PROJAHN Präzisionswerkzeuge GmbH

Since 2009, the sales and service employees of PROJAHN Präzisionswerkzeuge GmbH have been working with SMARTCRM and since 2012 the purchasing employees as well. The goals of the CRM introduction were among others an improved field service connection as well as extensive analyses for optimal sales management. The processes of the service department had also to be supported by the use of the CRM system. An important criterion for the decision in favor of SMARTCRM was the bi-directional standard interface to the ERP system abas Business Suite. SMARTCRM scored with low configuration costs and its long-time partnership with abas Software AG. The CRM system imports from abas ERP address and contact data, quotations, orders and figures to SMARTCRM via the interface. SMARTCRM passes in turn the new or edited contact to the ERP software.

Access for the field service

SMARTCRM supports the sales management at PROJAHN. Before the CRM introduction, the field service employees had no access to the current sales figures in the ERP system. In addition, they used to receive other customer information only intermittently or upon request. Thanks to SMARTCRM, the field service connection as well as the communication between field service and back office were optimized. Thus, by using the offline capability the entire SMARTCRM database is available to the employees even on the go and therefore all customer information such as updated sales figures. Fast access to the complete activity history as well as detailed evaluations enable the sales staff a comprehensive visit preparation. Bonuses can also be viewed directly on the address mask. Prior to the CRM implementation, they were documented in Microsoft Excel. SMARTCRM now displays not only the current bonus of a customer but also the revenue still missing for reaching the next higher level as well as a history of the past years. After visiting the customer, the field service employee directly enter the visit report in the CRM system. Using the check boxes, the employee quickly documents the competitive situation. Since these fields can be evaluated, a quick overview of the competition’s products used by the customer and so of the untapped potential are always possible. In addition, a task is automatically sent to a back office employee in charge for sending brochures for example. If a quotation is created following the visit, SMARTCRM imports it from abas ERP and archives it as a pdf in the corresponding file.

Keeping an eye on the figures at all times

SMARTCRM imports the current figures such as sales revenue, contribution margin, orders on hand, unpaid invoices as well as placed orders respectively open purchase order over the interface. Diverse evaluation possibilities on different levels, including the drill down function, enable the analysis of the figures in detail, e.g., per product. Since the customer can belong to a purchasing association, a filter field provides him with both the full price and the price when purchased cumulatively. The field service staff and the executive management conduct the complete sales planning based on the main product groups per customer in SMARTCRM – also offline on the notebook. The target/actual comparisons made available at any time by the CRM system are a key measure of success for PROJAHN.

Extensive complaint management

Before the CRM implementation, the complaints were managed in Excel spreadsheets. Now, SMARTCRM guarantees an optimal complaint management. The incoming complaints as well as the subsequent agreements with the customers are documented in the CRM system. This means that the process of every complaint is always traceable and even the colleagues of the sales department are kept informed about current service activities before visiting a customer. In addition, PROJAHN uses the CRM system to evaluate the complaints to detect at an early stage quotas or vulnerable products for instance.

Conclusion

The communication between back office and field service has been significantly improved since the CRM implementation. The distribution of tasks between the employees in charge, thanks to the dispatch over SMARTCRM, is now substantially simpler and more traceable. The decision-oriented visit reports entered by the field service support PROJAHN with efficient customer management. The analyses, such as the target/actual comparisons, show the company potential sales or planning deviation early on. Thanks to the wide range of analysis options, the sales, product management and purchasing department are always up-to-date with the latest developments. That’s why PROJAHN employees greatly appreciate the visit reports as well as the analysis possibilities in SMARTCRM.