What is Balluff?

Balluff is a globally recognized manufacturer and provider of innovative sensor solutions, identification systems, and network components that has been setting standards in industrial automation for decades. As a partner in digital transformation, Balluff delivers advanced systems that integrate hardware with software, enabling enterprises to reach the level of Industry 4.0. The brand’s extensive portfolio includes everything from precision position sensors to comprehensive RFID systems and IO-Link solutions, which together create an ecosystem for full transparency and control of production processes in the most demanding environments.

Challenge

At Balluff, the order verification process was performed manually by the sales department staff. Every order required a check in SAP along with an analysis of payment history and email correspondence in Outlook. The process was time-consuming, delaying order fulfillment and limiting the time available for sales activities. Furthermore, it forced sales representatives into a tedious and repetitive task, which negatively affected their motivation and overall job engagement.

Solution

We implemented an RPA robot integrated with SAP and Outlook that:

Continuously and automatically reviews open orders in SAP.

Analyzes the customer’s payment history.

Extracts data from emails (Outlook) and analyzes communication context.

Makes decisions:

• No overdue payments → passes the order for fulfillment.
• Overdue payments → automatically sends payment reminders.

Ensures data and process consistency within the system.

Generates daily performance reports and summaries of its activities.

Rezultaty

Freeing up approximately 4,200 hours of sales department labor annually.

Reallocating time to new customer acquisition → resulting in sales growth.

A 20–30-fold improvement in the debt collection rate.

Faster order fulfillment and the elimination of manual errors.

Increased process scalability and enhanced financial control.