Tag Archive for: Integrating Data

Price vs. Value: “Price is what you pay, value is what you get”

In 2008, Warren Buffet sent a letter to Berkshire Hathaway’s shareholders where he wrote, “Long ago, Ben Graham taught me that – Price is what you pay; value is what you get.” This idea still largely guides decisions into new business investments where the dollar amount of a new purchase should be evaluated against other factors that create value, whether they be financial, emotional, or physical.

Let’s be honest, when we are talking about the price of new technology, rarely does someone see the price and think to themselves, “Wow, that is so much cheaper than I expected it to be.” New technology comes with a price tag, but it can also add extreme value to your organization.

The Price of Integration

There are many different integration options on the market all with various pricing structures, but in general, the price of integration can range from $4,000 – $80,000 or more in the first year. At this price point, sticker shock is common with first-time buyers. 

Naturally, the first question I would ask myself as a buyer would be, “OK, what do I get for that price?” With Commercient SYNC, for far less than $80,000, you will get seamless integration between your ERP and CRM that meets your organization’s exact needs. We SYNC the information you need at a frequency of your choosing using our tried and tested, pre-built integration points. This includes not only the initial installation of the SYNC but also ongoing maintenance and top-of-the-line customer support. This is a white-glove service where all of the integration is managed by Commercient to allow you to focus your time on other critical business activities.

The Value of Integration

As buyers of integration services, we must not only consider the price of integration, but also the added value as a result of it. Commercient SYNC can increase revenue and decrease costs, adding value to your business. So, let’s break it down. 

SYNC to increase revenue 

Commercient customers report seeing an immediate 5% increase in sales, with additional growth in that number over time.[1]  A 5% increase in sales overnight offers instant ROI to help offset the initial sticker shock, and integration can pay for itself within months. 

SYNC to decrease costs

To delve into this point, we must first establish some common “costs”. We have all heard the popular quote, “Time is money,” where time is related to labor costs and productivity. Other costs to consider are the cost of human error and customer retention. 

Decrease Time – Research shows that integration increases a company’s productivity by up to 40%. [2]  Imagine the added value for your business when you can be 40% more productive. In one day, you can save 192 minutes. Over the course of a week, that’s 960 minutes and over the course of a year, we are talking about 49,920 minutes PER EMPLOYEE! This time can be used for other business activities, saving the company time, and therefore money.

Reduce Human Error – While the costs of human error may be difficult to calculate, research from EasyPost Data found that 4.7% of all human entered information has an error. Therefore, companies doing double data entry into both an ERP and CRM system have a possibility of human error in up to 9.4% of the company records.

Imagine, if you will, a distribution company that sends one million packages a year. Assuming they enter shipping addresses into both systems, that’s 94,000 errors made in ship to addresses each year. If these address errors cause a package to be returned, the company needs to then correct the error, which takes time and pays to resend the packages. For the sake of this scenario, imagine it costs $5 to resend each package.  That’s $470,000 each year to reship packages as a result of these errors! With integration from Commercient SYNC, you can cut these costs in half, and have the added benefit of more accurate data.

Customer Retention Costs – PWC statistics indicate that customer service and the customer experience are the most important elements of a long-term business relationship, with more than 67% of customers saying that expedited customer service directly impacts their loyalty to a company. Furthermore,  Genesys found that less than 10% of customers aren’t willing to wait for more than five minutes on the phone for information, so it is our responsibility to give employees easy access to the information they need to address any prospect or customer needs. It is paramount to give teams the information they need in a centralized and easy-to-use platform to help them address customer queries in a professional and timely manner. 

While this benefit is immeasurable, there is no doubt that access to information can help teams provide the desired customer experience to drive new sales and retain existing customers. 

Let’s sum it up. It is true that integration costs thousands of dollars, but the price of that integration is very different from its value. SYNC is proven to increase sales, skyrocket employee productivity, improve customer retention, and decrease human error. The value of integration far exceeds the price, and one could even argue that you are losing money by not integrating these critical business systems. 

Certified Slings Customer Success Story

DoRodo Caster & Wheels Customer Success Story

Clock Spring|NRI Customer Success Story

Transform Your Field Service Team with Salesforce Field Service

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Introduction

As a leader in the field service industry, you know that there are many moving parts that need to be considered in order to run a successful field service organization. Day-to-day operations can be complex and streamlined communication is often lacking for both on-site and in-office teams. Ultimately, you need a tool that can support all the needs of your organization; and that tool is Salesforce Field Service.

“Salesforce Field Service is a feature and add-on that assists dispatchers and technicians with dispatching, directions, work orders, parts used, repair times, and more. This helps to streamline those operations and minimize paperwork,” Said Richard Jenkins, Co-Founder of Commercient. 

