One module – various possibilities for our customers: the functions for project management in SMARTCRM are so flexible that they can be adapted to diverse requirements and sales processes. Let us give you some customers’ practical experiences!
Example 1: Quotation writing in SMARTCRM
Our customers, belonging to the capital goods industries, maintain all important information related to their machines, such as locations, data sheets and maintenance appointments using the module SMARTCRM.Machines. If a machine is offered, the sales employees create a project for the corresponding customer using the module SMARTCRM.Projects. In this project file, all processes from the request to the conclusion are mapped. A four field matrix enables the early evaluation of the project and immediately shows our customers how profitable the project is and how likely the realization is. You can then conclude whether time should be invested in the processing or whether the focus should better be on another project.
Since SMARTCRM already disposes of an integration of Microsoft Office in the standard, a quotation can be directly created in the CRM solution. In this regard, the appropriate templates in the company’s corporate design are stored. In addition, all products with multilingual text modules, pictures as well as the corresponding prices are available. The effort to write a quotation is therefore very low for the sales employees: they only select the desired product items, whereupon SMARTCRM automatically creates the corresponding quotation document.
Approval processes were also defined in the CRM system for our customers. Thus, the employees in charge are then automatically kept informed about the quotations to be released. All they have to do is to click in SMARTCRM. The quotation can then be sent directly out of the CRM solution via e-mail. Simultaneously a task is created to remind of the follow-up.
During the further course of the project, all quotation variants are documented as processes in the project file. This ensures a clear and complete quotation tracking. The overviews on the SMART Board, the start screen of our CRM solution, contribute to this. These show the employees in charge at a glance which quotations are still open, whether there are documents to be released and which projects are particularly promising.
In addition, SMARTCRM guarantees our customers a full overview through the forecast at any time. It can be indeed viewed flexibly from a variety of perspectives at the click of a button, for example per month, project, employee or group of articles – depending on the information required by the SMARTCRM customer.
Example 2: Quotation transfer from the ERP system
If our customers compile their quotations in the ERP software, SMARTCRM automatically creates a project number and imports the quotation including the individual items over an interface. Since we offer preconfigured standard interfaces for many ERP systems, the setup of such a connection is highly possible. This way, a central, convenient offer tracking is guaranteed in the CRM solution. In addition, SMARTCRM always provides employees with up-to-date forecast evaluations. Further analyses, for instance on lost projects within a given period or on best-selling articles in a sale territory, are also possible.
Our customers also include manufacturers who design and manufacture their products individually according to customer requirements. In this case, text modules, whose descriptions in SMARTCRM can be changed or completed on an individual basis, are used. Communication with the customer as well as stored construction plans, floor plans, etc. complete the panoramic view in the CRM system.
Example 3: Tracing product development
Other companies use SMARTCRM.Projects to map their product development in the CRM solution. In this case, no quotation is stored, but instead the focus is on bringing together complete communication with customers and suppliers. Thus, the project file shows at a glance due to which customer requests the project was started and at which suppliers which parts were requested.
Example 4: Mapping construction projects
SMARTCRM is also employed in the construction industry: here, SMARTCRM.Projects is used to retrace construction projects in the CRM system. SMARTCRM brings all key decision-makers together in the project file: owner, architect, planner, building company, etc. Thanks to the multi-link feature which allows any number of addresses and contacts to be linked to a project or activity, it is obvious who has which role in the construction project. If diverse construction companies contact our customer during the project, the corresponding offers will also be clearly documented in the project file.
