success story

70% more efficient processes at a renowned business school

The digital transformation of WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management

Isolated systems are the bottleneck of modern educational institutions. WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management has eliminated this bottleneck.

Thanks to a deep integration of Salesforce and Docusign by Nagarro, the business school now saves 70% of the time in contract processing. A best-practice example of digital excellence that shows how scalable processes can become a secret weapon in recruiting.

"Nagarro brings valuable Salesforce expertise and strategic understanding to the table. They support our development further with innovative solutions and are also a reliable partner during bottleneck phases. The entire implementation went smoothly and exceeded our expectations."

Elisabeth Luu, Associate Director CRM
WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management

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The Challenge

Every year, thousands of candidates apply to WHU - Otto Beisheim School of Management (located in Vallendar near Koblenz and another campus in Düsseldorf). For one of Europe's leading private business schools, the admissions process is therefore much more than just administrative processing: it is an important point of contact between WHU and applicants - and a decisive factor in the subsequent enrollment decision.

Various digital applications already supported the process. However, as the number of applicants increased, it became clear that powerful individual tools are not enough if they do not work together seamlessly.

Together with Nagarro, WHU has therefore redesigned its admissions processes and deeply integrated Salesforce and Docusign. The aim was to create a consistent, transparent and scalable process - for the admissions teams as well as for applicants.

Powerful systems - but fragmented processes

WHU was already using several specialized systems:

Salesforce for applicant management and process control
Docusign for contracts and electronic signatures
Kira Talent as one of several specialized interview tools

Although each tool worked reliably, there was a lack of end-to-end integration. This resulted in numerous manual intermediate steps on a day-to-day basis:

Switching between different systems
Manual transfer of applicant data
Creation and upload of contract documents
Updating status information in the CRM

The preparation and dispatch of a single study contract alone took around 15-20 minutes. The entire administrative process could take up to 50 minutes per applicant - without waiting times on the part of the applicants.

With several hundred study contracts per year, this meant a considerable operational effort. There was also a structural problem: without real-time transparency in the CRM, status tracking, reporting and internal coordination were unnecessarily time-consuming.

The Solution

WHU opted for an in-depth integration of Salesforce and Docusign, consistently aligned with the actual admissions processes.

With Nagarro, WHU had a partner at its side who not only had technical integration expertise, but also a deep understanding of its complex CRM process landscapes. The implementation took place in two deliberately chosen phases.

Phase 1: Pilot in the Bachelor program
The Bachelor's program was launched. It is organizationally more manageable than the Master's or MBA programms, but still comprises over 300 study contracts per year - an ideal environment for testing architecture, automation and reporting under real conditions. The pilot was built, tested and rolled out for practical use within 6 weeks.

Phase 2: Scaling to Master's and MBA programs
After the successful launch of the Bachelor program, the solution was extended to the more complex programs - with differentiated workflows, extended contract logics and additional requirements such as financing options. Within 8 weeks, the pilot was built, tested and rolled out for practical use.

The focus was not only on technical integration, but also on the precise mapping of the existing business logic - and the identification of additional automation potential.

The Results

1. Significantly more efficient contract processes

The direct integration of Docusign into Salesforce has eliminated numerous manual intermediate steps.

The expected effect: 50-70% less time spent on creating and sending study contracts. What used to take up to 50 minutes per process is now much leaner and faster.

Especially in the competition for top talent, speed and professionalism are decisive factors.

2. Real-time transparency in CRM

The contract status - from dispatch to signature - is now fully visible in Salesforce. This improves

Tracking
Reporting
Internal coordination

All steps of the contract process are now stored seamlessly in Salesforce. This innovation significantly optimizes tracking, reporting and internal coordination, completely eliminating the need for manual status queries and reminders.

3. More time for what really matters: the applicants

Previously manual tasks have been fully automated:

Data transfers between systems
Start of signature processes
Status updates
Automatic reminders and notifications

This reduces sources of error and frees up time for more important activities - especially personalized applicant support.

4. A Better experience for teams and applicants

The new solution improves both internal processes and the experience for applicants, resulting in optimized efficiency and an improved overall experience.

For the Admissions team:

fewer system changes
Less manual effort
greater process reliability

For applicants:

faster contract delivery

The Bottom Line

A scalable admissions process for further growth

For WHU, the seamless integration of Salesforce and Docusign is much more than an isolated IT project. It is the foundation of a holistic, long-term digitalization strategy aimed at removing administrative hurdles and shifting the focus back to academic excellence and students.

Admissions processes are now:

50-70% more efficient
More transparent
Scalable

At the same time, a robust technical infrastructure has been created that serves as a springboard for the future. Additional academic programs and innovative digital services can now be set up and integrated in an agile manner on this modern platform without jeopardizing the existing architecture.

The result is a quantum leap in the user experience: a much smoother, more engaging start for students and a digital admissions process that not only keeps pace with WHU's dynamic growth, but also actively drives and secures this growth through technological excellence.

What does this mean for your organization?

WHU's successful transformation is more than just a project - it is the blueprint for the digital breakthrough in the German SME sector. In a market environment that does not tolerate stagnation, digitalization is no longer an option, but your sharpest competitive advantage.

Nagarro is the strategic partner at your side to transform the complexity of the digital world into measurable success. We support you in breaking down rigid structures and anchoring these key success factors in your company in a targeted manner:

Holistic integration: We network your isolated tools into an overall system to eliminate data disruptions and create real added value.
Secure scaling : We accompany your pilot projects, minimize your project risks and thus create a tested basis for the broad rollout.
Process-focused technology: We advise you on consistently aligning technology with your real business processes instead of prescribing rigid software.
Automated efficiency: We implement transparent, automated workflows that noticeably reduce your administrative workload and free up resources for teaching.