Essentially, Salesforce Field Service makes your team more aligned, operational management easier, and team efficiency skyrocket. 

How Salesforce Field Service Can Streamline Your Organization

How are teams operating without a strong field service management solution like Salesforce Field Service? 

Without the proper tools in place for field service teams, organizations oftentimes track projects through spreadsheets. They will manually dispatch technicians through email and phone, and don’t have a centralized clear way to see where their teams are at any given time. 

Without Salesforce Field Service, how do you properly track hours, parts used, etc.? How can you ensure that the technician’s route saves on gas, or that he or she isn’t spending unneeded time traveling between service calls? The other question to consider is, are you efficiently dispatching technicians? 

Commercient will be able to provide an ID through the SYNC, which will help to identify the correct building for a job and match that to the needed parts and labor.

What is Salesforce Field Service?

Salesforce Field Service essentially is designed to help teams fully manage every aspect of their field service operation in the most streamlined way possible. It also helps keep information updated for mobile-workers and customers. On-site technicians and contractors in HVAC, healthcare, construction, financial services, transportation, utilities, manufacturing, telecommunications, and professional services will find Salesforce Field Service particularly helpful. This is shown in the top features below.

Top Features of Salesforce Field Service:

Dispatching Console: 

Eliminate calls and emails, and dispatch technicians intelligently with regards to their location, schedule, and skillset.

Smart Scheduling: 

Take the guesswork out of scheduling for your team by creating an ideal schedule based upon current priorities or limitations.

Workflow Automation: 

Automate case creation for technicians and workflows.

Field Service Mobile App: 

Provide recommended articles, get directions, capture photos and sign work orders. What’s more, the Mobile App comes with offline capabilities so teams can work wherever they need to, regardless of connectivity.

Einstein Vision: 

Get image recognition with your photos and identify critical assets.

Field Service Analytics: 

Oversee safety protocols and your team’s current performance with the metrics that matter most to you.

Salesforce Appointment Assistant: 

Give your customers more visibility into your team and their whereabouts with your technician’s name, photo, ETA, and location. All of which are supported through email, WhatsApp, and SMS notifications.

With Salesforce Field Service, you can spend less time trying to find the best technician for a job, and more time on delivering the best in customer service. 

If you are looking for additional resources on field service operations, check out Abelian’s ebook intended to help teams avoid serious mistakes with field service operations.

Field Service Resource Button

Click Below to Download Your Free Ebook.

EbookCover.FieldService

Commercient and Salesforce Field Service 

For Salesforce Field Service and ERP integration, Commercient SYNC is your leading company. SYNC is utilized to ensure that data integration between Salesforce Field Service and your ERP runs smoothly. Your ERP data is automatically integrated into your Salesforce Field Service without the need to program, code, map, or use servers.

In Salesforce Field Service, there are four key players where Commercient is involved to assist customers with a smooth data integration process. The four key players are:

Administrator: 

An administrator configures field service features based on a company’s requirements. Commercient will collaborate with the administrator to sync relevant data into and out of Salesforce Field Service objects.

Service Agent: 

A service agent will take customer calls and log work orders via service appointments, which will be linked to the calendar of the mobile worker or technician. Work orders will be detailed and will include the skills and parts required to complete the job at hand. Then, Commercient can sync the work orders to the ERP system as a work order, sales order, invoice, or jobs.

Dispatchers: 

Manage service appointments that are assigned to mobile workers or technicians.

Mobile Worker or Technicians: 

Field Technicians will be provided with service appointments that will direct them to the specific location to conduct the service. They must then manage their work order and submit a report detailing the parts utilized and the service performed that day. The mobile worker or technician can then manage this by using timesheets on their mobile device. The parts and labor will be added to the work order, which will then be uploaded to the ERP system in the form of a work order, job, invoice, or sales order, depending on the customer’s needs. Salesforce Field Service empowers the technician to track hours by location and which parts were used; while Commercient will also SYNC timesheets to an import file that will be used by the ERP to generate payrolls and billing.

If your team is concerned about customer details changing and not reflecting in their ERP and Salesforce Field Service systems, SYNC has you covered. New customers can be created in the ERP through the SYNC and their personal information can be updated if anything changes.

Integration with Commercient SYNC for Salesforce Field Service

Phase 1:

  • Jobs
  • Work Order
  • User
  • Building
  • Account
  • Service Invoice
  • Service Invoice Line
  • Contact

Phase 2:

  • Customer
  • Contact
  • Building
  • Work Order
  • Daily Payroll

Conclusion

Salesforce Field Service is designed for your team to thrive in field service management. Abelian has guided a number of teams to a more streamlined and successful field service operation with countless implementations of Salesforce Field Service. If you are ready to partner with teams that truly understand field service business processes coupled with the skillset to deliver the best in configurations, reach out to us. Contact Abelian, a certified Salesforce Consulting partner, or Commercient, your Salesforce integration expert, and we will provide a free Salesforce Field Service consultation to kickstart your journey in conquering field service management. 

