CRM Enables Unification of Corporate Customer Processes at Machinery Plant

Transcription

1 MATADOR used various processes and document formats to manage its customer relationships. Most often documents in the Microsoft Excel application. Thanks to a Microsoft CRM solution, it was able to unify processes in two of the holding s companies that have a completely different type of business and that use different ERP systems. Customer MATADOR does business in the area of heavy machinery supply of molded and welded systems for automotive companies, manufacture of automated welding production lines and molding tools, rubber-making machines, construction work, research and development. Industry Manufacturing - Automotive Country or Region Slovakia Customer Size 3,200 employees Number of Users 50 employees Contact MATADOR Holding, a. s. Streženická cesta 45, Púchov, Slovakia ladislav.rafaj@matador-group.eu CRM Enables Unification of Corporate Customer Processes at Machinery Plant It was very important to define benefits expected from implementing the CRM solution in the company. We learned from the experience of companies that, some years back, had unreal expectations as regards their CRM; i.e. as related to finding new business opportunities. Our core expectation was that the system support our sales activities. Ladislav Rafaj, CRM Project Manager at MATADOR Situation MATADOR used a mix of processes to manage its customer and supplier relationships. Meanwhile, information was stored mainly in messages and various files; mostly MS Excel documents stored on shared disk arrays. The company s ERP systems also contained data on supplydemand transactions; however, their structure did not allow for sufficient analysis. Business Objectives In principle, the project involved implementation of a CRM solution in two companies: MATADOR Automotive, a. s., (MAV) and MATADOR Industries, a. s., (MID). Meanwhile each company s business is different in nature and thus has different processes, different documents related to customer and supplier relationship management and also flows for these documents. Indeed this heterogeneity of processes for two different companies was a big challenge when implementing the CRM. For MATADOR Industries, a. s., business cases are relatively short normally several weeks or months pass between the brief from the customer and project realization. Whereas the timeframe for processing an order at the Automotive company is typically one or more years. In the MATADOR group they see CRM as a marketing tool and as a tool to support handling individual businesses cases. Beginning with the first customer contact on to a solution in the form of a process proposal to the complete management of a specific business case, depending also on how Microsoft Dynamics Deployment Case Study

2 much the terms of reference change during its realization; whether they be technical or of a commercial nature or eventually new requests. These changes are typical for the automotive industry. Even during the process of handling the customer s order, the automobile manufacturer tests and improves the car model, for which components/parts have been ordered. In no case, however, should CRM replace project management. For at MATADOR, two processes run parallel: marketing and sales. The latter is supported by a CRM solution and project management that handles the processing of the order, i.e. preparation and management of production. It is also important to motivate sales reps, so that they give up previously used individual processes and use the centralized system. An indicator that the sales reps are using the new system is that the number of errors and problems found will increase. Process unification Across the process unification each company, where a CRM solution was implemented, has partially different data. When they implement the CRM solution in the holding s other companies, they will be able to choose whether their processes are more similar to MID or to MAV. Despite the differences in both companies, the aim of implementing the CRM was maximum unification for the modeling of business cases; mainly for reporting and analysis purposes. The Microsoft CRM solution, through the variability of its models, allows you to adapt to the nature of different processes and configure these models such that it is easy to work with them. The automotive business is a specific segment, mainly as concerns tendering out supply for big car manufacturers. So when using standardized models it was necessary to adjust some entities: to define deeper structuring, to create new objects and to define data and procedural interlinkage between them. The process for a standard business case has the following key phases Queries, when a company reacts to a question Preparing an offer, or possibly updating an offer Dispatch and confirmation of the order Project preparation kick off phase Project realization and implementation of changes Finishing the project This process can have many variations. It could happen that the company does not win the project, or that, on the contrary, it refuses it for various, relevant reasons, or that bigger changes occur during the implementation process. The difficulty of implementation, given the need to unify processes, only underscores the importance of the project s preparatory phase when 2

