In January of 2003, Microsoft released Microsoft Business Solutions CRM as a part of the Microsoft Business Solutions family of business application software. With no shortage of CRM alternatives on the market, the question remains for manufacturers, has Microsoft CRM been worth the wait? The quick answer is yes-for companies who already have a Microsoft technology infrastructure, Microsoft CRM represents an on-ramp to a solid set of sales force automation and customer service capabilities on a technologically advanced .NET platform. Additionally, its tight integration with the world's most popular corporate email system and personal information management application (Microsoft Exchange & Outlook) give it some capabilities unique to the CRM marketplace.

Microsoft Business Solutions CRM

Microsoft CRM provides functional capability in two main areas: Sales and Customer Service. These modules are available as an integrated suite or standalone. Both areas provide a good base level of functionality that you will find in many CRM software applications. Although there is some functionality to assist marketing (for example, it can handle generating mass email distributions), it is worth noting that in this release there is limited marketing automation capability. The application has been designed to make customizations simple; it is relatively easy to configure user interfaces, add fields, change views of data, and configure workflows.

One of the main differentiating features of Microsoft CRM is its integration into Outlook and Exchange. The idea is simple but powerful: since some of the most utilized sales "tools" include a contact list, a calendar, and email, why not make this the central organizing principal of a CRM tool? Microsoft CRM has done just that, and if your company utilizes Exchange/Outlook as the corporate email system, then Microsoft CRM can provide you a level of CRM/desktop integration that is unique in the marketplace.

Another important theme of the Microsoft CRM suite is availability. Microsoft CRM is available both on- and off-line, which means it supports the needs of the disconnected mobile sales professional. Also, Microsoft CRM can be deployed as previously mentioned using Outlook, or it can be accessed completely over the Internet via a web browser.

Addressing CRM Opportunities for manufacturers

Compared to other industries, mid-market manufacturers have been slow adopters of CRM technologies, choosing to focus on ERP and supply chain issues first before tackling the front office. Because of this focus, CRM investments come under scrutiny, and practical business benefits must be a part of any CRM software selection. The following section highlights areas where Junction Solutions has identified how CRM has the capability to provide significant benefits to a manufacturer.

Deliver common tools for sales force effectivity
Manufacturers who have no integrated CRM solution in place frequently have critical needs for tools to help their sales force get access to common information and manage their day-to-day activities. Sales managers are also in need of real time information to monitor the sales process.

Microsoft CRM delivers by providing an integrated database to store and access information such as contacts, accounts, opportunities, competitors, and user activities; it also manages information for leads, quotes, orders, invoices, sales processes, product catalogs, and quotas. These tools are available off-line as well, in order to accommodate the disconnected mobile sales professional.

Streamline sales management processes
If your organization has a problem with leads "falling through the cracks," then there is a good chance your lead management process is broken. Managing leads can be a complex process, coordinating the activities of several individuals to capture, qualify, assign, escalate, and close leads. It is difficult to solve this problem without the right technology to support the entire process.

Microsoft CRM lead management capabilities include lead capture, qualification, assignment, escalation, sharing, and the application of workflow rules. Leads can easily be converted to contacts or accounts when qualified.

Microsoft CRM provides lead routing and assignment through workflow automation. Automatic routing and assignment of leads makes sure the lead is delivered to the individual most qualified to close it. Workflow automation allows for lead escalations either by status or by re-assignment to another sales person if criteria or actions are not met in a specified timeframe. The goal is to insure higher quality leads and less time spent pursuing poor leads.

Leads are tracked whether they become customers or not. Lead analysis, marketing effectiveness, and Return on Investment (ROI) assessments can be made using Microsoft CRM's native reporting and analysis tools.

Reduce errors and time-to-deliver with integrated quotes and orders
Quoting and order-taking is a common function for manufacturing sales representatives. The main quoting and order-taking tool for many manufacturers is paper or Excel spreadsheets faxed or e-mailed in to an order entry department. There are two main problems with this type of process: 1) manual errors, and 2) data entry time. Automating this function addresses both of these problems.

Microsoft CRM has the capability to capture quotes and even sales orders. Microsoft CRM provides access to a full product catalog, including kitting, pricing and complex discounting for each customer. Errors and mistakes are greatly reduced, as they will always have the access to the most up to date pricing, volume discounting, and promotional information.

In addition, quotes and orders can be tracked by opportunity, competitor, product, promotion, activities and more allowing detailed analysis of customer purchase trends, sales activity effectiveness, and competitive-offering scenarios.

Improve demand management with sales pipeline visibility
Manufacturers are always looking to improve their ability to forecast demand. Typically, the S&OP (Sales & Operations Planning) process includes forecasted demand that is derived from either historical demand patterns or via a consensus "human" prediction. Master planners also usually have available "hard" demand via booked orders in their order management system. What always seems to be lacking is actual sales pipeline information from the field, or an objective forecast that is based on what is likely to close during any given period vs. people's opinions.

Microsoft CRM uses "opportunities" to create these forecasts. The dollar value of the opportunity is multiplied by a "chance to close" percentage and the resulting figure is tallied across all open opportunities to create the estimate. Traditionally, "chance to close" percentages are subjectively assigned by sales people, which result in uneven estimates. Microsoft sales processes include a series of activities where each activity is assigned a corresponding close percentage. This helps take the subjectivity out of forecasting by insuring a consistent evaluation of opportunities across all salespeople.

Integrate customer service operations for additional sales opportunities
For manufacturers, customer service operations are frequently considered "back-end" and are disconnected from front-line sales operations. Consequently, manufacturers lack visibility of what happens after the sale and miss the opportunity to arm sales representatives with the information that would help increase follow-on sales for products and services. Being able to capture these revenue opportunities means that manufacturers must have a full "360 degree" view of the customer activities-including managing post-sale customer service activities.

Microsoft CRM provides the tools to track customer requests and manages customer support incidents from initial contact through resolution. It uses the same customer database as the Sales module, so sales and customer services information can be shared. It uses a "case" management system as the centerpiece of the customer service module. Cases can be dynamically routed to queues and/or the designated representative for resolution, escalation, or reassignment. A searchable knowledgebase provides the capability to publish, review, and post articles and support information useful for solving customer service issues.