crm for logistics and transportation
DESCRIPTION
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software solutions and their impact on business growth and profitability continue to increase in importance for Logistics and Transportation leadership teams. Sales Outcomes has compiled their top 6 critical considerations for a CRM investment in the Logistics and Transportation industry.TRANSCRIPT
CRM For Logistics & TransportationWHITE PAPER // Spring 2014
2
Our MissionWe help our clients improve revenue, profit and productivity
by enhancing marketing and sales execution.
Sales Outcomes works with business-to-business companies
that depend primarily on a direct sales organization to grow
revenue. We help connect marketing and sales strategy
to execution in the marketplace, accelerating bottom-line
results and growing the customer base.
Our practice specialties include: Salesforce.com deployment
and adoption; marketing and sales strategy and planning;
sales productivity and coaching; marketing and sales
operations; go-to-market training; sales compensation
and incentive design and organization structure and design.
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Executive Summary 4
Introduction 4
Critical Considerations 6
PickaCRMsolutionthatis100%inthecloud 6
InvolveyourITdepartment,buttaketheleadintheevaluationanddecisionprocess 6
FocusonthefunctionalitythatmattersinLogistics&Transportation 7
BeclearonwheretheROIiscomingfrom 8
Don’tunderestimatethedifficultyyourorganization
mayhaveinadoptingthenewtechnology 10
Mobile 11
Top CRM Vendors 12
TableB-TopCRMvendorsinLogistics&Transportation 12
Summary 14
Thefinalword(s) 14
Abouttheauthor 15
Table of ContentsWHITE PAPER // Spring 2014
CRM FOR LOGISTICS & TRANSPORTATION
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CustomerRelationshipManagement(CRM)
softwaresolutionsandtheirimpactonbusiness
growthandprofitabilitycontinuetoincreasein
importanceforLogisticsandTransportation
leadershipteams.JustifyingtheReturnOn
Investment(ROI)andrealizingthevaluefroma
CRMinvestmentarethecommonchallengesfor
largeenterprisesaswellassmallfirms.
SalesOutcomeshascollaboratedextensivelywith
companiestomanagethecriticalissuesfacedin
selecting,deployingandrealizingvaluefromCRM
investments.Basedonourexperiencespanning
companiesacrossavarietyofindustries,we’ve
compiledourtop6criticalconsiderationsfora
CRMinvestmentintheLogisticsandTransportation
industry:
1. PickaCRMsolutionthatis100%in
thecloud
2. InvolveyourITdepartment,buttakethe
leadintheevaluationanddecisionprocess
3. Focusonthefunctionalitythatmattersin
Logistics&Transportation
4. BeclearonwheretheROIiscomingfrom
5. Don’tunderestimatethedifficultyyour
organizationmayhaveinadoptingthe
newtechnology
6. EnsurethattheCRMsystemhasafully
functionalmobileapplicationforAndroidand
Appledevices.BlackberryandWindowsMobile
applicationsareaplus,butscarce.
Thiswhitepaperisintendedtohelpseniorleaders
inmotorandoceancarriage,freightforwarding,
freightbrokerageandthirdpartylogisticsnavigate
CRMinvestmentdecisionstodriveimproved
businessperformance.We’veelectedtopresent
apragmaticanduniqueperspective,dramatically
differenttootherwhitepaperspublishedonthe
subject.Wehopetoencouragelivelyconversations
withourclientsandreadersofthiswhitepaperto
discussanddebatehowtoharnessthevalueof
CRMintheLogisticsandTransportationindustry.
Executive SummaryINTRODUCTION
CRM FOR LOGISTICS & TRANSPORTATION
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CRMsolutionshavebeenaroundformorethan
adecade.Functionalityandflexibilityhavesky-
rocketedwithmonthlypricing-per-usertumbling
tolessthanwhatitcoststotakeaclienttolunch.
ThereisanewgameafootwhenitcomestoCRM
thatseniorLogisticsandTransportationleaders
needtobeawareofiftheyplantokeeppacewith
morenimblecompetitors.
