CRM Transportation Logistics And Storage

Launching new services, targeting different industries, moving into new territories requires that company's communication with partners and clients will be effective. In addition to transportation and storage, logistics companies can also assemble or package goods and provide consulting work to address complex global supply chain problems. For this reason Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system appeared on market to serve as a key point for sales funnel and client relations in logistics companies.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a model for managing a company's interactions with current and future customers. CRM tool is an advanced solution to integrate, organize, automate and synchronize sales, customer services, marketing, order management, pricing, technical support which helps improve customer satisfaction and deliver goods on time. There are several reasons why it's profitable for logistics service providers to invest in a CRM system:

Reason 1: Increased productivity

Well-developed and thought out CRM system always helps pre-define some general work flows for every department and automate administrative tasks. Using it, your staff members will spend less time on filling forms, making quotes & proposals, creating reports, running calculations and will thereby raise their productivity.

Reason 2: Systematic way to track business activity

CRM solution helps understand when and what is needed to be performed for which customers. With the help of this IT tool you are able to unify all your business areas and thus track them in one place. Leveraging this market information, a logistics company will be able to maintain competitive pricing and delivery options.
 

 Reason 3: One source for all the necessary data

A CRM system allows you to have access to constantly updated information for decision-making and communication between staff members and departments with different office locations. It's an opportunity to build intelligent customized interfaces with all contacts along business lines available by CEOs, CFOs, CIOs, and line managers.

Reason 4: Measurability of marketing and sales activity

CRM services can help transportation and logistics business capture better understanding of customer needs and behavior. This will give a possibility to manage effectively time, business resources and efforts which then benefits clients and overall business.

Reason 5: Individual customer service

Industry-based CRM platform gives a clear road map for effective communication with partners or clients and provides access to industry best practices. Knowing your customers needs and the main points to contact them you can identify major clients increasing their loyalty and mitigate the possibility of relationship with irresponsible customers.

Reason 6: Automated information updating

CRM software helps benefit business profitability focusing on timely updating customer information and fast order processing. It also allows to organize efficient shipping of FCL/LCL freight and delivery of dangerous/perishable goods.

Reason 7: Ensuring safety of shipments

Due to cross-globe operations and various regulatory systems in all the different countries it's usually hard to propose on-time delivery and 100% safety of goods. Customized CRM system can have integration with electronic databases such as Transit MRN to provide information about current status and location of the cargo.

Taking into consideration all the above mentioned advantages, it's evident that a customized CRM system can drive up profitability and provide a systematic way to measure and control everything that is happening in your business regarding communication and relationships with customers.

Industries and Technology Areas:

Industries: logistics, transportation, information technology

Technology Areas: software CRM development, CRM application development

With over 15 years of experience and over 300 professionals on board worldwide, Eli next Group is a global supplier of IT solutions for various industries, including advertising, accounting, banking, education, finance, health care, hospitality, real estate, retail, tourism and others.

CRM Possible For All Size Business

 Midsize company sales or service departments that do not take full advantage of modern CRM (Customer Relationship Management). Either they are using an ancient version with limited capability or they still rely on paper based processes. Some have invested heaps of money in a full ERP solution with supply chain, finance and human resource automation, but have never integrated a front-end sales and marketing solution.

The competition in the marketplace in general and from Microsoft and Sales Force in particular have made entry level CRM possible for all size businesses and departments. With all players focused on cloud based solutions and each offering their own set of integration options, there are many ways to spend very little money to get started, making it possible to invest and build on your solution as results are gained. Gone are the days of a twelve to twenty four month implementation plan before results can be gained.

CRM is intended to be a full life-cycle solution for managing customers from marketing to after sales support. The below is a sample sales solution that can broadly be implemented within five days and cost you less than $10,000. This give you a foundation to build onto. If you select a cloud based solution, you only pay on-going license fees based on usage and have no upfront hardware costs.

The functionality below are some of the areas you can consider implementing for under $10,000. Costs are kept in check by "time-boxing" the solution. The idea is to offer a time based solution that involves the key stakeholders to get a solution going within a week.

Sales Automation:

    Account, contact, opportunity and activities
    Basic work flow
    Customization of Objects and Fields
    Data mapping, transformation, migration and data
    validation
    Notes and Attachments
    Lead Management, Routing and Assignments
    E-mail templates and tracking
    Analytic, reports and dashboards
    Product catalog

 End user training Note there are many areas not included in the above, such as territory management, full life-cycle management, contract management, customer portals, Service dashboards, etc., but the above is more than enough to improve your business and establish a foundation for the future.The five days roughly include:

Day 1: Initiation and Analysis including a design workshop

Day 2 & 3: Configuration and Review - prototyping a solution based on design workshop for immediate feedback, allowing time for minor changes.

Day 4: Data Migration

Day 5: Training and Wrap-up

We are not promising a perfect solution, but instead a usable software that

allows room to maximum staff efficiency in rolling out a foundational improvement to managing your client life-cycle.