Since 2014, H+K Härte- und Oberflächentechnik GmbH + Co. KG has been relying on SMARTCRM in sales and marketing. Prior to the CRM introduction, the company used to capture customer contacts, visit reports and similar data in Excel spreadsheets. Another part of the data was saved locally by the employees in Microsoft Outlook, so that colleagues did not know about or did not have access to the information. As H+K and therefore the number of employees and the amount of data grew strongly in recent years, this type of documentation became too confusing. The search for specific information was time-consuming and laborious for the sales staff. In addition, several software had to be used for one single work step due to the various isolated applications.
Requirements
- Interface to AMS and abas ERP
- Customization
This is why H+K decided to implement a CRM solution. Key in the decision was the interfaces to the ERP systems AMS and abas ERP in use at H+K. The flexibility of the CRM system allowing the easy adjustment to the individual corporate requirements of H+K was another important advantage. Finally SMARTCRM scored with competence and good support from sales.
Project goals
- Central information pool and elimination of isolated applications
- Implementation of the standard IATF 16949:2016 in the CRM system
The interface to AMS has been repeatedly adapted to the changing needs of the company. SMARTCRM imports from the ERP solution customer data, quotations including items as well as turnover figures which are then prepared in the CRM system. With more than a hundred different analyses as well as a wide range of functions, corresponding to a business intelligence system, SMARTCRM also provides the evaluations required by H+K and forms the basis for a successful sales controlling.
Consistent quotation tracking
Quotation tracking is of great importance for the sales employees at H+K. SMARTCRM supports them by centrally archiving the quotations including items from the ERP system in the corresponding CRM customer file. Follow-up tasks of the quotation including reminders can be sent to the employees in charge directly from SMARTCRM as well. A complete quotation tracking is therefore guaranteed at all times. In addition, SMARTCRM shows the sales employees important analysis data such as the average handling time or the number of quotations.
Visualization of sales tours in Bing Maps
Moreover, SMARTCRM supports the sales employees in planning their tours. This way, they can, for instance, select the customers located in the radius of an address. Numerous filter options, such as the date of the last visit or the sales figures, restrict the result to the required customer addresses. The addresses are then transferred to Bing Maps to plan the route on the map. Following subsequent return to SMARTCRM, appointments and activities for later documentation can be simultaneously generated in the Organizer.
Implementation of the standard IATF 16949:2016
In 2018, the new standard IATF 16949:2016 came into force for the automotive suppliers. Since H+K refused to use neither a new database nor unclear Excel spreadsheets, the quality management requirements were simply implemented in SMARTCRM. A key advantage is the analyzability, reliability and the traceability of the information in the CRM system. This is how the sales employees document after a customer visit whether the customer requirements such as the technical advice or the reliability of the delivery were met. In compliance with IATF, the customer requirements must be not only documented but also improvement measures must be taken. Therefore, the CRM solution automatically sends a task to the colleague in charge when requirements are not met. The corresponding status of the requirement as well as an overview of all tasks and appointments are clear at a glance when calling up the customer file. After another visit, SMARTCRM automatically suggests the values of the previous report when creating the visit report in order to minimize time and effort. The information to be documented in the framework of the product monitoring obligation is easily stored by the employees at H+K. If required, warning notices are automatically sent to the people in charge. On the start screen of the CRM solution, the SMART Board, overviews of visit reports, warning notices and measures to be worked on provide an all-round view. Thanks to the SMARTCRM.Organizer and to the new measure and requirement functionalities, a convenient solution for documentation, evaluation and follow-up in line with the quality management has been established for H+K.
Always the right target group
Needless to say, H+K also uses SMARTCRM in marketing. The employees can select the relevant target group for a marketing action using the various selection options. They finally create the mailing letters to be sent directly in the CRM system. There, the stored templates with the mail merge fields, that SMARTCRM fills in with address and contact data, enable an easy creation of the letter. In addition, the letters are automatically archived in SMARTCRM with the save process.
The acceptance of the employees for SMARTCRM is really good. User key experiences, such as not losing important information thanks to the CRM system, made the advantages of the CRM solution clear and helped to recognize the personal benefit. SMARTCRM also scored with its user-friendliness.
Assessing for instance only the time that our employees needed for the search and the preparation of information in the past, one recognizes how SMARTCRM has strongly optimized our sales processes. Now one opens the customer file and all information is available at a glance. Especially for the field service, which is not always on site, it is fundamentally important to inform yourself about the latest activities before a customer visit.
Regina Volz, Customer care / sales at H+K Härte- und Oberflächentechnik GmbH + Co. KG