Companiesareimproving,leaning-outand
automatingcriticalbusinessprocessesand
customerserviceinteractionsatanaccelerated
pace.HowisthisrelatedtoCRM?TheleadingCRM
vendorsunderstandthattheyhavetodomorethan
providearepositoryforcustomer,contact,leadand
opportunitydata,sotheyhaveexpandedtheirfocus
toplayanimportantsupportingroleinenabling
organizationstobecomemoreagile.
Wearealsointriguedbytheriseofindustry-
specificCRMapplicationsinindustriessuchas
transportationandlogistics,pharmaceuticalsand
spirits,amongothers.Thereasonweareinterested
isthatgenericcantakeyouonlysofar.When
industry-specificCRMfunctionalityandcapabilities
come“outofthebox”,businessimpactmovesatan
acceleratedpace.
Considerableefficienciescanbeachievedby
automatingmanualbusinessprocesses.Itis
fairtosaythat,inLogisticsandTransportation
today,therearestillfartoomanyroutinemanual
processesthatrequire:
• Rekeyingofdatafromonesystemtoanother
(e.g.shipmenttrackinginformation)
• Transposinginformationfrompaperandfaxes
tospreadsheetsorotherITapplications
(e.g.proofofdelivery)
• Extracting,transforminganduploadingdata
fromsystemtosystem
• Developingandmaintainingspreadsheetsto
supportsalesandfinancialreportingprocesses
(e.g.reconcilingsalesbookingswithshipment
orservicevolumes)
•Managingcustomerserviceinteractionsvia
silosofemailsandphonecalls(e.g.shipment
tracking,accountspayable)
Inadditiontocentralizingaccounts,contacts,lead
andopportunitydata,we’veseenCRMinvestments
inLogisticsandTransportationthatsupportglobal
bidmanagement,trademanagement,contract
managementandvisibilitytometricssuchas
profitmargin,capacityandvolume.Thisisn’tyour
mother’sCRM,that’sforsure!
Executive SummaryINTRODUCTION
CRM FOR LOGISTICS & TRANSPORTATION
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Critical ConsiderationsPICK A CRM SOLUTION THAT IS 100% IN THE CLOUD
If the CRM vendor answers “Yes” to the questions below, its solution
is 100% in the cloud.
1.Canuserslogintothesystemfromthemostpopularbrowsersandfrom
anycomputer(AppleorPC)ormostmobiledevices(smartphoneortablet)?
2.Istheinfrastructure,hardware,softwareandsupportprovidedbythevendor?
3.Canthesolutionbefullyusedwithouttheneedtoinstallsoftwareorapplications
ontheuser’scomputer?
Iftheansweris“No”toanyofthequestionsabove,andyoustillareinterested
intalkingwiththevendor,youmustbeoneofthe2.5millionpeoplestillaccessing
theinternetwithanAOLdial-upconnection.1
IfyourdecisiononaCRMsystemisanythinglike
yourdecisiononaERPsystem,datawarehouse
orotherITapplications,you’lllikelyendup
focusedoncomparingfeaturesandfunctionality
affectionatelyreferredtoas“speedsandfeeds.”2
We’veobservedonlyonecommoncharacteristic
ofsuccessfulCRMimplementationsacross
companiesofallsizeandindustry–oneormore
functionalleadershavechampionedtheCRM
systemasvitaltodriveimprovementsinprofit,
productivityorcustomerservice.
ITdepartmentsplayacriticalroleinorganizations.
However,mostITorganizations,especiallythose
intheLogisticsandTransportationindustry,are
measuredoncostsratherthanbusinessimpact.
Tothatend,ITorganizationsinvolvedinCRM
implementationstendtobefocusedonback-end
integrations,andnotinmanagingthetoolitselfor
thebusinessprocessesitsupports.WhilesomeIT
organizationshavebeguntomaketheshifttohiring
businessprocess-focusedresources,manyhavenot.
