MDF Systems, Inc.
780 James P. Casey Road
P.O. Box 917
Bristol, CT 06010-0917
Tel:800-426-3752
Tel:860-584-4750
Fax:860-584-4759
www.mdfsystems.com
| Signup for our FREE monthly newsletter. Enter your email address
below: |
|
|
To unsubscribe
from the newsleter, click here
Privacy
Policy |
|
Case Studies
Situation
A large medical instrument distributor for hospitals and research facilities sells their products through their own sales reps located throughout the US. All of their sales reps are tied into a Lotus Notes based contact management system with very stringent requirements for data integrity, with little room for deviation. They have a warehouse of materials that need to be distributed to the reps for their sales efforts and to their customer in response to inquiries.
They get a large volume of leads that need to be managed, The leads come in from all media, including trade decks, web sites, trade shows, and publisher downloads. These can be simple – asking for information on a specific product, to complex – information on multiple products and models for setting up a new lab. In addition to fulfilling these leads, the sales reps need to be notified of any and all interest so they are fully prepared to call on the customer or prospect.
Their existing fulfillment company insisted on using system codes and fitted every client into their mold. The sales staff found ordering material to be cumbersome and time-consuming, because they were dealing with unfamiliar codes.
In addition, the fulfillment company had limits to their addressing capabilities. In the hospital/university environment where most of our client’s customers worked, there are usually multiple locations that define an address, such as building, department, division, floor, room, etc., often as part of the same address. Because of the limitations, there were a large number of returns because of incomplete addresses. This meant a delay in customers receiving information in a highly competitive environment. This was unacceptable to our client, who went searching for another fulfillment provider.
Our client was very organized with flow charts and business rules. Because they had just come from a bad experience, they were very specific in their requirements and demanded quality and a high degree of sophistication. They needed a partner who would work within their business rules, flow charts, and turnaround times. They also wanted to have their materials distributed (and received) in a timely manner, and to receive the results formatted correctly for import into their system.
Solution
MDF worked with their Marketing staff to insure that all material used their own naming conventions, which were easily visible on the collateral. The client is notified of all material coming in to MDF and the amount received. If it is a new piece, it is named by the client and an initial supply is sent to the sales reps.
Because they have three different business units, they wanted to segregate the material in the warehouse, and allocate the costs of storing and shipping each group.
We expanded our addressing screen to include all of the different variations that existed. Our client did not want us to abbreviate any organization names, but we receive abbreviations from the sales rep and the customer leads. We created a matrix to account for the known abbreviations. As new ones were determined, these were added to the matrix as well. There are still times when we have to search the web for the full name of an organization.
Leads are sent specific packages, determined by the requested product or line of business. Their business rules for lead management have been programmed into our system, so that every lead has a decision tree that is searched before it is fulfilled. All of their leads from advertising campaigns, trade shows, and the Internet are funneled through this system.
Upkeep on a system this complicated is dependent on constant communication between MDF and our client, and a vigilance by the MDF rep, to make sure that any changes are incorporated into all of the different facets, and that any changes do not adversely affect any other process.
Benefits
- MDF added structure and discipline to the process so that the business rules were programmed into our system
- Working within a strict set of rules means that everyone is on the same page – less chance of error or misunderstanding
- Correct addressing means that customers and sales reps get their materials quicker
- Sales Staff receives leads and pertinent data on a regular schedule
- Timely collateral shortens the sales cycle
- Quicker turnarounds have fostered a better relationship between Sales & Marketing
- Collaborating with the client on the set-up and our willingness to customize our system to their needs elevated MDF to a partner status rather than a vendor
© Copyright 2004 MDF Systems
Top of Page
|
|
|
Case Studies
Latest Headlines
|
|
