GERL.
Download Success StorySustainable growth and optimized business processes
How does a traditional company manage to work efficiently, securely and with an eye to the future in the digital age? The success story of GERL., one of the largest German providers in the dental marketimpressively demonstrates how modern IT systems – above all the CRM system cobra, the document management system windream of the dataglobal Group and the CRM and DMS expertise of the interface partner AUREX – will become a stable backbone for sustainable growth and optimized business processes.
“We live dental. Since 1911.”
This guiding principle sums it up: for over 110 years, GERL. has been a strong partner to dentists in Germany (and now also in Austria and the Netherlands) for over 110 years. The company, which originally began with the sale of dental equipment, has long since developed into one of the largest providers in the dental market – with a comprehensive portfolio that ranges from technology, IT, marketing and consulting to architectural planning for modern practice and laboratory facilities.
Today, GERL. employs more than 900 people at 24 locations and is one of the top players in the German dental market – the largest of which is family-owned. A company of this size is dependent on stable, high-performance and future-proof IT systems. AUREX has the bundled know-how about the systems and processes in use. GERL. as an experienced partner . AUREX has also been the largest cobra partner since 1985.
The interaction of the DMS windream and the CRM system cobra, for which AUREX also provides the interface, ensures that all information flows, document processes and customer interactions not only run smoothly, but also efficiently and securely.
Digitization as a growth driver: Why GERL. relies on cobra CRM and windream
GERL. made the decision to introduce a high-performance CRM system at a time when the company was experiencing healthy and dynamic growth. The goal was clear: to replace the previous analog processes with lots of paper and the resulting loss of information with a central, digital system. The choice fell on cobra CRM, which is now used at GERL. as a customer management tool for accounts receivable.
With over 200,000 managed addresses, GERL. goes well beyond the target group of around 40,000 dental practices in Germany. The CRM serves as a central source of information for customer relationships, activities and documents – from quotations, delivery bills and invoices to e-mails and service requests.
But CRM alone was not enough: The daily growing number of digital documents and the need to archive them efficiently required a powerful DMS. This is where windream came into play, which GERL. has been using since 2011 – initially via its partner Konica Minolta, later with a direct line to the manufacturer, and today supported by the CRM, DMS and digitization expert AUREX.
A strong alliance: windream, cobra CRM and AUREX
The particular strength of the current system landscape at GERL. lies in the seamless integration of the solutions used. The combination of CRM (cobra) and DMS (windream) offers decisive advantages for all areas of the company:
- Direct archiving and access to documents: Every receipt, every e-mail and every customer interaction can be stored in the digital windream archive directly from cobra – and can then be accessed by authorized users in real time.
- Live access to the archive: employees can access archived documents at any time and without having to switch systems
, which saves time and increases process efficiency enormously. - Intuitive operation: Thanks to the complete integration into the Windows Explorer, working with windream feels like working with a local file system – drag & drop included. Thus, the DMS is practically invisible and yet available at any time.
The interface between cobra CRM and windream developed by AUREX represents the central link. According to GERL, it works “as if from a single source”, is highly performant and convinces with its simple operation and stability. The interface is not only a data transfer tool – it also allows web service requests to the outside, so that other systems can access windream.
Security, scalability, integration
As an IT system house that provides IT support to dental practices itself, GERL. places the highest demands on its own infrastructure. These include
- Data security: Especially in the medical context, the secure storage and processing of data is essential. The windream DMS completely fulfills these requirements.
- System integration: New software solutions must be easily integrated into the
existing IT landscape. A decisive criterion at GERL: Every new solution must be compatible with windream. The DMS thus forms the central standard against which all systems have to be measured. - Future viability: Even with (sometimes only planned) system changes – for example in financial accounting or merchandise management – windream has never been called into question. The solution has proven to be reliable and scalable for more than a decade – even in a corporate environment with several clients.
Central interfaces for central processes
In addition to the CRM integration, GERL. uses other important interfaces that are managed by AUREX:
- AS400: The ERP backend of GERL. is linked to windream and cobra in order to directly process customer invoices, order data and more.
- Online store: The connection to the e-commerce platform enables end-to-end digitalization – from ordering to invoicing.
- AutoClick: The learning software solution enables the simple and fast indexing and assignment of indices to the captured documents in windream.
All interfaces towards windream function smoothly – a merit of the close coordination between the system partners, especially AUREX, who continuously optimize the interaction.
AUREX as a holistic digitization partner
For GERL., the cooperation with AUREX is much more than a typical customer-service provider relationship. AUREX supports the company holistically in all aspects of cobra CRM, windream DMS, AutoClick, interface development and all connected systems.
This partnership-based cooperation pays off: Requirements from day-to-day business are implemented quickly and competently, and AUREX is on hand to advise on new projects – with a deep understanding of processes, technology and the specific requirements of a group company in the dental market.
Conclusion: GERL. sets standards with cobra, windream and AUREX
The success story of GERL. is also a success story of modern, integrated IT systems. The combination of cobra CRM, windream DMS and the services of AUREX ensures that information is always available, processes are consistently digital and data is securely stored.
With this solution, the company has created a future-proof platform that reliably supports both day-to-day business and strategic developments. Last but not least, GERL. is setting standards for other companies in the healthcare sector and beyond: digitalization is not an end in itself, but a competitive advantage – if it is done right.