Ourrecommendationistoenlistthesupportand
involvementofyourITorganizationandleavethe
“heavylifting”toyourbusinessleadersthatare
closesttoyourcustomersandtotheprocesses
thatdirectlytouchthosecustomers.
INVOLVE YOUR IT DEPARTMENT, BUT TAKE THE LEAD IN THE EVALUATION AND DECISION PROCESS
CRM FOR LOGISTICS & TRANSPORTATION
1. AOL Inc., FY13 Investor Relations News Release the Period Ending December 31, 2013 (released Feb. 6, 2014), p.3, from AOL Inc. website, http://ir.aol.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=147895&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1897538&highlight, accessed February 7, 2014.
2. Peter Glaskowsky. “The origins of the phrase "Speeds and Feed”. http://news.cnet.com/8301-13512_3-9734037-23.html (25 June 2007).
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Critical ConsiderationsFOCUS ON THE FUNCTIONALITY THAT MATTERS IN LOGISTICS & TRANSPORTATION
ToooftenthedecisiononwhichCRMvendortopartnerwithisturnedintoa“featureshootout.”3Inourexperience,
mostfirmsendupusingonlyasmallportionofthefeaturesandcapabilitiesavailableinitsCRMsystem.
Webelievethereareonlyafewpiecesoffunctionalitythatreallymatterfortheindustry.Youwon’tfindthem
onamulti-vendorcomparisonchart,sopayattention!
1 SUPPORT OF KEY BUSINESS PROCESSES
AND WORKFLOWintheareasofmarketing,
leadgeneration,bidmanagement,team
collaboration,sales,customerserviceand
contractmanagementiscritical.Bysupportwe
arereferringtothenotionthattheCRMsystem
isreadytoautomatetheseprocesses“outofthe
box”withlimitedneedforITsupport(otherthan
forpotentialdataintegrationneeds).Specifically,
youneedtheabilitytoeasilycustomize:
a.Workflowtomovebusinessprocesses
forwardonceaspecificeventorbusiness
processphasehasbeenreached
b.Approvalprocessestocontroland
acceleratecustomer-facingactivities
c.Whatemployeesseeontheirscreens,
dependingontheirjobroleorfunction
d.Securityatthefieldlevelsoyoucan
controlwhichfieldsemployeescanview,
notvieworedit
e.Fieldvalidationsanddependenciesto
ensuredataqualityandsupportdifferent
workmotions
f.Salesprocessestosupportthedifferences
withininside,transactionalandcomplex
salesmotions
2. REPORTING AND DASHBOARDfunctionalityis
notcreatedequalamongCRMvendorsandisthe
Achilles’heelformost.Ifyourcompanyspeaks
aboutmetrics,analyticsandbusinessintelligence,
thenyou’llwanttospendplentyoftimeevaluating
whichvendorbestmeetsyourneeds.Atoppriority
shouldbetoidentifywhatmetricsarecriticalfor
themanagementteamandensurethattheycanbe
trackedintheCRMsolution.Overlookinganyaspect
duringthisphasecanseriouslyhinderadoptionand
executivesupport.TheCRMsolutionmusthave
simpleandeasilyconfigurabledashboardstosetup
andmodifykeyperformanceindicatorstodisplay
informatssuchasbar,pieandlinecharts,gauges,
funnelsandsuch.
Butyoucan’tstopthere!Ifyourfirmhasmultiple
businessunits,divisionsorgeographiesthat
operateindependentlyorinter-dependently,then
yourequiretheabilitytoprovidemultipleviews,
filters,drill-downsandvisibilitywithouthavingto
developanencyclopediaofdashboardsandreports.
Finally,pilotthesystembyaskingafewofyour
marketing,salesandoperationsemployeesto
createreportsanddashboards.Iftheycandoitin
real-time,thenyouareontherightpath.
CRM FOR LOGISTICS & TRANSPORTATION
3. Christopher J. Bucholtz. “Top 5 Ways CRM Decision Makers Go Astray.” www.crmbuyer.com/story/69618.html (25 March 2010).
