-Safety solutions provider uses CRM solution to advance its sales process-
Omron Scientific Technologies, Inc. is a North American provider of automation safeguarding products and services. The company provides safety products that are used to protect workers around machinery, automated equipment and industrial robots. Omron STI products include safety light curtains, interlocks, relays, mats and sensors. These products serve a wide variety of applications and markets, including semiconductor, automotive, medical, electronics manufacturing, packaging and consumer markets.
To manage its sales cycle while simultaneously creating more visibility for employees, Omron STI realized that it needed an effective customer relationship management (CRM) solution to stay up-to-date with customers and prospects and ahead of its competition. Omron STI had high standards for the new solution because it previously implemented an unfavorable CRM system that created more problems for the company than solutions.
“Our previous CRM system was a disaster,” said Richard Harris, manager of channel relations, Omron, STI. “It was difficult to use, our employees hated it, and we had a slew of problems. We realized we needed a solution that could automate our processes but be intuitive and easy-to-use as well.”
An Extensive Search
To ensure the company found the right CRM system, Omron STI set out on an exhaustive search based on a list of requirements to find a solution that could truly meet the company’s needs. After evaluating a variety of different products, Omron STI selected Oncontact Software’s Oncontact CRM solution because it was easy-to-use, quick to implement, customizable and could integrate with the company’s email service GroupWise.
“We evaluated our various requirements, and Oncontact was the vendor we found that was most appropriate,” added Harris. “We had a very controlled rollout due to our previous CRM experience, and we were delighted how easy to use and straightforward Oncontact CRM is.”
A Positive Employee Experience
Since implementing the system in 2005, employees have been receptive to the solution and feedback has been positive. The sales system is now built around Oncontact and all communication through the sales cycle is logged through the solution. In turn, the sales staff is much more productive and efficient because they are able to better manage their leads and accurately track active engagements and prospect interest more effectively now that information is stored in one central place. In addition, with Oncontact CRM, users now have increased visibility and access to the essential data they need to be productive and well organized.
“Our employees swear by using Oncontact,” said Harris. “We are happy we found a system that has met our needs from the beginning but still allows us to expand its use as we continue to grow. It is a very important tool for us.”
Defining the System
Because Omron STI uses Oncontact CRM to manage its leads and customer contacts, the company customized the solution extensively to maximize efficiency. One key customization includes the special pricing tab built into the system. Previously, employees had to use multiple fax and email transactions to obtain the required signatures needed for the special pricing. Now it can be performed through Oncontact CRM, creating less work and a more efficient process to complete the function. Other key customizations include shortcuts and the ability to look up a multitude of tables, allowing users to access the information they need faster.
“Oncontact CRM allows us to customize the solution to meet our specific, unique needs,” said Harris. “Since implementing the solution, the processes in our sales cycle are much easier to manage.”
Quality Support
Since Omron STI first began working with Oncontact Software, the company has been satisfied with the customer service from Oncontact’s support team. Omron STI has customized the solution significantly and Oncontact has been with them every step of the way to provide the solutions and answers needed in a timely manner.
“The support has been superb and we entrust the Oncontact support team,” said Harris. “They are extremely responsive and have always done an excellent job of fixing all of our problems. Whenever we have a unique challenge we are confident they will help us create a solution to fix it.”
