Feintool boosts collaboration and efficiency with Microsoft-based digital workplace

Summary

Feintool is a global market leader in fineblanking, a metal forming process that combines stamping and cold extrusion and is often used in producing bevels or complex gear sets. Feintool is a worldwide provider of high-quality and cost-effective fineblanked, formed steel components and punched electro sheet metal products.

Feintool continually pushes the boundaries of its technologies and develops intelligent solutions for its customers. As an innovative company, Feintool strives for easier and more efficient collaboration among its global workforce and wanted to upgrade their existing intranet platform (based on Typo3) and move towards a digital workplace – based on Microsoft 365.

Feintool selected MondayCoffee, a Microsoft Gold Partner with 20 years of collaboration experience, to set up the new digital workplace based on Microsoft 365 and SharePoint. MondayCoffee also helped Feintool increase transparency and standardize and simplify collaboration throughout the group – on any device, anywhere, and at any time.

With MondayCoffee’s agile, user-centric implementation and adoption methodology, Feintool gained a high user adoption early on. Feintool’s employees appreciate the benefits of fast, cross-location and flexible collaboration – particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Challenge

Headquartered in Switzerland, Feintool has a total workforce of 2,700 employees including 80 apprentices. Their production facilities and technology centers span Europe, the United States, China, and Japan.

Feintool saw the need for more collaboration among employees, which the company’s intranet platform (based on Typo3) limited. Feintool wanted to upgrade to Microsoft 365 and SharePoint to increase transparency, as well as standardize and simplify collaboration throughout the organization. Feintool needed a collaboration platform that offered a modern, flexible working environment as a basis for efficient interaction and communication among colleagues.

Feintool selected MondayCoffee to set up the new platform and an optimal standard for collaboration within the organization

Strategy

MondayCoffee kicked off the project with a showcase that allowed the team to analyze the feasibility and benefits of a new solution, based on their out-of-the-box modern workplace called CoffeeNet 365. MondayCoffee installed and configured a Feintool project room for the project management of two newly produced presses. The team set up the project room based on best-practice Project Management Workspaces with a standardized structure and a pre-configured suite of Microsoft 365 apps for communication, knowledge sharing, collaboration, and content management, and used it as their first showcase.

MondayCoffee’s solution, CoffeeNet 365 is an enterprise software for adopting modern work. CoffeeNet 365 provides digital workspaces for collaboration in departments, on projects, and in diverse work scenarios – with automated configuration of the corresponding Microsoft apps in the background – such as SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, Planner, Power Automate, and many more. This means that employees don’t have to worry about which technology or app to choose from for various activities. They can focus on getting their work done and CoffeeNet puts the various apps at their disposal, integrated in one platform, and based on the work scenario chosen by the employee.

With all information made immediately available to users at all times, Feintool deemed the showcase a success. Individual departments shared information faster than before, ensuring everybody was constantly kept up to date. The team presented the concept and the system with its results at a global management conference, then discussed in small workshops. Feintool was delighted and engaged MondayCoffee to introduce the new, modern work environment.

Intranet and collaborative working: definition of all applications

In the concept phase, MondayCoffee established an intranet team and a collaboration team to set up the platform for collaborative working. The platform allows a user to source important corporate information with just a few clicks and to stay informed of news throughout the group. The solution also enables users across departments to collaborate easily and efficiently on projects or topics.

The intranet team created the conditions necessary to transfer the contents of the existing intranet to the new corporate solution. During the rollout of the modern work platform, the collaboration team collected and graded all use cases according to importance and complexity. For each area identified, they created, piloted, and presented a model to the steering committee for approval. The committee could then ensure all decisions were directly implemented in the company.

Pilot phase and agile procedures

Based on the findings from the concept phase, MondayCoffee created pilot areas on the new platform and focused on the organization’s specific use cases from a business perspective.

Then Feintool and MondayCoffee joined forces in workshops to fine-tune collaboration use cases and best-practice models to help meet the company’s requirements. As a result of the agile method, the original plan to introduce a platform gradually developed into an open discussion about use cases and processes, which a core team implemented. The full team then viewed, piloted, and released the solutions (e.g., structure, models, pre-defined content).

Through this process, they created a new platform for collaboration based on CoffeeNet 365, Microsoft 365, and SharePoint.

Results

With help from MondayCoffee, Feintool now has increased transparency and simplified information and communication in one place – available on any device, anywhere, and at any time. On the new platform, Feintool staff equipped with a computer and account access can communicate through the start page, source important information in the intranet, and stay informed of news throughout the group. The solution also enables users across departments to collaborate easily and efficiently on projects or topics. Boosted by training sessions and fast solution finding for decision makers and colleagues, user adoption is high across the organization.