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Critical ConsiderationsFOCUS ON THE FUNCTIONALITY THAT MATTERS IN LOGISTICS & TRANSPORTATION
3. TEAM SELLING AND COLLABORATIONto
supportcomplexorlargeprojects,tenders
andopportunities,globalaccountsand
geographicallydistributedindividualsareno
longera“nicetohave”tocompetewithmore
nimblecompetitors.Silosofemails,phonecalls,
textmessages,instantmessagesandShare
Point4siteshavecreatedamélangeofvirtual
Post-it®Notesthatresultinsignificantlossesin
productivityandconsumevaluabletimerequired
todecreasethelineinrespondingtocustomers.
ThebetterwayistofindaCRMsolutionthatis
upforthetask.Rememberthatthe“C”inCRM
standsforCustomer.Someofyouwillbestoring
customerdatasuchascontracts,opportunities,
revenueandinteractions,soyouwillneedtohave
collaborationinyourCRMsolutionthatbrings
sales,operations,pricingandsolutionteams
together.Thisfunctionalitycanpositivelyimpact
andtransformfirmsbothlargeandsmall.
Wehaveyettocomeacrossafirmthatis
consideringaneworincreasedinvestmentina
CRMsolutionthatisnotlookingatasignificant
increaseinexpenseiftheinvestmentismade.
Thisparticularlyappliestofirmsthathavean
inadequateCRMsolutionthatneedsfurther
investment.Thisissimplymoneydownthedrain.
Inourview,significantROIcomesonlyfromtwo
areasinthebusiness:salesperformanceand
productivity.Theleaning-outandautomationof
processeswillwipeoutinefficienciesanddrive
headcountefficienciesintermsofreductionsor
arefocusinheadcounttohigher-valuework.
ToillustratethedifficultyinachievingROI,the
consultingandadvisoryfirm,CSOInsights,
publishedastudy5thatcontainshighlightsofthe
citedbenefitsresultingfromCRMusage.You’llsee,
onthenextpage,thatthefourmostmentioned
itemsaregoodthingstoachieveand,evenifyou
couldmeasuretheirROI,woulditbeenoughto
justifytheCRMinvestment?Nowlookatthebottom
four–ImprovedWinRates,IncreasedRevenue,
ShortenedSalesCyclesandIncreasedMargins.
Aren’tthesethekindofbenefitsthatcandrive
significantROI?
BE CLEAR ON WHERE THE ROI IS COMING FROM
CRM FOR LOGISTICS & TRANSPORTATION
4. Microsoft SharePoint collaboration software5. CSO Insights, Inc. 2013 Sales Performance Optimization – Core CRM Usage Analysis.
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Critical ConsiderationsBE CLEAR ON WHERE THE ROI IS COMING FROM
Sowhythegapbetweenthoseitemswith
softROI(e.g.ImprovedSalesRep/Manager
Communications)andthosewithhighROI
(e.g.ImprovedWinRates)?Frankly,thehigh
ROIitemsrequiresignificantseniormanagement
attention,whilethelowROIitemstypicallydwell
inmiddlemanagementandfunctionalsalesroles.
IdentifyingclearROImetricsbeforetheCRMdecision
isnoteasy.Infact,weoftenhearthat:“Weknow
it’stherightthingtodoandwe’llbenefitbydoing
it.”Weunderstandthesentiment,butarenotfans
ofthisapproach.Investingpotentiallyhundreds
ofthousandsofdollarsperuseraddsupfastand
becomesavisiblelineitemtojustifyeveryyear.
KeeptheROImetricssimpleandfocusonwhat
youcanrealisticallymeasure.Forexample,ifyou
don’tfullyunderstandyoursaleswin-ratiobefore
youimplementtheCRMsolution,takethefirst
6to9monthstoestablishabaseline.Thenset
agoaltoimplementsmallimprovementsforthe
next6to9monthsandyou’llbeonthewayto
measuringtheROI.
