Project Description

Our client Whyte & Mackay required a solution to simplify and manage their customer onboarding process.

To help manage this process, Bridgeall delivered a Power Platform and Office 365 based approach to rapidly deliver a solution. This was achieved using Power Apps to create a centralised solution and automating business process steps with Power Automate. 

Feedback from Whyte & Mackay

“Bridgeall completely transformed how we manage onboarding requests from new customers. Their hard work and skill has meant we have seen a vast improvement in productivity and efficiency across the board.”

Founded in 1844, Whyte & Mackay are a market leader in the global spirits business with an award-winning portfolio of world-renowned brands. As well as making their own single malt and blended Scotch whiskies, Whyte and Mackay also own renowned brands Dalmore, Jura, Tamnavulin and Fettercairn single malts, along with Glayva liqueur and Vladivar vodka.

Challenges facing Whyte and Mackay  

To support on-going growth, the company had an urgent need to streamline the approach to getting new business by onboarding customers. The onboarding process was cumbersome and manual for both customers and colleagues. There was therefore a need to develop a robust solution which allowed for a more self-service approach to customer service, whilst allowing an element of control from colleagues over the data. 

Working closely with the internal management team, customer onboarding stakeholders and Whyte & Mackay, Bridgeall successfully designed and implemented a Power Platform solution to replace the existing onboarding system. 

Bridgeall supported Whyte & Mackay to document and improve their existing processes and digitise these into the solution. 

Built around two of Microsoft’s leading cloud offerings the Microsoft Power Platform and Office 365, the developed solution combined the use of Power Apps, Dataverse, SharePoint Online, Power Automate. 

A Power Apps Canvas application was created to allow users to interact with the data on mobile, tablet and desktop, with a consistent and user-friendly interface. We centralised the data storage by having all the data stored within Dataverse. By doing this, we were able to create a Power Apps Portal Application which meant external users could interact with their own data and provide updates to the process. Using a Portal application meant colleagues at Whyte & Mackay required less information initially in order to kick off the onboarding process.

We also made use of Lists within SharePoint Online to hold key standing data which Whyte & Mackay needed to update periodically. This allowed stakeholders the ability to easily change the data when required without having to involve IT.

Behind the application we used Power Automate to control workflows which allowed us to cut out repetitive manual processes such as alerting customers that the application required further information or alerting users in Whyte and Mackay that a change had been made. 

The project

The rapid, iterative, and scalable development made possible by Power Apps, allowed the Bridgeall team to follow an approach that minimised risks and costs to the company by developing an initial Proof of Concept. This highlighted how the solution would work before expanding to full development. The Proof of Concept conveyed the functionality, look and feel, plus technical options for the fully developed solution.   

An Agile development approach was adopted involving two-week development sprints. 

Results – Benefits to Whyte and Mackay

By utilising existing tools and low code solutions like SharePoint Online and Power Platform, Bridgeall were able to deliver the following benefits to the client:  

  • A cost-effective solution – By utilising existing tools and low code solutions like SharePoint Online and Power Platform, Bridgeall were able to deliver the solution quickly and affordably. 
  • Streamlined business processes – Whyte & Mackay have not only improved and streamlined their business process, but they have also improved their customer experience and transformed how they managed on boarding requests from new customers.
  • Operational efficiency – For Whyte & Mackay, the developed solution will deliver productivity and operational efficiency improvements by modernising and automating a key customer-facing business processes quickly, easily and at significantly reduced costs.