Field Service Management Resource

Integration: Key to Increase CRM User Adoption

CRMs are designed to manage the most valuable asset of a company—the customers. As a customer management tool with customization options, pipeline tracking, and reporting and dashboard features it makes sense why company executives would want to maximize the user adoption of their CRM. Not to mention, a CRM can be a significant financial investment, so naturally, companies want to be sure that employees are using a CRM to its fullest potential. 

But all too often it seems, an organization purchases a shiny, new CRM and people are hesitant to use it. It’s like a 16-year-old who is given a brand-new Ferrari on his or her birthday with all of the bells and whistles who doesn’t want to jump in the driver’s seat to take it for a spin around the block. 

So, why are employees so hesitant to climb in the driver’s seat of this beautiful Ferrari and push the pedal to the metal? Often, this is because the CRM focus is Executive-driven instead of Sales Team driven. The Executive team provided a Ferrari with amazing executive-focused reports and dashboards, but the Sales Team’s focus is very different, and to keep going with the analogy, they wanted a Lamborghini. They need the bells and whistles that are directly related to their daily responsibilities, which are quite different from the information Executives are looking for.

Now the question becomes, what bells and whistles do the Sales Team need? While a CRM provides amazing pipeline features, something that is missing is the historical data of a customer’s past purchasing habits. Before a Sales Team representative gets ready to reach out to a client about their next order, they may want to ask themselves these questions: what did they buy last time? What price did they buy it for? How many did they buy? Do we have that in stock? Did they pay for it yet? In an Executive focused CRM, a lot of this data is siloed away in other systems, like the ERP. Therefore, Sales Team members need to look in multiple systems for the information they want, or they have the additional step of reaching out to the accounting team for more information. But what if there was a better way?

There is! Tailor your CRM to the Sales Team’s needs with integration between the ERP and CRM. Give the Sales Team the Lamborghini they deserve with increased visibility of the information they need at their fingertips to quickly and independently drive their sales. 

It’s really a very simple solution to this common problem… If you want to increase user adoption, you need to provide access to the information the users need, and that is made possible through data integration.

For a robust and reliable ERP and CRM data integration solution contact Commercient today!

Strategic Integration for Long-Lasting Benefit

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is upon us. New technology is constantly flooding the market creating an era where business transformation is commonly associated with the willingness to experiment with new software, Strategic integration plays a very vital role in business processes. But before buying new middleware or jumping on a new app’s bandwagon, we must ask ourselves, does technology actually enhance business processes, or are there other factors at play?

The global pandemic forever changed business, and yes, technology now plays a crucial role in customer engagement, managing delayed production schedules created by global shortages, and increasing data visibility. But is software enough? Can a new App solve the problem? The answer is NO! All of the new tech options on the market are simply tools, and not all tools are created equally. They all require different time, personnel, and financial investments. What it all comes down to is that strategic integration, or the transformation of business processes to increase data visibility across systems, requires careful consideration of the tools that are available AND a devoted organizational commitment or service to maximize the use of those tools. 

So, what does that mean? The answer is that an organizational need for new technology needs to be identified, but more importantly, the organization needs to be committed to finding and using the best tools available for them to solve that need. Technology, as the tool, is only effective in the hands of people committed to using it, and people looking for a technological solution can only truly succeed with the right tool. As the saying goes, “You don’t bring a knife to a gunfight.” 

Now, let’s break this down and focus exclusively on the strategic integration of two crucial company systems, the ERP and CRM. First off, why do people integrate? What’s the point?

  • Increase data visibility – Data transparency allows for proactive business decisions based on up-to-date and comprehensive information from multiple teams and departments. 
  • Eliminate labor costs – Entering data into two systems is expensive. Not only are there financial costs of literally paying someone to do the same work twice, but there is also a factor of human error that has immeasurable long-term costs. 
  • Save time –Hours, maybe even days can be lost while different departments gain access to various systems for information. This may only take minutes or hours per inquiry, and for one account, that may not seem like a big deal, but what if you have hundreds of accounts? Thousands?
  • Protect the integrity of the accounting system! –Integration protects the integrity of the ERP by allowing users access to the information from the CRM.
  • Allow teams to work on the road – In general, CRMs offer more flexibility for teams to work remotely or from the field. Integrating ERP data into a CRM allows teams to securely access data without a VPN. 

