From regional diversity to global unity: HARTING modernizes customer service with Microsoft Dynamics 365

As service quality becomes a key competitive differentiator, the HARTING Technology Group fundamentally transformed its global customer communications. Together with NTT DATA, the company implemented Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Service Workspace Contact Center, a scalable platform that unifies multiple communication channels. The result is more efficient operations, faster response times and a consistent customer experience in all regions.

Creating a unified approach to customer service

On 1 September 1945, Wilhelm and Marie Harting founded the company Wilhelm Harting Mechanische Werkstätten. Production began in a small workshop in Minden, Germany, manufacturing everyday products such as hot plates, irons, electric fire starters and electric fence equipment. The founder's philosophy was clear from the start: “Quality is when the customer returns, and they don’t return the product.”

Today, the HARTING Technology Group is a global leader in industrial connectivity solutions, serving customers on every continent, from global original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to midsized machinery manufacturers. Customer interactions range from technical queries and order status requests to warranty and compliance customer service cases. Customers expect fast, personalized and consistent responses in multiple communication channels.

Meeting these expectations became increasingly difficult because each regional team relied on different tools and processes to manage customer communications and service delivery. Many requests were still handled manually. This created process breaks, additional effort and knowledge gaps. As a result, information was often fragmented, teams duplicated effort and valuable knowledge remained siloed.

To support continued growth and improve service quality, HARTING needed a modern platform that could scale. As part of a broader digital transformation initiative, HARTING has been assessing processes across the organization to identify opportunities for optimization. The goal was to standardize and automate service processes to help process customer requests more efficiently and share knowledge globally, while preserving the flexibility needed to meet the requirements and regulations of the market in each region.

Building an AI-powered omnichannel platform

HARTING chose to work with NTT DATA to build a global service architecture based on Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Service Workspace Contact Center. NTT DATA had previously partnered with HARTING on a successful global Microsoft Teams Voice rollout.

The new platform brings every customer interaction into a single workspace, creating a seamless omnichannel experience. Customers can connect through email, phone or chat. The system automatically identifies incoming requests, creates customer service cases and routes them to the right teams using intelligent workflows. AI-powered capabilities help human agents classify, prioritize and respond to queries. Through Microsoft Power BI dashboards, management gains real-time visibility of handling times, ticket volumes and service levels, enabling them to identify bottlenecks early and allocate resources more effectively.

A key element of the solution is automated customer service case creation. Incoming emails and calls are automatically captured as cases, classified and assigned to the appropriate service representatives. Human agents can access the complete interaction history regardless of the communication channel used by the customer. This reduces manual work and helps teams resolve issues faster.

HARTING is also building a centralized knowledge base that consolidates technical product information, service expertise and frequently asked questions. Looking ahead, Microsoft Copilot will be introduced as a digital assistant to provide context-aware information, identify similar cases and suggest potential solutions. Over time, these capabilities will help create a continuously improving service organization that learns from every customer interaction.

The implementation followed a phased project approach. Pilot regions were established, processes standardized and the solution rolled out globally in stages. Close collaboration among project teams, regular sprint reviews and a clear governance structure helped teams consistently meet  regional requirements while maintaining global standards.

Delivering faster service and measurable business value

The implementation of the Microsoft Dynamics 365 platform delivered several significant improvements for the HARTING Technology Group:

Globalized customer support
By consolidating service operations, HARTING can now support customers around the clock across multiple time zones. Customer service processes have become more efficient, an important advantage for a globally operating organization.

Increased profitability
Routine tasks such as ticket creation, escalation and follow-up are now automated, significantly reducing the average handle time. Improved service-level management and streamlined processes reduce costs and increase operational efficiency.

Stronger customer loyalty
Customers can choose their preferred communication channel — whether email, phone or chat — while receiving a consistent service experience. A coherent omnichannel experience, combined with intelligent automation and personalized service, helps strengthen customer relationships.

Greater efficiency
Automating tasks such as order handling improves response times and helps teams use resources more effectively.

Today, HARTING's service processes are globally measurable and manageable. The company plans to continue expanding the platform, including the introduction of AI-powered chatbots and voicebots capable of independently handling routine queries. They also plans to use Microsoft Copilot to further improve service quality by creating knowledge-base content, drafting responses and drawing insights from data.