|
|
|
Sales force automation with Hitec Solutions Overview Distributing information to an outside sales force is a formidable task. Especially if the territories encompass multiple states and locations. Voice mail, faxes and package delivery are commonly used to facilitate communication between the home office and the field sales force. Even with the electronic tools the preponderance of the information is still delivered in it’s paper based form. Distribution of paper based information is labor intensive, costly and if normal mail is used to keep cost down, slow! Facsimile and voice mail that require the use of long distance phone services are equally expensive for anything other than time sensitive information. Often outside sales forces are provided with copies of customer invoices and credit memos. This requires the use of expensive multi-part forms, heavy duty printers, plus manpower or expensive equipment for bursting and sorting of the documents. The mailing costs can be significant when each sales person generates from 50 to 500 invoices weekly, along with a number of credit memos, which are combined with the other variety of sales reports distributed to each of them each month. The paper creates a logistics problem for the outside salesperson as well. The information must be organized, filed and stored. Because the outside sales person works alone without secretarial support, there are varied disciplines involved with the filing and storage between individuals. Solutions LapTop and notebook computers are increasingly smaller and more powerful. Super fast processors and enormous disk capacities are commonplace. Even CD-ROM drives are being packaged within computers that slip easily into a standard size brief case. The notebook computer allows for an entire suite of personal productivity software to be with the salesman constantly. Specialty software such as Hitec DataStore allows for the distribution and organization of large volumes, of what was once, paper based documents to the outside sales force. Hitec DataStore is an ideal distribution and management tool for the following types of computer generated documents and reports:
The information managed by DataStore is automatically organized, filed, cross referenced and compressed into the smallest form possible. All of this in a fraction of the time that it would previously take to manually handle the logistical chores associated with paper. The outside sales person is relieved of the responsibility of manually performing these tasks. Data Distribution Hitec DataStore allows for a variety of options for distribution of data. With superior compression methodologies, vast amounts of information can be distributed on a single floppy disk. Electronic mail services with local numbers, such as CompuServe, the Internet etc., can also attach data files to mail messages. This allows for data to be delivered both economically and timely no matter where the outside sales person happens to be. Remote dial up to corporate bulletin boards, host computers, or network connections can also facilitate the movement of files to each remote individual. Variables that determine the optimum distribution methods include:
Once delivered to remote location, the data is imported directly into the Notebook computer via a DataStore ICON that controls that function. Accessing information The system automatically indexes the pages based on pre established standards utilized by the organization. The outside sales person is insulated from the complexities of the processing and utilizes the simplified query screens that the system provides for them.
Figure 1 Figure 1 shows a commonly used set of query parameters used with invoice and credit memos. Addition query fields could also include individual products purchased, etc.. These may be used to retrieve related marketing information from within the account base. Costs The costs associated with DataStore is primarily the costs of software and implementation. A 50 person outside sales force can be outfitted with DataStore software for as little as $200 per person plus the Cost of a main processing system at home office [8-15K). The hardware required for the outside sales person is a MS-Windows 95 based PC with a minimum of 16MB of memory. DataStore software consumes approximately four (8) megabytes of disk space. Space for data and the respective indexes is variable based on content, etc. For example; with the most common indexing scheme, one thousand invoices consume about 1 MB of the computers hard disk space. The space requirements increase as new invoice copies are added during the regular course of business. A 15,000 item price book with it’s indexes could consume 3 or 4 Megabytes of disk space. But the space utilized for this purpose stays static as the space is reused for each updated version. The optimum amount of disk storage required by the outside salesperson is dictated by the resources required by the entire suite of software and data utilized. Word processors, spread sheets, and communication software all have their own space requirements. If high density removable storage such as CD-ROM or floptical is available, than the storage for data managed by DataStore becomes infinite. Training requirements As always, the level of training provided is directly related to the productivity gains that are achieved when employing new technologies. Hitec DataStore provides both simple retrieval of individual invoices or price book information and the ability to extract and compile a variety of related information through the many retrieval and extraction tools. In order to take advantage of the extra capabilities and sufficient amount of training can expedite the utilization them. Custom Interfaces Even a computer literate sales force can be better served with automated tools that help them expedite redundant and complex tasks. Hitec DataStore offers an OLE 2 Automation interface that allows custom interfaces and application interworking. The information DataStore manages can be more useful if certain portions of it can be extracted and formatted into consolidated customer and product information. But the traditional tools such as; spread sheets, word processors and macro languages may be a bit too much for the non technical salesperson. These people would have greater use of utility programs that perform discrete tasks with little effort on their part. With OLE 2 Automation and advanced programming tools, such as Visual Basic, comprehensive utilities that capitalize on the information managed by DataStore can be developed both quickly and efficiently. The following screen picture is an example of an easy to use interface that allows one company’s sales force to easily access and extract related information from within the content of the invoices that are distributed to them electronically and subsequently managed by Hitec DataStore. Developed in Visual basic at the cost of under $50 per sales person, this utility allows the sales force to generate a number of comprehensive reports from within the content of their territories invoice files. They do not need to understand query language, report writer syntax or any of the other complex tools normally associated with this type of data manipulation. The reports are automatically printed, but more sophisticated users can send them to disk files to be further manipulated by other applications such as spread sheets or word processors.
By filling out an on screen form, and marking the options available to them the sales person can generate product summaries, with or without commission information, specific commission related reports, summarize quantities and $ dollar values of product sales and combinations of those reports. The actual selections are easily customized to meet the needs of the organizations. Even new databases can be produced from historical invoice information. For example: A salesperson can create a product(s) purchasing summary for the previous 12 months and carry it into the customer during a sales call. The salesperson might suggest economic order quantities based on the supporting report that took only minutes to create. In summary, Hitec DataStore is an ideal tool for facilitating outside sales person automation. By combining efficiency, ease of use and open architecture, the system is a natural for distribution and management of sales related information. Up to date customer activity data, as well as accurate price and product information serve the outside sales person well. Costs savings are realized through reduced printing costs, mailing costs and avoidance of pricing errors. Sales person productivity can be improved when up to date information is available. DataStore lends itself to interworking with other programs, such as word processors, spread sheets and custom developed utilities that are common place with today’s portable computers. |
|
|
