How Puratos boosts event ROI with the Event Lead Gen app
Puratos, the global leader in bakery and chocolate innovation connects thousands of patisserie professionals through events of all sizes. Behind the scenes, however, managing all these events is a challenge. With the Event Lead Gen app, Puratos now centralizes event data, automates CRM follow-up, and strengthens collaboration between sales and marketing. The result: easier lead follow-up and measurable event impact.
A vibrant event ecosystem
Events play a key role in how Puratos connects with customers and brings innovation to life. Whether it's Taste Tomorrow, Customer Innovation Days, webinars, workshops, Innovation Center visits, fairs, exhibitions, or industry events, each initiative is an opportunity to engage, inspire, and create new business momentum.
The scale behind Puratos' event ecosystem is impressive:
129 Innovation Centers across 42 countries
650 Technical Advisors (product experts)
33,800 logged activities with 22,800 customers
+1,200 collective demo and event days
From complexity to clarity
As Puratos continued to grow, event management became increasingly complex. "Registrations were still handled through external emails, while participant lists were kept and updated in Excel," explains Christophe Rigaux, Sales Operations and Digital Transformation Manager. "This approach made it difficult for sales teams to follow up effectively on opportunities."
"We needed a solution that could integrate with our CRM and provide a central view of all our event data, so sales could easily follow up and no opportunity would be lost."
"We wanted to manage events and attendees in one place, create follow-up actions such as leads and opportunities directly in the CRM, and measure event ROI more effectively. The new solution had to be flexible – from editing multiple attendees at once to linking specific products to different events – and intuitive for both marketing and sales teams."
Introducing the Event Lead Gen app
To help Puratos tackle this challenge, we developed the Event Lead Gen app on SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP). "The app integrates seamlessly with SAP Sales Cloud," explains Jef Op de Beeck, CX consultant at Flexso. "The app follows SAP’s clean core principle: all event data is stored outside the CRM, but visualized directly within CRM to ensure a smooth way of working."
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The Event Lead Gen app supports everyone involved in events, from preparation to sales follow-up and management reporting. Each role works from its own perspective, but within one shared flow.
For event marketeers
Marketing teams can easily create and manage events in one place. They get a clear overview of event occupancy, can add all relevant details and prepare everything ahead of time – from campaigns and internal checklists to communication with colleagues and external partners. Costs and practical details are tracked centrally.
For sales representatives
Sales teams are involved before, during and after the event. They can add participants manually or via upload, update participant statuses, and communicate directly with attendees. During and after the event, they create follow-up actions in just a few clicks – whether that’s a task, lead, opportunity or visit – depending on the sales approach.
For managers
Managers benefit from full visibility after the event. They can track follow-up actions and calculate the return on investment. With clear insights into outcomes and forecasts, events become a measurable and manageable part of the sales strategy.
6 lessons learned while implementing the app
Make sure everyone is on the same page. Aligning all stakeholders early prevents misunderstandings and keeps the project moving smoothly.
CRM integration should be a priority, not an afterthought. Deep CRM integration unlocks efficiency, better data visibility, and more valuable customer insights.
Plan access rights carefully. Clear authorization models and governance help avoid bottlenecks while meeting security requirements.
Be clear about who does what. Well-defined roles across teams prevent overlaps and ensure effective collaboration.
Don’t underestimate change management. Training, communication, and user involvement are key to accelerating the adoption of new tools.
Keep listening and improving. Continuous user feedback ensures the solution evolves with the business and stays relevant.
What’s next for event management?
After implementing a pilot in Belgium, Puratos is now preparing to roll out the Event Lead Gen app to more countries in different waves. "Looking ahead, we want to expand our reporting capabilities, with dashboards that provide deeper insights into event performance, customer engagement, and ROI. We're also planning to integrate customer feedback mechanisms and an upcoming badge reader functionality will allow us to capture leads even more effortlessly."