BENEFITS OF CRM USAGE
CRM FOR LOGISTICS & TRANSPORTATION
ImprovedSalesR
ep/M
anagerCom
munications
ImprovedForecast
Accuracy
ReducedAdm
inistrativeB
urdenonSales
ImprovedB
estP
racticesSharing
ReducedN
ewSalesR
epR
amp-U
pTime
ImprovedO
rderP
rocessingAccuracy
ImprovedSupport
ofChannels
ImprovedW
inRates
IncreasedRevenues
ShortenedSalesCycles
Other
IncreasedMargins
DiagramA
56% 46% 37% 21% 20% 18% 17% 17% 16% 15% 10% 6%
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Critical ConsiderationsDON’T UNDERESTIMATE THE DIFFICULTY YOUR ORGANIZATION MAY HAVE IN ADOPTING THE NEW TECHNOLOGY
AsuccessfulCRMimplementationisincredibly
hard.OneofourfavoritemoviesisMoneyball-the
storyofhowOaklandA’smanager,BillyBeane,
turnedhisteamintoacontenderbyusingstatistics
topickplayers.
Thetransformationyourorganizationwillface
duringaCRMimplementationislikeswitching
fromcatchertofirstbase.It’shighlylikelythatmost
peopleinyourorganizationwillnothavebeenpart
ofaCRMimplementation.Ifyouaremovingfrom
oneCRMsystemtoanother,youarelikelydoingso
becausethecurrentonedoesn’tmeetyourneeds
andrequirements.Ineithersituation,userswill
needtolearn,adoptandmasterverydifferentways
ofworkingifyouhopetoachievethevalueyou
plannedfromtheinvestment.
ShufflingnewCRMusersthroughday(s)-long
lengthyface-to-face“keymashing”training
sessionsissimilartosheepdipping.6Studies
haveshownthattwoweeksafteraone-time
exposuretoasinglelearningeventhasaretention
ofinformationrateof2%.7Youwillneedtoplan
forrepetitivelearningopportunitiesand,more
importantly,ensurethatleadershipsupportsthe
CRMinvestmentandleadsbyexample.Nothing
damagesaCRMimplementationlikeasenior
executiveaskingforCRMinformationinaformat
thatrequireshoursofdevelopmentandformatting,
ratherthanaccessingtheinformationintheCRM
system.
So,haveaplanthatdetailstheprocessesthatwill
bemovingtotheCRMsystemandmethodically
ensurethatthe“oldway”makesroomforthe
“newway.”
Anotherimportantfactorinadoptionisusability.
Makesurethatthesystemisintuitiveandeasy
touse,regardlessofability.Westronglyencourage
youtoenlistpotentialusersofallabilitiesto
participateinapilotphasetodeterminewhich
solutionsfityourrequirements.
CRM FOR LOGISTICS & TRANSPORTATION
6. Sheep dipping is the practice of pushing sheep through a bath of insecticide and fungicide that absorbed in the wool to protect from parasites and ticks. Eventually the dip wears off and must be repeated. We use this term when companies rely on an abbreviated in-person or Web-based training sessions to rollout the CRM system.
7. Leanne Hoagland-Smith, Internal Changes Deliver External Sales Results, http://processspecialist.com/increasesales/sales-training/internal-changes-external-sales-results/ (January 22, 2014).
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IfyourCRMuserstraveland/orworkinthefield
withdemandsfromcustomersandprospectsfor
nearreal-timeresponse,you’llneedrichmobile
capabilitiesinyourCRMsolution.
Howsalesteamsworkindividuallyandtogether
isfastchangingandmobileisattheheartofthe
transformation.8We’renottalkingonlyabout
accessviathedevicebrowser,youwillneeda
full-featuredmobileapplicationthatrunson
AndroidandAppleiOS.Ifyourfirmisacommitted
BlackberryandWindowsMobileuser,youroptions
aremorelimited.
MostofthepopularCRMsolutionspurportedlyhave
mobile.Therealityisthatmosthaveaccessviaa
devicebrowser(whichcanbeincrediblydifficult
touseonanythingbutthefastestconnections)
or,iftheydohaveamobileapplication,thereare
significantlimitationsinfunctionality.
