GALA Group
Modern work thanks to synergies
“Implementation of the Modern Workplace solutions in our company was shaped by the positive and motivating cooperation with COSMO CONSULT. We have shared experiences for more than a year that lay the foundation for further cooperation.”
Dr. Uwe Petersen, CTO at Gala Group
Company profile
GALA GROUP, with its headquarters in Bavaria, Germany, is one of the world’s leading and fastest-growing manufacturers of high-quality scented and unscented candles, room fragrances and home decor. They have approximately 5,000 employees working at production sites in Europe, North America and India.
- Over 5,000 employees and associates
- Locations in Germany, Poland, Hungary, India and the USA
- Customer segment: large retail outlets from the drugstore, food and furniture manufacturing sectors and, on the other hand, large internationally active retailers & e-commerce retailers
Unique Selling Points
- Tailor-made solutions adapted to the respective requirements
- Unique global network of trend, design, brand, retail and e-commerce specialists
- Leaders in the identification and development of trends
- State-of-the-art equipped production sites
- From small and medium batch sizes to large-scale production for every price segment
Software Requirements
The Group was not able to exploit its synergies due to the merger of the various companies and the different systems. Collaborating with colleagues from the other sites was not easy because the different email, calendar and collaboration systems were not compatible.
The solution that GALA GROUP needed was therefore clearly in the Modern Workplace field. This is intended to ensure meaningful and efficient cooperation with all Gala Group employees.
The Office 365 software implementation is expected to improve efficiency and save time. Cooperation will not only be facilitated, but above all, it will be standardized.
The COSMO CONSULT Solution
The workplace solution provided includes Office 365, in particular the Outlook email and calendaring system, as well as Microsoft Teams collaboration and video conferencing solution with OneDrive.
The implemented project includes implementation of the solution and change management support. COSMO CONSULT as an end-to-end provider was not only able to deliver everything from a single source in the MS area, but also to accompany the entire project and ensure a goal-driven change process.
Quarterly goals and activities were agreed upon, and the focus was also on informing users in the different cultural groups. It started with the Microsoft Exchange migration, then Teams was implemented, followed by the installation of Microsoft with OneDrive, SharePoint etc.
Resulting benefits and successes
A common modern workplace solution brings individual sites closer together, even if they are thousands of miles apart. Access to all employees’ calendars makes it easier to find appointments, and this is similar with a shared address book.
Successes have already been seen in the first weeks and months. Cooperation has become much easier. There are already time savings and, as a result, cost savings, as employees can now focus more on their own projects. Meetings can be held much faster, as the scheduling process has been made easier and the meeting solution has also been installed for each user.
Goals Achieved
- Facilitation of work with each other
- Increased efficiency
- Productivity increase
The success story
Company milestones—the history
GALA GROUP consists of companies that were previously separate. Because of this company history, there was a mixed system landscape, so there were many different email and collaboration systems.
Requirements Due to Growth
Together with COSMO CONSULT, GALA GROUP had to develop an understanding of how differently companies in Europe, India and America operate today and what the different starting situations are. There was no long-standing teamwork before, only site by site. GALA GROUP opted for Office 365 solutions implemented by COSMO CONSULT to create a group dynamic. In view of the different situations at various locations, a wide variety of systems had to be migrated and cooperation strengthened.
The Project Process
In the beginning, it was important to understand how companies in Europe, India and America work today. There was no long-established method for group collaboration in the company. The groups had to be formed first and this was to be achieved with a Modern Workplace solution. A wide variety of systems had to be migrated to enable cooperation. Further joint projects are planned, as the further road map envisages exploring how additional functionalities can be used in a targeted way and how work can be done more productively.
The Most Important Steps in the Change Process
As well as implementation, workshops for using the tools were offered to the users. In parallel, technical implementation was carried out with IT. Key users were defined who pushed the implementation to the other users. This kept the acclimatization phase as short as possible.
Specific Benefits and Resulting Benefits
Intra-company collaboration has been and will continue to be taken to a new level. This is ensured by the Modern Workplace products that have been implemented. The shared address book as well as access to all calendar data saves a lot of time and improves efficiency. Appointments can be fixed more quickly and teams also have the opportunity to hold video conferences quickly and, above all, spontaneously.
Experiences During the Change Process
The agile processing of the tasks and the collection of the users facilitated the change process enormously.
The Cooperation with COSMO CONSULT and Conclusion
Over the course of the project, GALA GROUP and COSMO CONSULT were able to get to know each other and develop an extremely productive working relationship. Feedback loops ensured optimization of ongoing processes and a qualitative approach to a range of topics.
In the course of the cooperation, time savings have already been achieved in internal processes created by the newly acquired tools. At the same time, the employees involved have not been overburdened with the increase in communication speed.
The successes achieved and synergies gained together form a good foundation for further projects.
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