After we merged the two companies and aligned the territories in May 2009, the sales representatives were still operating with two separate order-processing systems. We needed one system that would allow ordering across all product categories, access to inventory status, order status updates, shipment information, account management information and it needed to be seamless and transparent to the customer. In addition, we needed a system to handle the ‘sales programs’ data manipulation and feed directly into our mainframe for order processing and shipping.
We evaluated one in house developed system and an external system. After extensive needs analysis and evaluation, I worked side by side with IT to complete a capability comparison of the two current systems as well as a 3rd ‘best in class’ option from an outside company. The easy decision would have been to choose one of the two systems we were currently using; however, I knew that we needed the flexibility to expand our capabilities for additional and unique product categories and adaptable to any other needs in the future.
We partnered with what we felt was the ‘best in class’ industry leading company who worked side by side with us to build a customized software package based on our ‘business process’ needs. The application was developed with the premise of utilizing speed and efficiency to not only scan and process items but also systematically apply the extensive and various sales & product programs based on the items ordered.
The new sales tool allowed the sales representative to focus on selling with improved speed and productivity. Efficiencies were also realized in the home office mainframe systems as a result of integration between the sales automation tool and backend systems. Orders flowed through the system and out to the DC with minimal human intervention due to pre-determined algorithms and integration.