Now, using this list of the five main advantages of ERP to CRM integration, let’s compare the most popular integration tools on the market?

Customized integrationPre-built integration through CommercientETL Toolsets
Increase data visibility?XXX
Save money?X
Save time?X
Protect ERP?XXX
Work remotely?XXX

Customized integration is ideal for organizations with unlimited funds and lots of time. While the final results of a successful custom integration may be the answer to all of the organization’s problems, they will come at an extreme cost and take months, if not years to accomplish. You heard me right, YEARS! Also, you must ask yourself with customized integration, does the person I hired to build this very expensive and customized integration actually know what they are doing? Have they done it before? While this tool has the potential to give amazing results, are the financial and time costs worthwhile? Can you wait for 2 years to see your data all in one place?

ETL Toolsets may be the most cost-effective option upfront, but in the long run, will take a lot of time to manage, and time is money. ETL toolsets are self-managed, meaning when something breaks or doesn’t work, you are the one responsible for fixing it. You are the one who will spend hours on hold with a customer support team that will not answer the phone or will not be able to help you if they do. You will be the one reading the “manual” trying to decipher how this works and where this goes because in reality ETL toolsets are complicated, and that complication falls on you! This tool is for the DIY’er, but not all projects call for DIY solutions. A leaky faucet, for example, is a great DIY project. Watch a YouTube video, go to the local hardware store to buy the parts, and repair this small issue. But long-term and successful data integration is not a DIY project! 

Pre-built and managed integration with Commercient checks all the boxes because it can be rapidly deployed at a fair price to immediately increase data visibility. Companies can have a 360 view of business processes within weeks, not months or years, and at a cost that is significantly lower than customized integration. Integration can be tailored to meet the needs of each organization without the cost and time of a custom-built integration. Imagine a giant table full of puzzle pieces with pre-built integration points. You can pick the puzzle pieces you need and then experts can put them together for you to offer a solution for your specific pain points. Plus, pre-built integration means that it is tried and tested! It comes with the peace of mind that, not only is this integration possible, but it has been done before and actually works! 
Here is an example of how SYNC works.

Strategic integration is the idea of solving a business need with a long-term, easy, and cost-effective solution. Successful integration should NOT take up valuable company time. Successful integration should NOT be a huge financial drain. Strategic integration should enhance business processes and offer immediate ROI. Strategic integration is managed and monitored by experts. Strategic integration is Commercient.

Netsuite and Salesforce Integration: Innovating The Transportation and Logistics Industry

The Transportation and Logistics Industry faces more complex challenges compared to other industries because of the constant movement, multi-locations, and the fast-paced nature of the business structure. Transportation and Logistics organizations have critical back-office processes that can impact overhead and operational expenses. Transportation and Logistics organizations come across challenges like struggling to monitor the transportation lifecycle, fluctuating freight costs, freight movement monitoring, complex route planning, and supply chain management.

NetSuite and Salesforce integration allows your business to tackle challenges associated with data management and cope up with the increased transportation and logistics demand. NetSuite and Salesforce allow transportation and logistics organizations to stay competitive in an ever-changing business landscape by automating crucial processes to decrease cost and improve operational efficiency.

Why Adopt The Netsuite and Salesforce Integration Solution?

Integrated Budgeting and Forecasting: With fluctuating fuel prices and forever changing business operations costs, it is hard to manually track and forecast budget, but with NetSuite and Salesforce integration solution from Commercient, businesses can plan ahead and adjust budgets and allocation according to forecasted data, that improves financial stability, reduces cost and improves efficiency. NetSuite and Salesforce integration allows your businesses to improve their financial management through financial planning based on accurate real-time data.

Customer Relationship Management: Transportation and Logistics companies transact with other business entities and maintaining good relations with customers increases customer loyalty and more business in the future. The Netsuite and Salesforce integration gives your business complete real-time visibility to customers across multiple channels, which directly improves customer relationships and strengthens the customer lifetime value.

Business Intelligence: Commmercient SYNC has Real-time Business Intelligence. The Netsuite and Salesforce integration with commercient will give your business access to the latest in reporting and analytics giving you instant, real-time data visibility of all business and financial transactions. Commercient SYNC  allows businesses to generate accurate reports combining operational data, and financial data with (KPI) key performance indicators.

Inventory and Supply Chain: With Netsuite and Salesforce integration, inventory and supply modules are integrated to help your business track assets and available inventory.  In the Transportation and Logistics industry, your assets are always on the move in different locations carrying goods for different clients on multiple routes. NetSuite and Salesforce integration will allow your businesses to track your assets and your customer’s assets through multiple locations in real-time.