MobileisincreasinglyimportanttomostCRM
users.Rememberwediscussedtheimportanceof
embeddingbusinessprocessintheCRMsolution?
Withoutafully-functionalmobileapplication,you
simplywon’thavetheabilitytomirrorbusiness
processesbetweenmobileandcomputers.
Critical ConsiderationsMOBILE
CRM FOR LOGISTICS & TRANSPORTATION
Don’t take a vendor’s word for it.
Take the mobile application for a long
test drive and then make your decision.
8. Louis Columbus. “What’s Hot In CRM 2013: Strong Interest In Mobile For Streamlining Sales And Service.” http://onforb.es/10pVoEo (28 June 2013).
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Top CRM VendorsTOP CRM VENDORS IN LOGISTICS & TRANSPORTATION
ORACLE CRM ON DEMAND
SUGARCRMMICROSOFT
DYNAMICS ONLINESALEFORCE.COM/
LANETIX
“Cloudness” H H H H H H H H H H H H
KeyBusinessProcessSupport H H H H H H H H H H H H
Reporting&Dashboards H H H H H H H H H H H H
Team-sellingandCollaboration H H H H H H H H H H H H
Mobile H H H H H H H H H H H H
OracleisjugglingdifferentversionsofCRMsinceitpurchasedSiebel
severalyearsago.Oracle’sonlineproductisfeaturerichandhasmadebig
stridesintheonlineCRMmarket.IfyouhaveOracledatabases,ERPor
othersoftwareinstalled,you’llgetabigsalespushthatOracleCRMwill
beeasiertointegratethanotherCRMsystems.Don’ttakethebait.The
technicalsideofintegratingaCRMsolutiontoyourback-endsystemsis
straightforwardwithalonglistofsoftwaretoolstohelpyoudothejob.
Theheavyliftingisonharmonizingdata,whichyou’llhavetodoregardless
oftheCRMsolution.Reports,dashboards,collaborationandmobileare
weakspots.Theabilitytosupportkeybusinessprocessesisgood.
NotethatOraclehasacomplexCRMofferingatthemoment.The
commentsaboveapplyonlytoOracleCRMOnDemandbuttheyalso
haveOracle(Fusion)SalesCloud,SiebelCRMandPeopleSoftCRM.
CRM FOR LOGISTICS & TRANSPORTATION
TableB
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Top CRM VendorsTOP CRM VENDORS IN LOGISTICS & TRANSPORTATION
SugarCRMistheleastcapableofthevendorsonthischart,basedonourcriteria.
However,SugarCRMisalsotheonlyoptionthatisOpenSource.Thismeans
thatclientscanchangeandextendthesourcecodetoadapttotheirspecific
businessneeds.Inourexperience,modifyingthesourcecodeeventuallybecomes
acompetitivedisadvantagethatconsumesinordinateamountsoftimeandmoney.
IBMusesSugarCRMbutthathasmoretodowithcompetitivedynamicswithOracle
andSalesforce.comthanitdoeswithSugarCRMbeingabetterCRMsolution.
IfyourcompanyisadyedinthewoolMicrosoftshopthenMicrosoftDynamics
OnlinemaybeappealingwithitstightintegrationstoallthingsMicrosoft,especially
Office365.Theapplicationisfeaturerich,buttheinterfaceisclunkytouse.One
thinginparticularthatisaburdenforusersistheinabilitytoclickonanypartof
theapplicationtoopenmultipletabsorwindows.Thislackoffunctionalityalone
cannegativelyimpactuserproductivityby50%ormore.Thepricepointcanbelow
andappearmoreattractivewithotherfull-featuredCRMsolutions.Dashboards,
andmobileareweak.Keybusinessprocesssupportisadequateforsmall
businessesbutnotlargerfirmsorenterprises.
NotethatMicrosofthashybridonline/offlineversionsthatintegratetightly
withOutlookthatarenotcoveredinthisdocument.
