Panasonic Automotive Systems Czech was struggling with the limitations of its legacy system for managing IT requests and assets. As demand increased for more efficient support, collaboration, and visibility, the company sought a modern ITSM solution offering greater flexibility and functionality.
About the Company
Panasonic Automotive Systems Czech is part of the global Panasonic Group and a leading electronics supplier for the automotive industry. Its facility in Pardubice employs around 2,500 people, making it one of the largest employers in the region. The company delivers high-tech solutions for brands such as Audi, BMW, and Volkswagen, and plays a key role in the global supply chain.
Challenges
According to Frantisek Sandera, Head of IT Specialists at Panasonic, the company faced several significant issues before implementing ALVAO:
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Lack of visibility into requests – Their outdated ticketing tool, Ticket-IT!, provided minimal insight into submitted requests, their statuses, and associated tasks.
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Poor integration with business tools – Each department used different software for communication, task management, and planning, resulting in fragmentation, inefficient information sharing, and difficulty coordinating cross-departmental tasks.
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No single point of contact – Due to the poor user experience of the legacy ticketing system, users frequently submitted requests by email, phone, or in person.
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Inefficient asset tracking – The existing system offered limited and insufficient data about hardware, installed software, and assigned licenses.
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Lack of customization – The legacy system couldn’t be easily adapted to the specific needs of individual departments.
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Limited process automation – Manual handoffs were required for most tasks, increasing workload and the risk of human error.
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Insufficient access management – The system lacked the ability to control user access to sensitive information at a granular level.
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Challenging employee onboarding– These processes mainly relied on paper requisitions, making them time-consuming and prone to delays and errors.
“It was a real challenge to get users to enter tickets into our legacy service desk. Honestly, the interface just wasn’t user-friendly.” – Frantisek Sandera, Head of IT Specialists
ALVAO: A Catalyst for Change
During the research process for the new service management solution, Panasonic considered several vendors, including large enterprise platforms. ALVAO was ultimately chosen for its lower upfront cost, ease of implementation, and flexibility to scale and adapt to evolving needs.
Sandera highlights several standout features:
- Centralized service portal – Employees now submit requests through a user-friendly service catalog, reducing confusion, minimizing phone calls, and speeding up response times.
- Customizable forms – The platform allows for tailored forms that guide users to provide the right information upfront. For tasks like employee onboarding, much of the data is filled in automatically—saving time and reducing errors.
- Open and extendable system – ALVAO’s flexibility gives the IT team freedom to tailor the tool to a variety of use cases. For example, they integrated ALVAO with an internal SMS gateway to automatically alert team members about critical events or outages.
- Comprehensive IT asset management – All hardware, software, and licenses are clearly recorded in one single point of truth. This saves time, provides instant access to crucial data, and reduces security risks.
- Workflow automation – Each service is tied to a workflow that can be customized using the built-in editor. Approvals, task delegation, and even full automation of certain tasks are now just a few clicks away.
- Outlook integration – The ALVAO for Outlook enables technicians to manage incoming requests directly from their inbox, or convert emails into new service tickets.
- Improved cybersecurity – Integration with the Zabbix monitoring system allows the IT team to respond to security incidents swiftly and in line with defined processes and SLAs—enhancing overall security posture.
- Digitized transfer protocols – All equipment transfer protocols are now digital, making asset tracking more transparent and secure.
"Compared to other systems, ALVAO offers an open architecture that allows us to build custom extensions on top of it. That’s exactly what we need.”– Frantisek Sandera, Head of IT Specialists
Key Business Results
After nearly 18 months of using ALVAO, Sandera has seen significant improvements across the board. Key benefits include:
- Standardized IT processes – The majority of requests now come through ALVAO Service Desk, eliminating personal visits, emails, and phone calls. This lets the IT team focus on work that delivers real value.
- Improved time efficiency – Automation and improved user adoption have measurably reduced time spent on routine tasks.
- Automated HR workflows – Employee onboarding and offboarding are now tied to automated workflows in ALVAO, ensuring everything is prepared on time and nothing falls through the cracks.
- Data-driven decision making – Management now has access to detailed service statistics and time-tracking data, enabling better SLA planning and continuous service improvement.
- Easy audit readiness – Every action is traceable, and critical services are governed by clear processes and priorities—an essential requirement for security audits like TISAX, which Panasonic must comply with.
- Scalability across departments – ALVAO is gradually being adopted beyond IT, by departments such as Facilities, Logistics, and Internal Procurement. Each team brings its own workflows into the platform, turning ALVAO into a true central hub for internal service management.
“I like that ALVAO has become our central system not just for managing service requests, but also for tracking all our assets. Everything is easy to find, and other departments are starting to see the value too.” – Frantisek Sandera, Head of IT Specialists
Conclusion
Frantisek Sandera considers ALVAO a solution that has exceeded expectations, significantly improving service quality across the company. Next steps include expanding the platform with ALVAO for Teams, enabling ticket management directly from chat, introducing a configuration management database (CMDB) for better IT infrastructure visibility, and implementing an AI Assistant to automate routine tasks. The ultimate goal is to implement ALVAO company-wide as a unified platform for managing internal services and promoting collaboration across departments.
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