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Well, who does need customers?
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28/04/2005
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We all do, and what customer relationship management systems should be delivering is more opportunities and more revenue
Key benefits
Validated quotations automatically tracked for as long as it takes
Order data automatically squirted into production system, as updated quotation information
Telesales and pre-sales teams all see quotes, orders, history, contacts and accounts information, for existing customers and prospects by project site
Opportunities, like commissioning and after sales service and spares, al automatically visible and tracked
Route to sizeable additional revenue through service support
When it came to replacing an ageing business system, CRM was high on the agenda at £20m boiler designer and manufacturer Hamworthy Heating in Poole, Dorset. In fact, the firm went for £250,000 worth of Sage Line 500 ERP, with SalesLogix CRM and the Sage product configurator embedded in CRM, all via system integrator CPiO.
Why CRM? Richard Frewer, IT director says the firm needed ERP functionality and the engineering product configurator for sales purposes, but it also needed to track multiple quotes for similar boilers over long periods, see cross-product and after-sales opportunities and have successful quotes turned automatically into orders for MRP, production and the rest. ERP and the configurator, he says, look after all the internal processes, but integrating CRM was key to making sales able to deliver additional business.
The point is boilers are highly configurable with a lot of options; there are a lot of quotes out there, and the situation is complicated by biggish projects typically with multiple companies tendering for the work. “So we may be quoting for the same job to different parties, perhaps themselves with different configurations and on long sales cycles,” says Frewer.
Looking at the benefits on the sales side, he says: “Before, we would raise a quote and if the order came in we would have to re-key it into the sales order processing system, with all the effort and mistakes. Now, when we get an enquiry, we can raise a quotation for a valid boiler design through the configurator and track that quote for as long as it takes. Then when we get the order, we go into the quotation system, select the configured products, make any changes, and squirt that straight into Sage as an order.”
That’s good, but CRM is doing much more. Frewer: “Our telesales and pre-sales team can all see the quotes, orders, history, contacts and accounts information, for existing customers and prospects – all organised by project site.” And the value of that is immense. “It means they’re always aware of everything they need to know when projects are being quoted… It also gives them visibility of opportunities, like commissioning and after sales service and spares which we used to miss out on. The system shows us where all the equipment is going, what it is, and when it was installed because everything – not just sales orders – is logged.”
That’s Hamworthy’s route to sizeable additional revenue. “Service support will get our CRM in January so they can have this visibility of existing and future sites, what products, whether warranty contracts are in place, whether they have predictive maintenance services with us and so on. CRM is very important to the business.”
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Author
Brian
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