YoumaynothaveyetheardaboutLanetix(pronouncedlah-net-ix)butyou’ll
needtogetusedtoseeingitsnamearoundourindustry.Lanetixisoneofthe
newbreedofindustryfocusedfirmsthathasbuilttheirCRMsolutionontop
oftheSalesforceplatform.Inadditiontoawholenewuserinterface,Lanetix
hasembeddedbusinessprocessautomationspecifictotheLogisticsand
Transportationindustry.
IfyouselectLanetixforyourCRMsolution,youaregettingindustry-specific
functionalityontopofthebenefitsofSalesforce.Thefirmhasafewlarge
clientsandisexpandingrapidly.
Salesforce.comistheCRMleaderinalmostallcategories.Wecannot
rememberthelasttimeindependenttechnologyadvisoryfirmsdidnotrank
themonthetopoftheirlists.Theyhaveover100,000customersand$4billion
inrevenue.ItsCRMsolutionisthestrongestoverallnon-industryspecific
cloud-basedCRM.
CRM FOR LOGISTICS & TRANSPORTATION
14
Withinthiswhitepaper,we’vepresented
informationtohelpseniorleadersinmotor
andoceancarriage,freightforwarding,freight
brokerageandthirdpartylogisticsnavigateCRM
investmentdecisionstodriveimprovedbusiness
performance.Webelievethethemesoutlinedin
thiswhitepapercanhelpsignificantlyimprove
yourbusinesssuccessandsupportpowerfuland
durableimprovementsinprofit,productivityand
customerservice.
Wedidnotmentiondozensofvaluablefeatures
andcapabilitieswithinalltheCRMsolutionsthat
mightendupbeingofgreatimportancetoyour
companyanditsCRMimplementation.You’ll
needtocarefullyweighthebenefitsofthose
featuresversusthosewe’veoutlinedascritical
forcompaniesintheLogisticsandTransportation
industry.Aswell,therearemanyotherCRM
solutionsthatwedidnothavespacetomentionor
researchthatmightbeagoodfitforyourbudget
andbusinessprocesses.
WhenyoureceivetheproposalfromtheCRM
solutionvendors,you’llturntothelastpagesto
peekattheprice.AlltheCRMsolutionsinthis
whitepaperaretypicallypricedinthe$70–$125
rangepermonth,peruser.Youcandoublethe
subscriptionamountforthefirstyearandyou’ll
comeclosetothecosttoconfigurethetooland
roll-outwithbare-bonestraining.Ifadoptionand
ROIareimportant,thenplanonspendingmuch
more–you’llhavepaybackinafewmonths.
Alsoconsiderthat,ifasalespersonlosesone
hourlessofproductivitypermonth,themonthly
subscriptioncostwillbedwarfedbycostof
theinefficiency.Ifyourusersdon’tfullyadopt
thesolution,andyourteammigratesbackto
spreadsheets,thecostbecomeshigher.So,we
recommendyoutakealookatthebigpicture
andnotjustthemonthlysubscriptionfee.
SummaryTHE FINAL WORD(S)
CRM FOR LOGISTICS & TRANSPORTATION
15
Hernan Vera is the managing partner at the consulting and
services firm, Sales Outcomes, and works with business-
to-business companies that depend primarily on a direct
sales organization to grow revenue. He is a proven sales and
marketing leader with over 25 years experience including
executive management positions with major corporations,
including: Pitney Bowes and Ryder System. Vera is a
recognized expert in the implementation of sales automation
tools, marketing and sales operations, sales performance
management and sales compensation. He is a board member
and past chairman, president and vice-president of the
Transportation Sales and Marketing Association. He holds an
MBA from Florida International University and a Bachelor of
Science in Accounting from the University of Florida. Vera was
born in Santiago, Chile and lives in Coral Gables, Florida.
SummaryABOUT THE AUTHOR
16
14100 Palmetto Frontage Road
Suite 112
Miami Lakes, Florida 33016
305-740-7300
www.salesoutcomes.com