under the umbrella with a lot of shared clients between these companies. Customer info was not centralised- each company managed their own info and if someone leaves the company that info is most likely lost. There was no official channel for customer complaints, compliments or service requests to be managed. The shareholding in companies was not clearly defined. The relationships of VKB’s customers’ businesses and their employees was not clear.

    The Solution

    All companies in VKB have access to true data on their clients. The data on the clients only needs to be kept updated in one space- e.g. KYC only needs to be done once for all companies instead of each company needed to do FICA for the customer. Customer service requests can now be managed and tracked in a single system and any patterns in repeat queries can be picked up and fixed. The structure of the clients can be defined and understood by all interested parties. Integration with the ERP system ensures the integrity of customer and vendor data.

    Microsoft Dynamics 365

    for Customer Service

    Microsoft Power

    Apps

    Microsoft Power

    Automate

    Streamline Your Operations Today

    Discover how The CRM Team can help your organisation build smarter customer connections and achieve operational excellence with Microsoft Dynamics 365.

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    Vitality Enhances Customer Engagement with Microsoft Dynamics 365

    Vitality Enhances Customer Engagement with Microsoft Dynamics 365

    Microsoft Case Study

    Innovative UK health and life insurer boosts sales with Microsoft Dynamics 365

    Through a complete sales process redesign and the implementation of Microsoft Dynamics 365, Vitality automated lead management, improved team performance, and achieved record-breaking growth in just seven months.

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    The CRM Team
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    About Vitality

    Vitality, one of the most distinctive life and health insurers on the British market, has revamped its entire lead management process via an intensive business process redesign linked to the introduction of leading-edge CRM techniques with Dynamics.

    The project has doubled the team’s contribution to group income in just seven months and even higher targets for the team are now feasible, says the business owner.

    A new way of delivering a core business process

    Vitality is the successful UK business face of major South African health and life insurer Discovery. Set up to make a real difference to its customers, the brand offers a distinctive set of values around trying to make positive improvements in customer lives.

    Benefits:

    • Business process redesign + Dynamics CRM changed picture
    • 87% growth in business directly linked to CRM project
    • User sees eventual growth rising from 3% to 20% inside three years.

    Functionality exceeding expectations

    D2C’s leadership ended up with three possible options: a small ISV’s solution, extension of use of Salesforce, employed in other parts of its parent Discovery – and the potential aid of a specialist Microsoft Dynamics CRM consultancy, The CRM Team.

    “What I liked about The CRM Team’s approach was its deep focus on using all the power of Dynamics to help us,” notes Boyle. “What started as a conversation about lead management consulting quickly grew, in an exciting way, into a vision of building a new sales process with functionality we just hadn’t even considered.”

    YOY GROWTH IN SALES, DIRECTLY LINKED TO the DYNAMICS 365 SOLUTION

    %

    TOTAL REVENUE CONTRIBUTION BY D2C TO THE TOTAL BUSINESS TURNOVER IN THE UK. A MASSIVE INCREASE COMPARED TO 3% IN THE PREVIOUS YEAR

    TOTAL REVENUE CONTRIBUTION IS ON TRACK FOR THE NEW FY, WITH A VERY LEAN STRUCUTRE. DRIVEN BY TECHNOLOGY.

    A new way of delivering a core business process

    Offering both life and health financial services products, the company seeks to deliver value via a constantly-improving rewards and engagement program all about finding new ways to boost the health of its customers.
    The firm has been making solid progress in market growth, however its first wave of lead management workflow, handled since 2014 by its UK-based Direct to Customer (D2C) unit, while serving to grow its customer base, was slow and inefficient. “We had a system where leads coming into our customerfacing website had too many gaps before they were delivered to our Stockport-based financial advisory
    team,” says D2C’s Head, Keith Boyle.

    “Ten promising leads might drop down to eight when they actually got to our advisers to call. We also had no effective way of tracking things in real time, and there were pauses in the flow that meant agents were waiting around to work.”

