Having identified the shortcomings of its present customer relationship management solution, AB Mauri wanted to work with a consulting / implementation firm that would take the time to learn its business processes and adapt a system to its practices – not force its practices to change to suit the system. Covenant Technology Partners, a St. Louis, Missouri-based Microsoft partner, brought Dynamics CRM Online to the table, along with a deep understanding of business process management. Following a “Switcher Assessment,” in which the Covenant team worked closely with Microsoft to determine AB Mauri’s long term total cost of ownership, a technology roadmap was laid out that included Dynamics CRM Online and Office 365.
Ultimately, Dynamics CRM was able to overcome every challenge identified with the Salesforce integration:
- Dynamics CRM’s Integration with Outlook allows the AB Mauri team to operate as a truly crossfunctional team, with all customer interaction records (emails and images) available to all team members who need the information – a 360 degree customer view
- CRM Workflows have eliminated multiple redundant steps in setting up new accounts and getting pricing approvals, and a single collaboration location means that nothing falls through the cracks
- Sales time is maximized with the mobile app, with call details entered while in the car or waiting for a plane. A custom report is created in real time, giving management real-time results and the ability to adjust on-the-fly. This single enhancement eliminated two steps for each sales person and an additional two steps for management over the prior system.
Multiple times throughout the project, the business teams marveled at how much easier their jobs will be with Dynamics CRM Online.
Future system enhancements will come with full integration with Microsoft SharePoint and Infor LX, further automating business processes, reducing data entry, and providing real-time insights based on real-time data.
The Before Picture
AB Mauri was using Salesforce.com, an online customer relationship management system, to manage leads as well as customer interactions. However, the AB Mauri team was experiencing significant challenges that were impacting sales results, agility, and customer interactions.
- The Salesforce implementation was not integrated with the organization’s email platform, Outlook. Conversations of potential import to other departments were locked in individual inboxes, and the AB Mauri team appeared to customers to be operating in information silos.
- Business processes had to be adapted to suit what Salesforce could support, which meant that workarounds became business-as-usual.
- Sales activity tracking and call reports were as many as four days out of sync, and required multiple steps to produce.
- Pricing approvals were handled via emailed spreadsheets, resulting in multiple original copies and no real audit trail.
- Customizing Salesforce.com to meet the evolving needs of the AB Mauri sales team appeared daunting – in time and dollars.
The After Effects
- Annual savings in licensing costs: $45,000
- Savings over three years in development costs: $50K to $100K estimated
- Leadership is confident that accountability, sales results, and participation will continue to increase