Headquartered in Nagpur, Solar Group is a renowned manufacturer of industrial explosives, detonators, detonating fuses, and cast boosters. With a customer base that includes major players like Coal India Limited, Vedanta, Tata, Jindal, SAIL, and L&T, Solar Group prides itself on providing high-quality products and services backed by stringent safety standards, robust infrastructure, and a proven quality management system.

Problem Statement

In today’s dynamic business environment, Solar Group faced increasing complexity in managing operations across diverse functions, including pre-sales activities, order processing, financial operations, transport logistics, customer relations, and customer management. Without an integrated software solution, the company grappled with operational inefficiencies, communication breakdowns, and inadequate data management. These issues hindered performance and negatively impacted customer satisfaction. Solar Group needed a streamlined workflow to enhance sales execution, speed up order fulfillment, and improve overall customer experience.

Challenges

• Inefficient Inquiry Logging: Lack of an effective system for logging and tracking customer inquiries led to missed opportunities.
• Handling Specialized Orders: Managing various types of material orders (bulk, packaged, defense) required departmental approvals, but the absence of a unified system made this process cumbersome.
• Slow Approval Processes: Approvals for indents, sales orders, and invoicing were slow, causing delays in order fulfillment.
• Delivery Monitoring Issues: Difficulty in tracking delivery schedules negatively affected customer service levels.
• Limited Customer Feedback Analysis: There was no structured system to collect and analyze customer feedback effectively.
• User Profile Management: Maintaining accurate user profiles with sector, plant, and role mappings was challenging, affecting reporting and accountability.

Solution Offered by Lexicon Networks

Lexicon Networks designed and deployed an integrated Solar Smart Suite—a comprehensive Sales & Service Automation System with real-time Order Management. This solution enabled Solar Group to efficiently manage their sales order processes, track customer relationships, and monitor operational workflows. The solution was available on both Web and Mobile platforms, catering to the needs of the on-field sales team as well as back-office departments.
Key Features of Solar Smart Suite:

1. User Profiles and Access Control:
   • Detailed sector, plant, role, and location mappings were created to manage user profiles.
   • Configurable access controls enhanced data security by restricting functionalities based on roles.
2. Centralized Inquiry Logging:
   • A single system to log and track customer inquiries, improving visibility across departments and ensuring no inquiry was overlooked.
3. Integrated Workflow Coordination:
   • o Seamless coordination among departments via integrated workflows ensured timely preparation of offers and faster responses to customer inquiries.
4. Indent Management and Order Processing:
   • Tailored modules for handling different indent types based on material, ensuring efficient creation, approval, and processing of indents.
   • Streamlined approval process for indents, sales order creation, and invoicing, significantly reducing turnaround time.
5. Master Data Management:
   A centralized repository for critical data, including customer details, materials, routes, vehicles, and pricing. This single source of truth ensured consistency across the organization.

Results and Benefits

• Enhanced Productivity:The automated system has significantly streamlined business processes, improving both speed and accuracy in order processing, financial transactions, and customer management.
• Improved Communication and Collaboration:Integrated workflows and centralized data management have led to better collaboration across departments, reducing delays and enhancing service delivery.
• Increased Customer Satisfaction:The platform has enabled faster responses to customer inquiries, more efficient order fulfillment, and better management of post-sales feedback and complaints.
• Cost Savings:By reducing manual tasks, eliminating data silos, and improving resource utilization, Solar Group has achieved notable cost savings.
• Regulatory Compliance:Automated compliance checks ensure that all legal requirements, particularly for explosives transport, are met consistently, enhancing safety and reducing risks.

Conclusion

The Solar Smart Suite has been a game-changer for Solar Group. By providing a single platform to manage complex sales and order processes, it has driven operational efficiency, improved customer satisfaction, and supported long-term growth. The ease of use and real-time data visibility offered by the platform have transformed how Solar Group operates, leading to ongoing success and continuous value addition.