Global Business Management: NetSuite and Salesforce integration can take your business to an intelligent enterprise level, giving your business the ability to manage multiple subsidiaries, business units, and legal entities from several different locations in one unified cloud-based integrated system. This allows your business to easily adapt.

Choosing Commercient SYNC is a cost-effective and practical way to make sure your business operations run more efficiently while increasing visibility between your customer services, sales, front and back-office teams by having NetSuite and Salesforce integrated.

Contact your Commercient representative for more details, You can also find us on the Salesforce AppExchange.

The Basics Of Cloud Analytics

Cloud analytics is a form business intelligence in which information moves electronically to a cloud network. Data travels through different models and allows users to examine business data. Data stored in the cloud becomes accessible for discovery, interpretation, and communication of meaningful patterns. Cloud analytics is a way to store large amounts of data, without costing a fortune. The cloud frees companies from the shackles of on-premise storage.

Types of cloud analytics

Public cloud – Public cloud shares IT systems, however, data is not distributed. It contains shared infrastructures such as data processing, virtual machines and storage that is made accessible to everyone.

Private cloud – These types of clouds are committed to one organization but they are costly. The main function is to expand the existing IT infrastructure. Data is often sensitive and cannot be accessed by outsiders. 

Hybrid cloud – A hybrid cloud is a mixture of both public and private cloud. Data stored here can be sensitive and non-sensitive. 

Components of cloud analytics

In order for cloud analytics to function properly, there are required core elements known as:

Data sources – These are original sources of the data. These can include companies CRM and ERP. A Customer Relationship Management system is used to organize, automate and synchronize sales, marketing, and customer service. ERP is a financial and operations system for improving the efficiency of business processes and is also known as enterprise resource planning. 

Data models – These models assist in making connections between data points and clarifies how they are related to one another.

Processing applications – Through this component, large volumes of data are processed. 

Computing power – Businesses require computing power to clean, examine and structure data for use. 

Analytic models – These are numerical models that estimate an outcome. They entail a lot of computing power.

The benefits of cloud analytics

Cloud Analytics can create a competitive advantage that leads to positive outcomes while still maintaining data protection. The following benefits are:

  • Effortless data – Data is kept up to date. There is real-time data organization, changes are updated and saved instantly. Data saved in the cloud cannot be lost unlike its physical counterpart. 
  • Flexible and faster data – Cloud analytic can be scaled to suite a company’s needs. The storage can also be increased or decreased to the capacity is needed.
  • Sharing and collaboration – Employees can access data stored in the cloud anywhere at any time. Information can be uploaded and downloaded which boosts teamwork within global companies.

The challenges of cloud analytics 

Although there are benefits, there are also challenges to illustrate:

  • Technology constantly evolving. Those managing cloud analytics will continuously need to keep up to date with the latest trends and tech innovations. 
  • Moving data to the cloud can be time-consuming and there is a possibility for errors if procedures are not followed correctly.
  • Costs for cloud analytics can become expensive when more functions are required. An increase in users may result in a change in subscription fees. 

Commercient SYNC makes data integration simple and user-friendly. Information is made available on a platform accessible to all employees. Through cloud analytics data is transferred and stored according to the business needs. Unlike traditional data integration tools such as an ETL, there is no coding, mapping, or server. We handle everything, so you can focus on growing your business. Contact us today for a free Commercient SYNC demo.

To conclude, the variation of data storage allows multiple users to benefit from cloud analytics. Cloud analytics is there to benefit employees of companies to evaluate data quickly, enabling them to see the bigger picture. The possibilities in terms of sharing, storing, and organization of data are endless. 

Why You Need CPQ Software in Your Company?

Configure Price Quote software, otherwise known as CPQ software, is a sales and quoting solution designed to help companies generate highly accurate quotes based on specific configurations. It helps centralize and automate rules on product, pricing, and business. With its centralized structure, sales teams are able to access information in real-time wherever and whenever they need it.

What CPQ does is that it enables users to generate custom quotes on products, services, and packages based using custom configurations and a predetermined set of pricing rules such as discounts, bulk orders, season, location, handicaps, pricing fluctuations, and more. It allows users, particularly salespeople, to quote their customers quickly and accurately.

With CPQ solutions, companies are able to activate and streamline all their sales channels and empower their sales personnel. This leads to better and bigger revenue as businesses create and provide precise and competitive quotes possible to their customers, enticing and motivating them to consider and ultimately purchase.

CPQ brings a plethora of benefits to many businesses and industries. But the following advantages top the list while explaining why your company needs to invest in CPQ software.

asana cpq

  1. Accelerate Business Processes

One of the reasons why companies are using CPQ software to improve their sales and overall revenue is its impressive speed. It accelerates the entire sales cycle, which serves both employees and customers. 

