CEZ Hungary: Streamlining Sales Operations with Salesforce

CEZ Hungary, part of the CEZ Group—one of the top 10 players in the European electricity market—operates across several countries, primarily in electricity generation, distribution, and sales. To enhance their sales processes, multiple subsidiaries have adopted Salesforce CRM over recent years. In Hungary, Attention CRM Consulting led the implementation, guided by Hiezl Tamás.

Project Background and Business Goals

The initiative began in late 2016 to early 2017. As Hiezl recalls, “It all started when our Bulgarian colleagues praised Salesforce during a management meeting.” The CEZ Hungary team pursued the Salesforce implementation with two main business objectives:

• Stabilize operational processes: Centralize business data in a structured, error-free, and duplication-free database covering current and potential customers, as well as contact and billing information.
• Streamline the offer and contract process: Replace manual, Excel-based processes with a system where every employee works from the same offer and contract templates, editable according to their authorization level. This aimed to improve operational security and enable the company to handle more clients and generate more offers without increasing headcount.

Salesforce primarily supports the sales team, with limited usage in back-office operations such as invoicing. Key functions include maintaining contact data and generating offers and contracts instantly, fully supporting the sales workflow.

Implementation Phases

Hiezl describes the project as a “massive undertaking” divided into two main phases:

1. Core Salesforce Integration: The first phase focused on standard Salesforce functionalities, integrating all partner and potential partner data—from bank accounts and phone numbers to email addresses and positions—into a centralized system. This eliminated the risk of knowledge being confined to individual key account managers’ devices or emails and mitigated operational risks during employee absences or departures.
2. Custom Development for Offer Management: The second phase involved extensive custom development tailored to CEZ Hungary’s sales processes. The company sells multiple types of electricity products, each requiring detailed offers and contracts with numerous parameters. Nearly 100-page base documents were programmed into Salesforce, covering all possible options. The system automatically composes contracts and offers according to the client’s requirements using pre-defined templates and modules developed with Attention.

Customizable options include multiple payment terms, currency selection, quantity flexibility, settlement methods, network fee handling, and language preferences. Standardized offers and contracts can now be generated at the click of a button, while exceptions are handled manually. Reporting functions provide daily insights into issued offers, contracted quantities, and margins.

Lessons Learned

Hiezl highlights two key lessons from the project:

1. Comprehensive project planning is critical: The team underestimated the effort required to restructure offers and contracts for automated issuance. Incorporating all optionalities into the system was complex, resource-intensive, and required detailed legal review. However, this process allowed CEZ to reassess and optimize all documentation thoroughly.
2. User adoption determines success: “Every system is only as good as its users.” Early in the project, insufficient attention was given to engaging employees and securing their buy-in. Over time, the team achieved full adoption, with employees understanding that Salesforce benefits not just management but their own daily work. Clear communication and involvement in shaping system structures are essential for maximum efficiency.

Current Status and Continuous Improvement

As of May 2020, smaller and larger improvements are ongoing. Not all products are fully implemented yet, but CEZ Hungary has moved into the operational and stabilization phase. User experience enhancements continue as the system is actively used, and customer data, types, and contacts are being restructured to ensure the platform delivers maximum value and efficiency.