Company Connects Sales and Business Systems for an Agile, End-to-end Solution

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1 Microsoft Dynamics Customer Solution Case Study Company Connects Sales and Business Systems for an Agile, End-to-end Solution Overview Country/Region: United States Industry: Financial Services Customer Profile With revenues of U.S.$500 million, Relational, LLC, is a services company that provides advanced technology and financing solutions for organizations throughout North America. Business Situation With ongoing company growth, Relational needed a flexible, integrated solution that would automate sales processes and seamlessly exchange data with financial and proprietary business systems. Solution Relational implemented an integrated solution that seamlessly connects Microsoft Business Solutions CRM, Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains, and industry-specific leasing applications. Benefits Improved insight into all sides of the business Created tighter financial control Increased revenue U.S.$600,000 at one office in the first year Expanded business opportunities Our organization is very agile. Every deal is different, and we base our services on our customers business needs. Jim Wisnionski, Chief Information Officer, Relational LLC For Relational, LLC, a leading provider of advanced technology and financing solutions, rapid growth led to increased demands on its business applications. With no connection among systems, managers found it increasingly difficult to monitor business performance or make strategic decisions. A geographically dispersed sales force lacked centralized customer information and standard sales processes to help them document and follow up leads and opportunities. Relational knew it needed a powerful customer relationship management (CRM) solution, but also recognized the benefits of integrating it with existing business systems. The company implemented a flexible, integrated solution connecting Microsoft Business Solutions CRM, Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains (both now part of Microsoft Dynamics ) and two proprietary leasing systems. The solution provides dynamic data analysis across data sources for improved, companywide decision-making; and connects salespeople to critical information and processes resulting in increased revenue of U.S.$600,000 in one office.

2 The direct Microsoft benefit Great is that Plains 200 people integration can see was already information available not only from We created Microsoft the CRM, BizTalk but also integration from Isis and from Microsoft scratch, so Great the Plains. information could flow Nick Kamboj, from PMP, Microsoft Director of Professional Services, LANAC Technology CRM through BizTalk to Isis to Microsoft Great Plains. Nick Kamboj, PMP, Director of Professional Services, LANAC Technology Situation Relational, LLC, provides advanced technology and financing solutions for companies throughout North America and helps businesses manage the full lifecycle of IT hardware from financing and procurement through asset management and the disposition of used equipment. With Relational s support, customers can maximize their information technology assets and apply technology as a strategic advantage in the marketplace. In ten years, Relational has grown to become a U.S.$500 million business with a team of more than 320 business, technology, and finance professionals. Relational, with headquarters in Rolling Meadows, Illinois, has three additional divisions located in Columbus, Ohio; Largo, Florida; and Markham, Ontario, Canada. Each one of Relational s technology and financing solutions is crafted to the specific customer requirements, demanding tremendous flexibility to support a constantly changing set of business requirements. Jim Wisnionski, Chief Information Officer for Relational explains, Our organization is very agile. Every deal is different, and we base our services on our customers business needs. Relational prides itself on its ability to quickly adjust to market demands and customer needs. As a result, Relational s own system must be just as flexible to support its ever-changing business model. With additional demands created by explosive company growth, Relational implemented Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains at its headquarters in 2000, moving from Intuit s QuickBooks software. Microsoft Great Plains provides the company with a more comprehensive financial management and accounting solution that can scale easily as the company continues to grow. The size of Relational s sales force also had expanded rapidly, resulting in new challenges to managing customer relationships. Almost 40 salespeople were dispersed throughout the eastern and mid-western United States. Each salesperson had developed his or her own method for managing accounts in spreadsheets, through Microsoft Outlook messaging and collaboration client, and even on the backs of envelopes. With no systematic sales process in place and a time-consuming, manual reporting system, Relational management had limited visibility into the sales side of the business. Customer information was incomplete and often out of date, making it difficult to follow up on opportunities effectively or to forecast revenues accurately. If a sales person left the company, Relational faced losing valuable customer information. Relational knew it needed a powerful customer relationship management (CRM) solution, and also recognized the advantages fully integrating its CRM with its Microsoft Great Plains solution, plus an industry-specific leasing application from Isis, and LeasePlus software from LeaseTeam, Inc. The leasing systems handled Relational s contract data, calculated pricing options, and handled lease accounting and equipment asset management. Looking for a way to share data across these systems offered an exciting opportunity to create a comprehensive business and financial system. Solution Relational s IT architecture is built entirely on Microsoft technology. Because of its strong, out-of-the-box integration with Microsoft Great Plains, Microsoft Business Solutions CRM was the logical choice to automate Relational s sales processes. Relational engaged Microsoft Gold Certified Partner LANAC Technology to help implement Microsoft CRM and integrate the other financial and business systems. Microsoft Great Plains, Microsoft CRM, and the two leasing applications run on Microsoft Windows 2000 Server operating system. The Relational solution also includes a single

