Mike Hermans

About Mike Hermans

Columbus McKinnon’s automation division thrives on innovation, and as a Sales Engineer with over five years of experience, I contribute by optimizing workflows and enhancing data-driven decision-making. Through the implementation of Salesforce Lightning for sales teams, I streamlined processes, improving efficiency and productivity. By independently mastering Power BI, I developed dynamic dashboards to analyze Salesforce data, assisting leadership in tracking key metrics and identifying areas of improvement. These tools have become integral to shaping strategic decisions across the organization. My role also involves leading the automation team in crafting sales proposals, mentoring colleagues, and generating revenue through tailored solutions. By creating templates for both automated and non-automated projects, I empowered the sales team to work more effectively. My earlier experience at Magnetek refined my technical and problem-solving capabilities, enabling me to deliver impactful, client-focused solutions. I am passionate about elevating crane system performance and advancing our mission to deliver exceptional customer satisfaction through cutting-edge technology.

Experience

1. Sales Engineer, Automation Division

   Columbus McKinnon

   Apr 2020 — Present · Menomonee Falls, WI, US

   I design and deploy end‑to‑end automation and AI solutions that accelerate quoting, improve order accuracy, and unify workflows across Salesforce, Microsoft Power Platform, SharePoint/OnBase, and Power BI. Acting as a product owner and technical architect, I lead cross‑functional initiatives that integrate data, automate approvals, and deliver decision‑ready analytics for sales support and engineering.Highlights• Built Copilot/Power Automate solutions for PO ingestion, validation, and routing, operationalizing AI Builder at scale.• Architected a unified workspace on Power Platform to streamline case triage, document handling, and analytics—reducing manual re‑entry and improving SLA performance.• Developed standardized proposal templates and dashboards; enabled scheduled report delivery from Power BI via Power Automate.• Created Copilot agents for specification/RFQ review and quote verification, improving consistency and shortening cycle times.• Drove governance and resilience: service-account ownership, scoped roles, DLP policies, connector hygiene, and auditability.• Mentored peers on Power BI, Power Automate, and Copilot Studio; championed phased pilots with measurable ROI.Core stack: Microsoft Copilot Studio, Power Automate (cloud/RPA), Power Apps (Dataverse), AI Builder, Power BI, Salesforce (REST/API), SharePoint, OnBase, Epicor M2K, Azure AD.Impact focus: quoting efficiency, document automation, order accuracy, SLA/OTD improvement, and data‑driven decisions.

Education

• Milwaukee School of Engineering

  Bachelor of Applied Science (B.A.Sc.), Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering

  2013 — 2017

• Technische Hochschule Lübeck

  Bachelor of Applied Science - BASc, Electrical and Electronics Engineering

• Technische Hochschule Lübeck

  Bachelor of Applied Science (B.A.Sc.), Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering

  2015 — 2016

• Denmark High School

  High School Diploma, General Education

  2009 — 2013

Skills

• Renovation
• Microsoft Office
• Management
• Miller Heiman Sales Training
• Microsoft Word
• Team Leadership
• Autocad
• Sales Force Development
• Engineering
• Circuit Design
• Leadership
• Electronic Control Systems
• Communication
• Public Speaking
• Customer Service
• Hvac
• Physics
• Manufacturing
• Powerpoint
• Microsoft Excel
• R&D
• Mathematics
• Outlook
• Accounting
• Teamwork
• Computer-Aided Design (Cad)
• Electrical Engineering
• Time Management
• Miller-Heiman Strategic Selling
• Problem Solving