In a conventional business setting, salespeople have to spend a considerable amount of time retrieving and accessing product information from various sources. Then they have to consult their pricing rules before coming up with prices or rates and give customers their quotes.

And in between, there are internal administrative processes such as reviews, clarification, and approval that take too much time. With so many time-intensive functions and other management mumbo-jumbo to do, it’s no wonder why sales representatives only spend 33% of their time on sales-related tasks. 

By utilizing CPQ software and incorporating CPQ in CRM systems, companies are able to eliminate many of these unnecessary and exhaustive processes, drastically accelerating the sales cycle. This integration should be considered one of the best CRM practices because of the advantages it brings to any business enterprise.

Salespeople don’t have to spend days and weeks to come up with accurate quotes. They can create quotes in minutes and deliver them to their customers in an instant. This is critical as sales statistics reveal that 50% of customers purchase from the vendor who contacted them first.

Aside from increasing their sales potential, the speed of CPQ software also adds value to the customer’s overall experience. Being able to provide accurate quotes by demand sparks engagement and drives interaction. A delightful experience not only leads to a successful sale but also repeat businesses and more opportunities.

  1. Generate Quotes Based on Customer Data

It is clearly established how CPQ platforms transform the slow and arduous sales cycle into a rapid yet precise process. But aside from dramatically accelerating your sales by generating accurate and competitive quotes in minutes, it also sheds light in other business areas where visibility is either poor or lacking.

Most CPQ solutions can work well on their own without having to integrate with other systems and technology suites. But given its unique position, many companies integrate their CPQ software with their current technology solutions such as CRMs to make life easier for their sales reps.

The vast majority of CPQ platforms are built to seamlessly integrate and work with Salesforce, one of the world’s leading CRM brands to provide sales personnel with better, faster access to real-time customer information. They are able to do more with CPQ Salesforce meaning they don’t have to build viable proposals and quotes from the ground up. 

That’s because the CRM software supplies the CPQ solution with customer information, including interactions, previous communication, and activities done by other sales reps. CPQ users can then create more effective and accurate quotes and proposals that are driven and based on customer data.

  1. Eliminate Supply Chain Issues

Aside from centralizing and automating pricing processes, CPQ software streamlines the sales cycle by eliminating many pain points in the supply chain via powerful automation. Traditional supply chain processes involve numerous variables and stages, making it notoriously complicated even for seasoned supply chain managers and experts.

Accounting for each of these variables is already a complex process in itself, impeding the execution of lead-to-order cycles, which then adversely impacts sales performance. Even international companies admit how poor supply chain management can seriously hurt their revenue potential.

Top sports brand Adidas disclosed that they failed to meet their 2019 growth target due to supply chain issues. The Germany-based athletic performance company predicted massive losses between $220 million to $550 million for the year, stating their current manufacturing infrastructure in North America was not enough to meet the rising demand in the consumer-rich region.

Integrating CPQ with supply chain management software allows businesses to closely monitor supply levels and automatically update acquisition and inventory teams whenever items, parts, and supplies are depleting.

Because CPQ  addresses many of these pain points via automation, businesses are able to keep their inventories stacked and way ahead of demand. This ensures that they have adequate supply in their inventory when an order comes through. As CPQ keeps their supply levels at an optimum level, sales teams have an easier time focusing on their customers’ needs. This ultimately results in faster sales, more revenue, and happier customers.

Asana CPQ

  1. Sell Products When Demand Is Low

Most companies deploy CPQ systems to boost the efficiency of their sales processes and drive revenue performance. However, only a few integrate CPQ software with their demand planning and ERP solutions to help predict market demand, which is a great way to leverage CPQ capabilities.

Speaking of ERP solutions, check this page from FinancesOnline for today’s leading ERP software systems.

When market demand takes a dive, it is important for companies to keep their items from stagnating in their inventory. CPQ provides them with the platform to find ways to keep their products moving and still be profitable even when market demand is low.

By being able to forecast market demand, CPQ systems aid companies in providing their customers with vast possibilities of configurations to make their low-demand products appealing to customers as demand begins to plateau out and then dwindle.

While disposing of low-demand products may not garner a lot in terms of revenue, it does open up valuable inventory space. This allows companies to stock on more high-demand products and generate significant profit off them, enabling them to still achieve higher revenue even when they sold off their low-demand items for little or no profit.

Aside from helping with demand, data from CPQ systems can also be used to fuel and create detailed year-end reports.

Achieve Agile Sales Cycles Now

CPQ software is proving to be an indispensable system for modern enterprises, as evidenced by the rapidly growing global CPQ market. 

Among the major factors of CPQ adoption is its ability to provide business enterprises unparalleled agility in creating and providing accurate and competitive quotes to customers. In this world where agility is essential, it’s no wonder why CPQ systems are enjoying increasing popularity and implementation.