3 Active Directory directory service domain, interconnected messaging systems running on Microsoft Exchange Server at each location, and centrally managed public and private domain name system (DNS) services. System integration is managed by Microsoft BizTalk Server We developed a custom integration with Isis using Microsoft BizTalk Server, says Nick Kamboj, PMP, Director of Professional Services for LANAC. The Microsoft Great Plains integration was already available. That wasn t a problem. We created the BizTalk integration from scratch, so that the lease quote data flows from Microsoft CRM through BizTalk to Isis to Microsoft Great Plains. It s a nice translation that takes advantage of a very open architecture. Because Microsoft CRM is a.net Framework based application, critical sales and financial data is now accessible through a Web browser to everyone in the organization who needs it. Relational s network access infrastructure includes a mix of Citrix and Microsoft Terminal Services. As Relational upgrades to Microsoft Windows ServerTM 2003 operating system companywide, Terminal Services gradually will replace Citrix. The combined Relational and LANAC project team first piloted the new solution in the East Coast sales office. LANAC trained several individuals who then used the system and reported on problems and concerns as they performed their daily work. Once issues had been resolved, LANAC deployed the solution throughout the branch. Relational rolled out the solution in the remaining three locations. Benefits Relational began realizing benefits from the new solution almost immediately. Fully integrated systems eliminate barriers to critical data, connecting people to relevant and up-todate customer, pricing, and financial information and processes. As a result, managers can make faster, more informed decisions, while salespeople can be better equipped to follow up opportunities and close deals quickly. Improved Insights into All Sides of the Business By consolidating information from Microsoft Great Plains, Microsoft CRM, and Isis, Relational has a comprehensive view of its business. Every area of Relational s business is now visible through the powerful analysis of an estimated 25 millions rows of data stored in Microsoft SQL ServerTM 2000 and available to be extracted and managed by using multidimensional cubes for portfolio management, sales performance, risk management, re-marketing performance, and financial analysis. Because data analysis can be conducted dynamically, managers can make proactive decisions that have resulted in more efficient business processes. For example, Relational now conducts real-time comparative analysis in the re-marketing area, dramatically reducing the turnaround time of the asset reconciliation process as much as 90 percent for each audit. With an average of 400 audits a month, a shorter turnaround is an enormous time saver. For the sales force, Microsoft CRM acts as a portal to the financial and leasing information in Microsoft Great Plains, Isis, and LeasePlus, providing sales representatives with everything they need to serve customers effectively, including financial history, financial background of the deal, scanned documents, and master lease agreements. Sales representatives now have one tool instead of three different applications for communication, contact management, pricing, and quoting. The direct benefit is that 200 people can see information not only from