    Boyle puts the lead management problems down to a combination of an internal workflow needing improvement, a clunky Excel-based extraction system, and manual handling of leads off the website. It was decided in late 2015 to explore ways to streamline the whole Vitality lead capture and processing function, with initial evaluation of possible technologies to support a better way of organizing the core
    business process.

     

    Functionality Exceeding Expectations

    Boyle also saw potential in Dynamics he just couldn’t detect in alternatives.

    “I quickly saw access to really interesting new Microsoft tools in the stack like propensity management, digital Web chat support, Machine Learning and analytics to build better models of customer behavior and needs. “That sealed the deal for me, ultimately.”

    “We could see there was no one consolidated place for D2C to activate leads, which meant a poor way to convert into business or direct customers to expert advice,” comments The CRM Team’s Head of Delivery and Projects Jessica Du Toit. “What was needed was a better, integrated way of handling and routing leads off the site that would help build up a 360-degree picture of new customers.” The form of CRM judged most optimal by the partner for Vitality’s needs was Dynamics CRM Online, she adds.

    The CRM Team is committed to an Agile delivery methodology, which means it was able to action ideas rapidly, delivering a working initial redesigned lead management process at D2C in just six weeks. That initial platform, up and running in early 2016, was then modified by Boyle and his management team. “It needed some work to help support a slicker internal structure to be even more proactive and efficient,” he says. “I could see we were still not getting leads reacted to quickly enough for our business growth needs.

    “We promptly actioned an extensive lead business process redesign, working with The CRM Team – and we’re glad to say a new approach was set in place very quickly.”

    Digital transformation journey to more business

    What does that new approach look like in practice? Boyle says that the management and optimization of lead management in the team radically improved from day one. “That’s in terms of increased efficiency, a highly noticeable increase in speed, and support for us to do what we really want for Vitality customers – give them totally individual attention and advice.”

    In terms of speed, Boyle says that pre-Dynamics, a lead could sit in the system for an hour and a half on a bad day; that’s shrunk to seconds. And with the team now organized into real-time lead focus, a lead generation and a specialist advisory team, he says “a genuine step-change” has occurred as far as D2C is concerned.

    But the most dramatic evidence of the impact of tech-empowered change at the company is the bottom line. “I’m really pleased with our growth,” says Boyle. “In just seven months we saw an 87% increase in sales over the entire calendar year before.” In terms of the unit’s contribution to the wider Discovery business, he adds, that translates to a stunning jump from 3% to 7%.

    But Boyle’s aiming even higher. “With the improvements in our internal processes and the betterengaged and organized team we’ve got here, I have every confidence we’re on a digital transformation journey to a 10% contribution by end of year – and I am pushing for 20% by 2019.” In tech terms, Boyle has already actioned work to integrate telephony support into the CRM process and is evaluating advanced techniques for building that more detailed behavior picture he wants.

    Summing up, Boyle says that thanks to Dynamics CRM Online, he has a humming lead machine with a “team that grabs for opportunity now” and which delivers a way for Vitality customers to get what they want at the speed they deserve.

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    Digital Transformation in Action: First Group + Microsoft Dynamics 365

    Digital Transformation in Action: First Group + Microsoft Dynamics 365

    Microsoft Case Study

    First Group Transforms Customer Engagement with Microsoft Dynamics 365

    By implementing Microsoft Dynamics 365 Marketing and Customer Insights, First Group automated key business processes, improved efficiency, and gained an integrated customer view across operations.

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    The CRM Team
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    Oct 12, 2025
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    The Problem

    First Group’s back-end operations were manual, which resulted in slower turnaround times and much higher administrative expenditures.
    The group exclusively used a selfdeveloped property management system; there were no CRM systems in place.

    The Solution

    First Group was able to automate the manual processes they had in place and digitalize operations thanks to the implementation of Dynamics Marketing and Customer Insights, which enhanced efficiency and decreased manual administrative costs. The organization can now do something they have never been able to do before: receive a complete 360° customer view

    Microsoft Dynamics 365

    Marketing

    Microsoft Dynamics 365

    Customer Insights

    Streamline Your Operations Today

    Discover how The CRM Team can help your organisation build smarter customer connections and achieve operational excellence with Microsoft Dynamics 365.

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