Progressive Distributor - Staying in touch

Staying in touch

A CRM and SFA software package helps this fluid power distributor keep employees informed

by Rich Vurva

Data comes in many forms. Sometimes salespeople share important pricing information in an e-mail. Other key facts get tucked away in proposals, Excel documents and file folders.

Like many distributors that operate multiple branches and employ field salespeople who work from their homes, J.M. Grimstad of Milwaukee found it difficult to effectively share information between employees. A few salespeople used the popular Maximizer customer relationship management (CRM) software to help maintain their account base, but it had limitations. For one, the software didn’t link to Prelude, the company’s enterprise software system, which meant up-to-date information on account sales and profitability was not available in the CRM tool. More importantly, Maximizer did not link with Outlook, the e-mail system regularly used by all employees. Plus, some salespeople were more disciplined than others in utilizing the CRM software.

Getting connected
J.M. Grimstad is a full-line fluid power distributor of hydraulic, pneumatic, filtration, automation and structural framing products. The company also designs and manufactures hydraulic, lubrication and filtration systems, pneumatic and electrical control panels, and machine logic and motion control systems.

Engineers operate out of the Milwaukee headquarters, but the company maintains branches in Minneapolis; Green Bay, Wis.; and Cedar Falls, Iowa. Some field salespeople also work from their homes in other cities in Iowa and Illinois. Coordinating engineering design work between multiple locations can be difficult, particularly when critical customer information is stored in paper files, on computer desktops or in e-mail.

Although systems engineering projects account for only about 25 percent of the company’s annual sales, those jobs typically consume the most time. In order for projects to be completed in a timely manner, salespeople, engineers and managers must continually share information about project requirements, schedules and promises made to the customer.

In the past, Grimstad tracked systems projects in various paper file folders, electronic documents, and even in e-mail strings in personal e-mail folders. Today, it uses a software package that integrates with Microsoft Outlook and most distribution software packages. Called Tour de Force, the CRM and sales force automation (SFA) software designed for small to medium-sized businesses was developed by MRH Technology Group in Findlay, Ohio.

“One of the stronger aspects of the software is its Opportunity Management module, where you can track projects and link tasks, notes, e-mails, documents and more to projects,” says company president Eric Grimstad.

Once a project is established, any employee with computer access can review all activity involving that account. For example, an engineer or inside salesperson could view all e-mails sent between Grimstad employees and contacts within the account, plus automatically link to supporting documents such as Excel spreadsheets, AutoCad drawings or Word documents outlining the scope of work required by a project.

Instead of relying on spreadsheets and other documents stored in disparate locations, employees use Tour de Force to link to whatever information they need pertaining to an account. If a salesperson enters information on a new project, Grimstad knows almost immediately. From a management perspective, it makes it easier to schedule work flow.

“This is much more coordinated. We know there’s a central repository for information,” Grimstad says. “Once we saw how effective it was going to be, we decided that for anyone who wants assistance from corporate engineering on a systems project, it must start with an Opportunity entry. That has helped to promote the use.”

Easy access
Because the program is launched through the Microsoft Outlook interface, it’s open virtually any time an employee is logged onto a computer. Grimstad recently upgraded to a Citrix client/server application sharing system, so data travels quickly from the centralized database to monitors via thin client connections. The thin client replaces bulkier desktop PCs (at a lower cost) and also provides faster computing power.

The MRH Technology Group’s president Matt Hartman says employees quickly learn how the program operates because of the familiar look and feel of Microsoft Outlook. Since nearly 80 percent of businesses use Outlook to manage their e-mail, contacts and calendar, most new users are familiar with the general navigation of Tour de Force.

“Outlook is the most common desktop application in business today. It spends more time open on the desktop than any other product,” he says.

The program is highly configurable, enabling companies to configure the software to their business needs. With virtually unlimited capabilities to add user-defined fields and values, Grimstad set up drop-down menus with technical questions for salespeople to ask before sending a project to engineering.

In addition to using the program to track engineering projects, salespeople also rely on it to keep tabs on other major sales opportunities important to the company or to key suppliers. Field salespeople can set up an account by filling in a form from pre-configured menu choices, using drop-down selections and check boxes.

“A lot of manufacturers are forcing their distributors to report back to them on the major opportunities in the pipeline. Tour de Force provides a phenomenal opportunity management component that means the process of reporting back to manufacturers takes just minutes, not hours. It also provides very good activity management that often replaces traditional call activity reporting and saves salespeople time,” says Hartman.

He says the software is growing in popularity among distributors that are looking for a sales force automation software application that integrates with their existing business system. It also enables distributors to track sales opportunities and eliminate time-consuming call reports and sales logs that generate paper but don’t deliver the analytics that help salespeople or sales management, Hartman says.

“Regardless of whether you’re in project-based distribution or MRO, every distributor has to manage their opportunities, and, quite frankly, very few of them do a very good job of it,” says Hartman.

Grimstad says that while the software has helped the company increase sales, it’s difficult to pinpoint an exact amount.
“It certainly makes us more productive. It will enable us to do more sales in coming years with the same amount of people or without adding as many people,” he says.