Solution Need

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is an integral part of the strategic direction for an increasing numbers of organizations, but beyond basic CRM, many organizations are seeking techniques to better respond to customer expectations while increasing the efficiency and effectiveness   of   the   sales   force.   

Sales  Force Automation (SFA) tools can help boost revenues, cut  costs, and sharpen the focus of sales teams—particularly when well integrated with data and business intelligence generated by previous sales efforts. Underlying the goals of sales professionals is the challenge to maximize new opportunities and strengthen the growth of established revenue streams; tools that unify and help coordinate these efforts can make a major impact on a company’s profitability.

Ibhar Sales focuses on strategic enhancement of the sales process. Through applied use of analytics, the solution gives sales teams the ability to precisely interpret results of previous campaigns and promotions and more accurately predict future campaign prospects. The software design provides a flexible framework to identify channels for securing new revenues or to improve the maintenance and growth of existing revenue streams.

The Ibhar Sales solution offers clear benefits to companies seeking to fully automate their sales force activities and develop sales campaigns based on best-practice analytics and accurate, timely data. To improve sales assessments, this solution tracks performance against projections and produces analysis of opportunities ranked by probability, closure progress, and other factors.

Other benefits include:

Improves Skills Through Sales Coaching and Mentoring

The solution includes features to support coaching and mentoring based on skill assessment and measurement of sales process success. By applying objective data, sales teams can develop more robust sales capabilities.

Focuses Marketing Effort Through Information Sharing

An extensive array of information-sharing tools makes it easier for the sales and marketing groups to distribute key data about contacts and accounts. These tools sharpen the sales force focus and provide more impact for marketing programs.

Supports Best-Practice Sales Methods in a Collaborative Environment

A collaborative work environment encourages sharing of best practices sales approaches and details on potential opportunities, making it possible for sales team members to become more effective in their positions.

Measures Performance of Team Members to Help Raise Productivity

Productivity and assessment tools help strengthen the performance of the sales force and ensure that the effectiveness of the team is not compromised.

Identifies Market Trends Through Advanced Analysis

Resource deployment can be improved through analysis tools and identification of market trends and significant factors that affect sales.

Helps Maximize Revenues and Profitability

Ibhar Sales application design emphasizes maximizing revenue and making the necessary changes within an organization that lead to greater profitability.

 

Product Snapshot                                                                                       Top

The core component of the RPM solution, Ibhar Sales, consists of a Microsoft Visual Basic application that uses COM add-ins. These add-ins support the designing and scripting of Outlook templates through Microsoft Outlook 2000 folders. Semi-structured data, such as contact, account, scheduling, and team-based information is stored in Microsoft Exchange folders. Structured analytical data is stored in a Microsoft SQL Server database.

For use by mobile and remote laptop users, Ibhar data is captured and stored in a local Microsoft Desktop Engine database (MSDE). This data is subsequently transferred to the server through standard SMTP mail packets. Synchronization between the client and the server occurs automatically, whenever and wherever the user can exchange e-mail. Connected users work from the central SQL database. All key information is consolidated from all users in the Microsoft SQL database—simplifying analysis and decision-making.

The Ibhar RPM solution relies on the Microsoft Pocket PC platform—giving mobile personnel the ability to capture data in the field. Once connected to the host through Microsoft ActiveSync, data is automatically synchronized between the host and handheld device.

A Business Intelligence module incorporating Microsoft Office Web Components allows super users and managers to build OLAP cubes from current data that has been extracted from the SQL Server using the SQL Analysis Manager.

The solution uses a component-based architecture consisting of a Presentation Layer, a Business Layer, and a Data Layer.

PRESENTATION LAYER

The Presentation Layer consists of a combination of Microsoft and Ibhar desktop components that provide access to the system. These interfaces include:

• Microsoft Office, including Word, Excel, Outlook, Internet Explorer, and Office Web components

• Ibhar Sales module

• Ibhar Business Intelligence module

• Microsoft Pocket PC and Ibhar Sales Pocket PC software

Because this solution uses existing Microsoft Outlook and Exchange conventions, the user Presentation Layer is immediately familiar and simple to master. The Outlook and Exchange combination keeps users updated with the latest application and screen enhancements automatically by means of Outlook Forms.

BUSINESS LAYER

The core of the system consists of the Ibhar Administration and Workflow engine. This central configuration and customization module controls all of the business rules favored by the organization. In conjunction with the sales engine, which defines all the sales methodology, this layer also controls the information that is available to the user. This layer contains additional modules such as the Campaign Management module, the Business Intelligence module, and the Integration module. The Business Intelligence module is based on data warehousing and multidimensional data analysis techniques. Multidimensional cubes are built from the data warehouse and then made available through the Analysis Services component of SQL Server* 2000. Two-way exchange of data with other applications—a valuable factor in system integration can be accomplished using the Ibhar Integration engine. The engine exposes COM interfaces to update and retrieve data using a fully traversable object model.

DATA LAYER

The Data Layer constitutes the foundation of the system, consisting of a single data repository residing within a Microsoft SQL Server. The organization can fully utilize the full range of functions available through Microsoft SQL Server, including scalability, data replication, and fault-tolerance.

Customer 1

One of the world’s top-ten building manufacturers, realizing that the organization was missing many potential sales opportunities, adopted the RPM solution to:

• Maximize their existing investments and extend their existing IT infrastructure to better support the sales effort.

• Gain a reputation as innovators in their field while improving the performance of their most valuable asset—the sales force.

Customer 2

The tissue division of one of the largest forest products companies in the southern hemisphere—with operations in New Zealand, Australia, and Chile—chose the RPM Solution to spearhead changes in its strategies.

• Cognizant of the existing business-to-business relationship between their distributors and customers, the organization recognized the need to gain a better understanding of their products’ customers and improve communications throughout the value chain.

• The decision to adopt the RPM solution was largely influenced by the desire to maximize their existing investments in both their sales force and IT infrastructure.