Can CRM Implementation Help the Manufacturing Industry?

The Gartner magic quadrant for Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Customer Engagement 2017 answers the most critical questions of scalability and flexibility that the industries must address in order to improve customer service levels. The manufacturing industry is facing similar issues and needs to adapt to market changes without much impact on the overall costs. They are using modern equipment and machinery to attain successful digital transformation. However, the shift from being distribution-centric to customer-centric operations has resulted in inventory losses.

Challenges manufacturing industry faces to implement CRM

According to manufacturing.net and Manufacturing Business Technology survey, 41.1% manufacturing companies are currently using CRM system or are in the process of implementing a system. Within that percentage, more than 70% of the companies that utilize CRM have revenues greater than $1 billion, while 60% of the companies have revenues between $50 million and $1 billion. Manufacturing companies need strategy and deliverables to successfully implement CRM. However, implementation is not easy and they face numerous issues such as:

#1 Heavy Work Load in Production Units

The traditional approach focuses on the floor production and the other internal departments receive scattered information. Lack of coordination between the production units and the internal departments hamper the quality of the final product.

#2 Lack of Communication Channels

When people or groups are in conflict, communication between them tends to get worse and worse. As a conflict intensifies, the productivity of the employees reduces which in turn leads to operational inefficiencies.

#3 No Coordination between Pre-sales and Post-sales Activities

If pre-sales and post-sales activities are not well-coordinated, the customer needs are misunderstood. Hence, businesses are not able to deliver a high-quality product on time resulting in business losses and loss of competitive edge.

#4 Relationships with Customers

Managing good relationships with customers is a primary requisite of all businesses. According to the Harvard Business Review, there is a direct link between a business’s employee satisfaction, customer loyalty, and profitability. Businesses that fail to satisfy employees and maintain good customer relationships have to suffer from decline in brand value and reduced customer loyalty.

How can manufacturing companies benefit?

#1 CRM increases customer engagement

• Identifies high-value accounts to deliver appropriate quality of service  
• Discovers new opportunities to upsell and cross-sell through buying history of your customers  
• Connects your sales personnel with prospects at the right time  
• Enables real-time notifications to alert customers about new campaigns
• Delivers personalized marketing and segmentation to enhance the lead generation process

#2 CRM enhances business scalability

• Automated tasks to eliminate duplication and human errors
• Allows managing of workflows and processes through a single interface
• Implements industry best practices to achieve business success
• Improves productivity due to efficient time management
• Promotes positive work culture through effective collaboration between different departments
• Enhances value of existing technology and tools

#3 CRM enhance organizational security

• Restricts access for account managers to only view their own records.
• Provides advanced hierarchy security to manage access between senior users and subordinates.   
• Withholds delete permissions.
• Prevents users from exporting CRM data to excel.
• Wipes CRM data if mobile devices are lost, or if individuals leave the organization.
• Protects sensitive data with field-level security controls.

Learn how utilizing Kellton Tech’s digital transformation team strengthens manufacturing companies’ service profit chains, build customer loyalty, and exceed customer expectations. Manufacturing companies that utilize our digital transformation services solve their biggest challenges—scalability and feasibility.