From Paper Form to Power App: Rivella digitalizes its Field Sales Operations

Paper forms, manual data entry, and SAP customizations were slowing down Rivella’s inside sales and field sales teams.Together with ORBIS, the Swiss drinks manufacturer developed a Power App that transfers fridge enquiries, fault reports and digital signatures directly into the CRM. The result: completely paperless processes and excellent user adoption across the entire internal and field sales teams.

Rivella AG, based in Rothrist, was founded in 1952 and is now the largest group of companies specialising in soft drinks of Swiss origin. The family-owned company ranks second in the national soft drinks market, enjoys a brand awareness of 95 per cent and is among the top 10 companies in Switzerland in terms of reputation. Around 230 employees ensure that over 95 million litres of drinks reach the country’s shelves and fridges every year.

When paper slows down the field sales team

Rivella’s field sales team serves restaurants, staff canteens, cafeterias and other catering establishments throughout Switzerland. The team not only supplies drinks but also installs Rivella fridges directly at customers’ premises. To further optimise these processes, Rivella decided to systematically digitise the previously paper-based procedures relating to fridge enquiries, fault reports and appliance replacements.

In practical terms, this meant that staff recorded enquiries on handwritten forms and then forwarded them via a Teams channel to the back office, where the data was manually transferred into a custom-built SAP tool.

This way of working left little room for efficiency and was difficult to scale in day-to-day operations. In the back office, a custom-developed SAP solution was used to track the status and location of the appliances. Rivella was therefore looking for a solution that would digitise the entire process, integrate directly with Dynamics CRM and eliminate the need to switch between different systems.

Power App development with Microsoft Dynamics: agile, transparent, user-centred

Rivella has been working with ORBIS since 2016, deliberately focusing on modern technologies and short innovation cycles. Even before the current project, the team had jointly developed a promotional materials app based on Microsoft Dynamics. This experience formed the foundation for the ‘Cooler App’, as tried-and-tested structures, well-established collaboration and a mutual understanding of requirements and working methods were in place from the outset.

The project kicked off in August 2025 with a joint analysis phase: Rivella mapped out the existing process in detail and handed the results over to ORBIS. In a series of workshops, both sides used this information to define the target state. A consistent visual identity was particularly important to Rivella. The new Cooler App was to be visually similar to the existing promotional materials app, so that staff would not have to learn a completely new interface every time.

Based on these requirements, ORBIS first created UI/UX mock-ups, which Rivella reviewed and approved. The project then moved into the development phase, organised in agile sprints. Biweekly meetings ensured transparency regarding the project status. Tasks and progress were managed via DevOps, which facilitated a smooth exchange of information.

The integration of Scribble, a solution for capturing digital signatures, presented a particular challenge. Whilst ORBIS had experience with DocuSign, Rivella relied on Scribble internally and wished to retain this tool. The integration proved technically challenging, but together the two teams found a viable solution.

The app was technically complete by Christmas 2025. However, Rivella decided to schedule the go-live for March 2026 and used the quarterly field sales meeting to present the app to all on-site staff before rolling it out. Prior to this, a small group had tested the solution in a real-world setting and submitted final change requests to ORBIS. This targeted roll-out paid off: user adoption was excellent right from the start, and there was no negative feedback whatsoever from the sales team.

Close coordination with the Rivella team was crucial to the project’s success. Rivella was actively involved in every test phase and provided prompt feedback. “The collaboration with the Rivella team is very open and constructive. You can really discuss anything and receive support quickly. For me, the partnership with Rivella is excellent,” says Alex Häusermann, Consultant at ORBIS Switzerland.

The fact that ORBIS consistently prioritised UI/UX design early on in the project had a clear advantage: the field sales team immediately recognised the app as familiar and intuitive. “It was always very solution-oriented on both sides,” says Nicole Suter, Head of Internal Sales, summarising the project work.

Digital instead of handwritten: What has changed since the go-live

Since the go-live in March 2026, Rivella’s field sales team has been operating entirely paperlessly. All cooler-related processes are now handled digitally via the Power App and feed seamlessly into the CRM. The manual typing and forwarding of forms has been completely eliminated.

For the team on site, this means a noticeable reduction in the workload involved in day-to-day operations. For the back office, it provides a significantly more streamlined and up-to-date overview of all units in the field. And the custom SAP solution for the fridge inventory is now a thing of the past.

Since its introduction, there has also been a significant increase in the number of cooler requests compared to before. The low-threshold digital process motivates the field sales team to be more proactive in placing coolers. For Rivella, this means greater brand presence at the point of sale, stronger partner loyalty and, ultimately, higher sales. The Cooler App demonstrates how complex field processes can be digitised quickly and cost-effectively using a streamlined Power App based on Microsoft Dynamics.

„The Cooler App is a truly good example of how the work of inside sales and field sales can be simplified while still ensuring that processes are followed. For us, one thing is clear: we want to continue on this path.“

Monika Hess, Project lead on Rivella’s side