Customers today put a huge premium on speed as much as excellent service regardless of the CPQ software costs. Businesses now have to be agile to remain competitive and significant in their respective markets. CPQ gives them that. That agility leads to faster sales cycles, better sales enablement, and huge revenue growth. As people in sales always say, “you close more, you win more.”

5 Reasons Why You’ll Love Commercient SYNC Data Integration

Are you considering integrating your CRM and ERP systems, but are looking for more information? Good news! Commercient SYNC’s CRM and ERP integration solution will help you reap all the benefits of a unified system, help you streamline processes, and boost productivity. Here are five reasons why you’ll love our SYNC data integration application.

 

See Your ERP Data in Your CRM

If you are deploying your CRM and ERP systems separately, you are missing out on the added benefits of having them SYNC’ed. Moreover, performing manual updates can result in slower operations and in a higher risk of database errors. With Commercient’s SYNC data integration app, you don’t have to worry about manual updates – it keeps you current with changes made to your ERP and CRM systems simultaneously, and enables you to see your ERP data in your CRM. This can help your company run more efficiently, so you can focus on sales and new business.

 

Keep Everybody on the Same Page

Our SYNC data integration app creates one master system that allows everyone to be on the same page. Since updates in either system are visible instantaneously, changes you make in your ERP system will automatically reflect in your CRM system, and vice versa. The result is employees from different departments will find it easier to collaborate, and there will be less of a chance of miscommunication.

 

Ensure Safe and Secure Data

Security is extremely importantly when it comes to the management of data. Because Commercient SYNC is a cloud-based app, it is able to provide you with a safe and secure environment for integrating the data between your ERP and CRM systems. Operating within the cloud also makes it easier to grant your employees varying levels of controlled access to the data that you sync into your CRM system. In addition, you can access your data from anywhere and at any time.

 

Deliver Outstanding Customer Experience

We’re in the age of the customer, so it’s all about delivering top-of-the-line customer service and creating ultimate experiences for them. SYNC works to give you a 360 degree view of every customer, so you will be able to understand them more. You can analyze their buying habits, payment history, account standing, order history, and more. This is a great benefit, as you gain better insight into your customer base, which will aid in building long lasting relationships. This will also help you in making smarter decisions, and in developing more targeted marketing campaigns.

 

Close More Sales

In addition to helping you deliver the ultimate customer experience, Commercient’s SYNC data integration app will help you close more sales. You’ll be able to see inventory data in real-time, run detailed reports, search customer records, and complete orders for a simpler and more efficient sales process. What could take hours or days to receive certain customer data, your sales and customer service teams have instant access, anytime, anywhere. It means they will be able to serve your customers no matter where they are. Additionally, sales managers will be able to see exactly what their sales team is doing on a granular level, and compare data and performance to establish how to best increase sales across the entire organization.

 

Fast Set-Up and SYNC

Competing data integration systems can take weeks or even months to set up, and you end up having to do much of the ‘heavy lifting.’ With Commercient SYNC, we can get you up and running in a matter of hours, and we handle everything, so you can continue focusing on growing your business.

 

Ready to use Commercient’s SYNC data integration app? Let’s get your integration started today.

Advantages of Storing Data in the Cloud During a Natural Disaster

As we’ve seen in recent times, a natural disaster can occur at any time. With the recent natural disasters, we wanted to shed light on the advantages of storing your valuable data in the cloud during a natural disaster, so you can keep your business operating.

 

Why the Cloud?

The cloud is able to keep your company information stored at a remote location rather on local hard disks or disk-based storage. So, in the event of an unexpected disaster, such as a hurricane or earthquake, you don’t have to worry about losing thousands or even millions of dollars’ worth of data. You can use cloud storage to store and save everything, including customer records, emails, photos, company files and more. Commercient SYNC and IoT Pulse are both cloud-based applications, and allow you to enjoy all the benefits of being in the cloud during a natural disaster.

 

Backup and Accessing Data From Anywhere

One advantage of having info in the cloud during natural a disaster is that you will be able access your data, including sales, accounts receivable, and more, from anywhere. When choosing a cloud provider, we recommend one with a data center in a location that is geographically far away from your own location. This will help you to avoid losing both live and backup copies of your application during a disaster.

For instance, if your company is headquartered in Miami and most of your customers are in Florida, if you use our Commercient SYNC data integration app to integrate your ERP and CRM system, or our IoT Pulse app to connect your ERP system to the Internet of Things, your data would be backed up in our secure, cloud-based data centers with 99.9% up-time, giving you peace of mind. Moreover, if you ever need to evacuate your area due a storm or disaster, you would be able access your data wherever you go.

