Electricity powers our way of life. But with global warming an increasing threat to our world, everyone needs an energy partner that cares deeply about the environment, and leaders who are making an impact on progressing green energy solutions. Turtle & Hughes, which has been woman-led for 80 years, is committed to working with customers to create a more sustainable climate future.
Founded in 1923, Turtle & Hughes are a fourth-generation, family-owned business – and one of the nation’s largest independent electrical and industrial distributors. Its Electrical division is a significant force in the engineering/procurement of power distribution, automation, lighting, and industrial infrastructure. Turtle & Hughes Integrated Supply (THIS) division provides on-site MRO procurement, cost-saving, and spend analytics operating across the U.S., and in Canada, Puerto Rico, and Mexico.
Sustainability Is Their Game
Turtle & Hughes is committed to creating a better climate future by building safer, smarter, cleaner communities. In their own words, “We deliver industry-leading products, services, and solutions to help customers reach their goals and create measurable impact for a greener world.”
There’s a push to embrace renewable energy and uncover breakthrough technologies that can lead to low and/or no carbon emissions. Turtle & Hughes believes that’s possible with the use of greener technologies including LED lighting, Energy Storage, EV Chargers, Solar & Wind, and other industrial Automation Tools,. A large undertaking for any organization but an attainable goal at the core of their business. Their 2021 ESG Report outlines Turtle’s bold commitment to drive sustainability throughout their business verticals and demonstrates their dedication to excellence and putting their people and partners at the center of all they do.
Starts From the Top
As a diverse company, inclusion is a fundamental part of Turtle’s success and it continues to help them grow. It has been a Certified Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) member for over 25 years – and is one of a few electrical distribution companies in the US with female ownership and leadership.
Jayne Millard, Executive Chairman of the Board of Turtle & Hughes, is the third generation of women to lead the family business – she has made her mark on the industry. In 2020, she received the Women in Industry Trailblazer award from the National Association of Electrical Distributors (NAED). She was inducted into the Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) Hall of Fame in 2021. These industry awards and accolades acknowledge her transformational leadership and dedication to growth. She cultivates a workplace environment based on the fundamental powers of respect and listening. Millard believes in mentoring other women to become strong leaders in the industry.
But Millard is not alone. In 2020, Kathleen Shanahan became the first non-family CEO in the company’s almost one-hundred-year history. As CEO, she has overseen the expansion of online sales to the global marketplace, CRM implementation, and enhanced business analytics. In 2020, she was named “CEO To Watch” by Family Business Magazine.
Where Commercient and Salesforce Fit In
With everything in their favor, Turtle has undergone a digital transformation to upgrade the customer experience and modernize its internal systems and sales processes to drive revenues and achieve efficiencies that maximize profits.
Two years ago, Turtle & Hughes implemented a state-of-the-art CRM to improve managing leads, opportunities, customers, marketing, and more. It leverages Salesforce Enterprise and chose Pardot for its marketing needs and Salesforce Inbox to modernize and improve sales.
“We’re going to add an automated process to Salesforce that follows up with any opportunities that we lose,” said Josh Green, Salesforce Administrator at Turtle & Hughes. “We’ll be able to turn those losses into future leads.”
The company utilizes Infor Distribution SX.e. for their operations and finance and needed a data integration between their ERP and Salesforce. Enter Commercient SYNC. They now can view more of their critical Infor Distribution SX.e data in one place, Salesforce. That includes supplier and customer information, sales orders, vendor invoices, etc.. SYNC also helps with the adoption of Salesforce by making the process automated and efficient.
“It’s quicker to access the ERP data in Salesforce so that it becomes more of a one-stop-shop for our team,” explained Green. “Additionally, we can create reports with the data, do automations, and put validations in place, so we can actually work with the data instead of just looking at it.”