3 implementing CRM. And last but not least, it (underscores) the importance of selecting an implementation partner that has a lot of experience. Solution CRM implementation at MATADOR was specific in that it involved two separate company units/divisions that had agreed on unified CRM processes. After deciding to implement a central CRM system for the group, the selection committee carried out research on CRM products available on the Slovak market. The research concluded that Microsoft CRM was the winning solution. Then it was time to choose an implementer. The decisive criteria were not just experience with the given solution, but also references; whether they be internal or external. Based on good experience with the company, Exe, it was chosen as partner for the CRM implementation. The relationship with the implementer was not ideal during certain phases of the realization, but it always proved possible to resolve these problems to the mutual satisfaction of both sides. When defining the connection between our ERP and CRM, we were careful to make sure that no operation had to be entered into both systems. Ladislav Rafaj, CRM Project Manager at MATADOR The project s most important phase was the initial definition of requirements. That document was created as a compilation of several outputs. Meanwhile we also took into consideration the chosen Microsoft CRM solution s options as they related to the given requirement. During the project phase, and in part during the realization phase, it was important to specify what data the sales reps would enter into the system during individual phases. We needed to find an optimum (balance) so that all necessary data would be in the system. However, on the other hand, so that sales reps would not spend an excessive amount of time doing so; at the cost of interacting with customers. It was critical to define the synchronization processes between CRM and ERP data. Not only the existence of two different business processes in the Industries and Automotive companies complicated this process, but also the use of two different ERP systems. MATADOR Automotive uses SAP and MATADOR Industry uses the DIMENZE++ solution. Our priority, together with functionality, was simplicity, so that it would be possible to implement eventual changes. One-way data flows were defined between the ERP and CRM systems, given that information flows from the ERP to the CRM. Despite the specific situation of implementing (the solution) in two different companies with different processes, with different ERP systems, etc., it is feasible to implement Microsoft CRM in such difficult conditions. It is necessary, however, to pay attention especially during the projecting stage. The CRM system was handed over for operations in November 2013, after a month of intensive testing. The implementer ran the first training for users on-site. Then the project leader trained further users. The implementer, EXE, provides support including repair of eventual flaws/problems. The MATADOR group plans in the future to add other 3

4 It doesn t matter if the customer is from eastern Slovakia or France; it doesn t matter if it s a customer ordering general heavy equipment or a rubbermaking machine from us, the structure of our business data is unified. Ladislav Rafaj, CRM Project Manager at MATADOR companies in its portfolio to the system. It will suffice to just replicate processes; or to adjust them slightly. Benefits The Microsoft CRM solution has been running in the MATADOR group since November Since that time all business cases are managed only via the CRM. Since the moment we implemented the solution in staging, we gave up the processes and tools we had used in the past. Earlier data related to customer processes were stored in various places in various formats; most often as Excel documents. Now all data related to the CRM are systematized and saved in a unified format in a database; this includes communications with customers or calculations and price offers. Meanwhile these offers can be updated during the gradual formation of business cases over the course of many meetings. Reporting does not occur in an isolated fashion from the CRM, but rather in an integrated manner from multiple systems. Data integration takes place at night using pumps outside the operational facilities. So recipients have access to reports built on current CRM and ERP data from the day before (invoices, complaints). In comparison to the previous state, when data was stored on the computers of individual sales reps, the central storing of data is a benefit; not just from a security and reliability perspective, but also mainly as concerns options for operational outputs: anytime anywhere. Supervisors can access sales reps centrally-stored data with no problems, even when the sales rep is not in the office. Before, such situations were sorted out using complicated communications or access to shared files. Meanwhile the document storage system was different for each sales rep. Software and Services ERP system CRM system SAP DIMENZE++ Microsoft Dynamics CRM Another advantage is that the system forces the user to enter all necessary data into the prescribed form and to proceed in compliance with all defined processes and procedures. This leads to unified communications with the customer in compliance with methodologies and proven processes. The system also regularly checks the accuracy of all data entered. The CRM ensures continuity even in the case of workforce migration. After a sales rep leaves, the data they create remains in the system in the standard format. So you can continue to use it further. Before implementing the CRM this wasn t possible, given that each sales rep stored data in an individual format, as he/she saw fit. After implementing the Microsoft CRM solution, essentially no new information was created; instead the way that we work with this information has changed significantly it is more transparent and more efficient. Another benefit of the new solution is the option of showing the 4

5 time individual activities take and how long it takes to react to these activities relating to business cases, as well the option of showing changes to price offers. Customer Intelligence is when data from the CRM system provide us valuable information that enables us to know individual customers better, to communicate with them better and to learn from previous errors. You can use the results of analyses for decision-making and strategic planning. For more information about Microsoft Dynamics, go to: This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. Document published April