Client Background
One of the world’s oldest and largest manufacturers of stationery items and art supplies, the client has been a global pioneer in high-quality writing instruments, creative design tools, and luxury leather goods. With a legacy dating back to 1761, the organization operates worldwide with its global headquarters in Stein, Germany and Indian headquarters in Mumbai. The Indian operations contribute approximately $5 million in annual revenue.
The company’s unmatched production capacity includes more than 2 billion wooden-cased pencils annually, establishing it as the largest manufacturer of its kind in the world.
Challenges
Despite being a market leader, the client faced several operational and reporting inefficiencies:
- Manual and Time-Consuming MIS Reporting: Sales reports had to be manually consolidated from various sources into Excel, delaying insights and internal communication.
- Lack of Real-Time Sales Visibility: Sales managers were unable to track the productivity and efficiency of field representatives in real-time, hampering quick decision-making.
- Product Master Duplication: The existing system lacked support for multiple MRPs per product, resulting in duplicate product IDs and complicating reporting and inventory management.
- Manual Distributor Notifications: Once an order was booked, information had to be manually relayed to distributors and sub-distributors, leading to delays and inefficiencies in order fulfillment.
Solution: Sales Force Automation with Mobile CRM
A comprehensive mobile CRM solution was deployed to address these challenges, offering a seamless and intuitive interface combined with powerful back-end capabilities.
Key Features:
- User-Friendly Interface: Simple and intuitive dashboards for efficient navigation and usability.
- Mobile-Based Order Booking: Quick and efficient order booking through a feature-rich mobile app.
- GPS-Enabled Tracking: Captures geo-coordinates for each order to ensure adherence to approved journey plans.
- Offline Functionality: “Store & Forward” logic allows data to sync automatically when internet connectivity is available.
- Activity Tracker: Enables field reps to log daily activities beyond outlet visits.
- Master Data Management: Allows creation and management of item masters, outlet info, party classifications, and beat plans.
- Multiple MRP Handling: Supports multiple MRPs under a single product ID, eliminating duplication and improving accuracy.
- PJP Creation & Approval: Field reps can define a Permanent Journey Plan, which managers can review and approve.
- Live Shop Images: Supports image capture via live camera or device gallery for real-time documentation.
- Real-Time Monitoring: Managers gain instant visibility into sales visits, order status, and team performance through dashboards and location tracking.
- Automated Distributor Notifications: Sends real-time notifications to distributors post order booking, ensuring timely order processing.
Results & Benefits
- Streamlined Order Booking: A simplified, intuitive interface enhanced user experience and improved data quality.
- Enhanced Field Discipline: Geo-tracking during order booking encouraged field reps to follow designated journey plans.
- Connectivity Resilience: Offline mode ensured orders could be placed from low-network areas without data loss.
- Product Master Cleanup: The new system’s MRP handling streamlined product records, making order booking more flexible and accurate.
- Real-Time Team Visibility: Area Sales Managers received mobile access to team reports, enabling faster, data-driven decision-making.
- Distributor Enablement: Distributors were automatically informed about order details, with future plans to enable direct app access for order fulfillment.
Impact
- 98% Achievement in Sales Targets
- 87% Positive Feedback from Field Teams
Client Testimonial
“This Sales Force Automation tool is powerful, easy to use, and packed with unique capabilities. Its simple order booking, offline data sync, geo-coordinates, PJP features, and real-time dashboards have transformed how our team operates. We’ve seen a significant boost in sales efficiency and decision-making speed across the board.”