A Commercient client was located in an area that experienced unprecedented flooding, and they lost their servers, files, and access to one of their most important business assets: Their accounts receivable files. They had a real collections dilemma on their hands, and could risk losing revenue. Thanks to Commercient’s cloud backup, we were able to help them get back up and running quickly at a temporary location, and their cash flow was not impeded, because they had access to sales and accounts receivable data.

 

Save Time and Money

By storing your data in the cloud, you can also save valuable time and money. For instance, in preparation for an impending disaster, you no longer have to worry about purchasing and deploying backup servers, drives, disks, or additional staff. With a cloud provider, you are only charged for the services you use. So, when compared to traditional disaster recovery approaches, if you use a cloud solution, you will only pay a fraction of the cost, saving you a lot of money in the end. And in the event that a forecasted disaster does not strike, your costs will be even lower.

Additionally, if there is a disaster and your local servers and computes sustain damage, having your info in the cloud will make it easy for you to restore your data in no time. You’ll be able to access all your data through the internet instantly and restore immediately to your new hardware.

 

Please check out our secure, cloud-based SYNC and IoT Pulse applications and contact us today to learn more about the many advantages of having your data in the cloud.

Does Your Business Need a Cloud Computing Strategy?

You’ve heard of cloud computing, right? Stratalux CEO Jeremy Przygode says it’s the norm for businesses today and it’s transforming the way we do business. A recent report shows that over 95% of businesses now operate on a public, private, or hybrid cloud platform. How about your company? Do you have a cloud computing strategy? Here are few reasons why you should consider developing one.

You can save more money

If you choose to migrate to the cloud, you can save a lot of money. Rackspace surveyed 1,300 companies and found that 88% of cloud users experienced significant cost savings and 56% of them noted an increase in profits. With the cloud, you reduce hardware costs because hardware repair and replacement costs are left to the vendor. It also saves on your power bills. Large data centers take up space and produce heat. You won’t have to worry about keeping that area cooled to optimal temperature if your hardware is offsite. You also save on labor and maintenance costs. That means your IT staff can focus on daily needs and development. If your company doesn’t have in-house IT, moving to the cloud will defray third-party hardware repair bills.

The cloud also allows you to take advantage of the pay-as-you-go model – you only pay for software as you utilize it, and it can be canceled at any time. The subscription model helps you avoid the costs that can come with defective software.

You can innovate and experiment

Migrating to the cloud will also help you innovate, experiment, and create new products and services. A study conducted at the London School of Economics and Political Science found that “One of the key ways that cloud computing supports operational and technological innovation is by moving an organization more briskly through the experimental or prototyping stages. With traditional IT models, a decision to prototype a new system generally involves the procurement and installation of expensive hardware, with the associated checks and delays that conventional purchasing requires. Cloud provisioning, on the other hand, can be implemented rapidly and at low cost.”

In other words, with the cloud, you can spend a lot more time on developing strategies and products to help your company grow and less time on maintaining infrastructure and hardware. In addition, because cloud software can be deployed within hours your staff can increase productivity because they won’t have to wait for installation.  

You can be more flexible

Cloud computing also allows you to be more flexible both inside and outside of the workplace. For example, if you need access to data while you are away from the office, you can easily access that data anytime and anywhere through any web-enabled device. With the cloud, you can also offer more flexible working hours to your employees and collaborate with them on the go and in real-time. An effective cloud strategy allows your employees to have more freedom, which yields happier and more productive workers.

You can increase security and protection of sensitive data

If you move to the cloud, you can also experience increased security, privacy, and control – all data sent to the cloud is encrypted and is hosted in a centralized and protected environment. Since your data is stored in the cloud, you can access it no matter what happens to your hardware. Commercient’s SYNC app, for instance, is a cloud-based application that provides a safe and secure environment for integrating data between ERP and CRM systems. The secure cloud environment makes it easier for you to grant your employees varying levels of controlled access to the data you sync into your CRM system. Hence, developing a cloud strategy allows you to take greater control of your data.

Cloud computing strategy or not?

Almost all apps and legacy software have already moved to the cloud. The scalability, flexibility, and increase in employee collaboration make a cloud strategy almost imperative for a growing business.  Cloud computing is also cost-effective, secure, and easy to maintain. A cloud solution simplifies hosting and allows your company to scale up or down as your business needs change. According to John Angove, CEO of Commercient, “In order to be nimble, moving your processes to the cloud is the best option for companies that want to stay competitive.”

The question isn’t whether you should adopt a cloud strategy, but when?

 

Commercient is pleased to introduce an amazing new product–IoT Pulse. Access to it is by invitation only, so contact us to get on the waiting list.