4 Better financial analysis with Microsoft FRx Professional allowed us to grow that part of the business. We have been able to take it much further because we have these tools. Christie Peterson, Senior Business Systems Analyst, Relational Microsoft CRM, but also from Isis and Microsoft Great Plains, says Kamboj. Tighter Financial Control for Enhanced Decision-Making With a complete end-to-end business system, Relational has improved control over its financial information. Using Microsoft Business Solutions for Analytics FRx Professional, Relational can review financial activity by using 90 different reports that show various periods, budget variance, entities, and departments. All 90 reports can be generated automatically, saving hours of time, and links between reports provide drill-down information or clarify data relationships to help managers better understand financial performance. Relational s managers now monitor spending in all departments more closely, thereby helping to identify problem areas. With a single click, Relational managers also can generate consolidated financial reports instantly, a process that used to take five days each quarter. The consolidated statement automatically allows for its Canadian subsidiary s currency and instantly adjusts to a second subsidiary s different fiscal period. With access to up-to-date consolidation numbers, managers can make adjustments based on accurate journal entries rather than estimates, providing tighter control over company finances. Also, sales performance can be monitored more closely against goals, helping management change strategy to drive more volume when necessary. Increased Revenue Through Better Sales Effectiveness The LANAC team adapted Microsoft CRM to reflect Relational s sales processes and added customized tabs and fields to display integrated financial and leasing information. With centralized data, sales managers can better analyze trends and make strategic decisions. Relational sales managers now track the effectiveness of each individual sales representative, and helping to identify successful activities and providing opportunities to redirect efforts to the most lucrative deals. They also track lost deals so that potential pricing problems can be identified and adjusted quickly. With improved sales forecasting, managers can now generate up-to-date forecasts with ease, saving at least 40 hours a month. In addition, the sales pipeline can be closely managed and resources allocated appropriately. Salespeople also can be more proactive in delivering services. Working with Microsoft Consulting Services, Relational built a wizard to help salespeople enter the data required to build complicated lease quotes. The built-in workflow in Microsoft CRM helps salespeople follow up on leads and opportunities; for example, Microsoft CRM immediately notifies sales representatives when a deal has been priced and credit approved. Providing customers with answers quickly helps secure deals faster and improves customer satisfaction. Relational s integrated system has had a significant impact on the company s bottom line. An estimated $600,000 in cost savings and additional revenue has been attributed to the Microsoft CRM in the first six months of the pilot. Relational anticipates additional saving as the solution rolls out to the remaining locations. The implementation of Microsoft CRM has changed everything, says Christie Peterson, Senior Business Systems Analyst and Relational s implementation leader. By

5 For More Information For more information about Microsoft products and services, call the Microsoft Sales Information Center at (800) In Canada, call the Microsoft Canada Information Centre at (877) Customers who are deaf or hard-of-hearing can reach Microsoft text telephone (TTY/TDD) services at (800) in the United States or (905) in Canada. Outside the 50 United States and Canada, please contact your local Microsoft subsidiary. To access information using the World Wide Web, go to: For more information about InterDyn- LANAC Technology products and services, call (312) or visit the Web site at: For more information about Relational, LLC products and services, call (847) or visit the Web site at: implementing Microsoft CRM, all customer information is accessible from one place, thereby increasing sales effectiveness and providing information for strategic decisionmaking. Future plans include deployment of Microsoft CRM on mobile devices, further expanding the effectiveness of the sales force. Expanded Business Opportunities With improved and more up-to-date financial analysis, Relational has been able to identify additional profitability potential on the product side of the business. Relational refurbishes and sources computer assets moved from a lease when a company upgrades its equipment. Now managers can more easily identify the best sources for the PCs by knowing exactly what equipment is in the lease base and how that equipment is maturing. By investing and focusing on this area of the business, Relational has become a leading PC equipment refurbisher. Says Christie Peterson, Better financial analysis with Microsoft FRx Professional has allowed us to grow this part of the business. We have been able to take it much further because we have these tools. Microsoft Dynamics Microsoft Dynamics is a line of integrated, adaptable business management solutions that enables you and your people to make business decisions with greater confidence. Microsoft Dynamics works like familiar Microsoft software such as Microsoft Office, which means less of a learning curve for your people, so they can get up and running quickly and focus on what s most important. And because it is from Microsoft, it easily works with the systems that your company already has implemented. By automating and streamlining financial, customer relationship, and supply chain processes, Microsoft Dynamics brings together people, processes, and technologies, increasing the productivity and effectiveness of your business, and helping you drive business success. For more information about Microsoft Dynamics, go to: Microsoft Corp oration. All rights reserved. This case study is for informational purp oses only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY. Microsoft, Active Directory, BizTalk, FRx, Great Plains, Outlook, Windows, Windows Server, and Microsoft Dy namics are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corpo ration in the United States and/or other countries. The names of actual companies and pro d ucts mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. Document published July, Software and Services Products Microsoft BizTalk Server 2002 Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Microsoft Windows 2000 Server Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition Services Microsoft Consulting Services (MCS) Microsoft Dynamics Microsoft Business Solutions Analytics Microsoft Business Solutions CRM Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains Technologies Microsoft.NET Framework Microsoft Active Directory Microsoft Terminal Services Partners InterDyn-LANAC Technology