The Challenge

In 2025, OSTERMANN replaced its legacy CRM with SAP Sales Cloud V2, improving how its sales departments worked. After completing the project, the team turned its attention to a more specific question: how could it better support field sales reps?

Their working environment was different from that of office-based colleagues. Reps spent their days in customers’ workshops and traveled between appointments, with little time at a desk. OSTERMANN wanted to reduce their admin workload so they could spend more time with customers.

Before Donna, reps took short notes throughout the day and transferred that information into Sales Cloud in the evening. After customer visits, they still had reports to complete. Updating marketing attributes and creating tasks for inside sales added to the workload. Reps wanted to talk to customers and do business, but documenting those conversations extended their working day.

Preparation took time too. Before each meeting, reps looked up customer information and reviewed previous visit reports. If anything had changed since they last checked the system, they called inside sales for an update.

The reporting process also made it difficult to build a consistent picture of customer activity. Some reps wrote detailed accounts, while others kept them short. That variation made information harder to compare and analyze.

OSTERMANN needed a way to make reporting fit into the day, while helping the wider team act on customer conversations sooner. After discovering Donna at industry events, the company decided to explore how she could help reps get more work done on the road.

The Solution

Donna now brings preparation and reporting into the time between visits.

Before a meeting, reps call Donna for the latest customer information. Connected to OSTERMANN’s sales system, she gives them access to current account details while they’re on the road.

Afterward, reps talk through the visit with Donna in the car on their way to the next customer. They capture what happened while the conversation is still fresh, without having to organize their thoughts into a finished report. Donna turns their spoken account into structured information.

Reps can also update marketing attributes and create tasks for inside sales through Donna. The admin that once accumulated throughout the day is now handled after each visit.

“And now with Donna, they're able to do the visit report and the administrative work right away in their car.” - Gerd Terhardt, IT Manager, OSTERMANN

Using Donna changes how information moves through the business. If a customer requests samples during a morning visit, the rep can create a task immediately afterward. Inside sales receives it in their inbox and can start arranging what the customer needs.

The Impact

For reps, the clearest change is less work waiting at home. Tasks that previously filled their evenings now fit into the journeys between customers.

“They save time. The visit reports become better, longer, with fresh information directly after the visit, and fresh impressions from the customer.” - Gerd Terhardt, IT Manager, OSTERMANN

For the business, more consistent reporting makes customer information easier to compare and analyze. Reports depend less on each rep’s individual approach, giving teams faster access to information colleagues can act on. Inside sales can act on requests sooner because tasks reach them directly after a visit.

Gerd also sees potential for reps to spend the time saved on additional customer visits.

“By reducing the tasks in the evening, we can probably do more visits a day. So it's a quantity improvement.” - Gerd Terhardt, IT Manager, OSTERMANN