Intersnack is creating a clear view of its customer’s PoSs
ORBIS Solutions: ORBIS ConsumerONE
Sectors: Consumer goods / retail
Processes: Service & Support, Sales, Marketing
References: Intersnack
Intersnack, the market leader for salty snacks – is linking sales-related information with the ORBIS Consumer Suite on a CRM platform. Taking this approach gives the company a 360° view of its customers and enables it to improve support and consulting activities both on site and at its headquarters.
Snack specialist is relying on CRM from Microsoft for its sales and marketing activities
“funny-frisch”, “Chio”, “POM-BÄR” and “goldfischli” are just some of the products that form part of the brand world of Cologne-based Intersnack Knabber-Gebäck GmbH & Co. KG, one of Europe’s leading snack manufacturers. In Germany alone, the company produces 100,000 metric tons of the finest snacks per year and supplies them to independent outlets and to REWE-operated supermarkets in the grocery business.
Head office: Cologne, Germany
Sector: Specialty snacks (food industry)
Company size: approx. 6,000 employees throughout Europe, EUR 1.5 bn in annual sales
Website: www.intersnack.de
CRM data pooled on one platform
Integrated and transparent sales processes and efficient sales controlling are among the business-critical factors in this regard. A proprietary CRM system and various Excel lists were no longer adequate to support sales processes in keeping with the times. Indirect sales in particular were like a black box in some areas. It was hard to track which products were distributed and which stores took part in promotions.
So the introduction of ORBIS Consumer Suite – the CRM industry solution based on Microsoft Dynamics CRM – was highly significant for the snack manufacturer from a strategic standpoint. Intersnack now pools and consolidates all its sales-related data on the futureproof and scalable CRM platform, where it can manage the data in a structured, uniform and high-quality manner. Installation was performed in close cooperation with ORBIS AG (the implementation and consulting partner).
360° customer view instead of a black box
With a clear overview of all the sales information and activities, both the service and the support provided to retail markets can be improved, strengthening customer relationships in the long term.
The CRM solution collects information on promotions, the inclusion of Intersnack products in customer ranges, Nielsen data on consumer behavior, employee data, visit and task history, and PoS data from customer visits. Customer, product and order data is also incorporated from the central SAP ERP system. Interface software linking the two applications over interfaces ensures smooth data transport so that, in return, orders and CRM data on listings and promotions can also be transferred to the ERP application.
Evaluating sales data in depth
Retail customers’ stores can be classified with a high degree of accuracy, and the success of promotions can be measured with precision.
“These are key foundations for developing the sales business in a targeted manner and making sales processes even more successful,”, explained Susann Bader (Project Manager and Head of Internal Sales at Intersnack Knabber-Gebäck GmbH & Co. KG).
Which brands and items are doing particularly well in stores? What shelf developments have taken place over the last month? The answers to these and many other questions are now available to the more than 160 end users – Sales Management, key account managers, regional sales managers and their supervisors in Field Service and Internal Sales – virtually at the touch of a button.
ORBIS iControl – a business intelligence (BI) solution that is fully integrated into the CRM application – provides the meaningful and valid KPIs for effective sales controlling, clearly presenting the information in chart format and in line with permissions.
Source Photo: © Intersnack Knabber-Gebäck GmbH & Co. KG
Knowing what’s happening with customers at the click of a mouse
Since the sales processes are now largely IT-based, both the indirect warehouse business and drop shipping are better supported.
“All key account managers need to do is glance at the CRM system, then they know exactly which of a retail customer’s stores have taken part in a promotion and how successful it was in each individual store,” clarified Ms. Bader.
Distribution gaps are also identified very quickly. With just a few clicks of the mouse, you can find out whether the individual stores are carrying the agreed Intersnack products in their range.
Source Photo: © Intersnack Knabber-Gebäck GmbH & Co. KG
Key account closely linked with Field Service
Thanks to more efficient sales processes, promotions can be planned and implemented in a more targeted manner. Nowadays, the key account managers are very closely linked with the regional sales managers in Field Service. This improves internal communication and simplifies coordination processes. The customer service representatives benefit from the comprehensive, accurate and detailed information that Field Service regularly collects from customers and transfers to the central CRM database as part of a daily synchronization process.
“Using the PoS data in the CRM system allows us to improve our classification of the complete customer universe, make preparations for management decisions and manage measures in a more targeted manner,” Ms. Bader explained.
Smart office scenario implemented
To enable Field Service to conveniently record as much information as possible, Intersnack has provided employees with convertible laptops and implemented a smart, mobile offline scenario with end-to-end CRM processes and a visit reporting system.
“That way, we pool the wealth of information from the head office and the key account on products, promotions and listings, not to mention the customer knowledge from the Field Service staff, into a single CRM solution,” added Ms. Bader.
Complete integration of the ORBIS Consumer Suite into Microsoft Outlook proved to be particularly advantageous, since the different data can be collected, saved, edited and, if necessary, supplemented with additional information when offline using an Outlook client on the laptop.
„With the CRM application, we have laid the necessary foundations for a 360° view of our customers, which allows us to plan, coordinate, implement and monitor visits, listings, promotions, point-of-sale (PoS) data or other measures even more effectively and thus more economically.“
Susann Bader, Project Manager and Head of Internal Sales, Intersnack Knabber-Gebäck GmbH & Co. KG
Sales evaluations can be retrieved both online (if a connection to the database server has been established) and offline (by Field Service representatives directly on site on the customer’s premises). This is a quantum leap, since it means that store managers’ questions about specific figures can be answered and discussed at any time.
More space for core tasks
End-to-end IT support means preparing for customer visits is quicker than before.
Susann Bader commented: “We have already achieved a great deal thanks to support from the CRM solution’s process capabilities, the ORBIS consultants and our own IT department. Since the system launch, we have already managed to successfully integrate additional processes, such as mapping advertiser inserts, quantity queries concerning decorative materials, and garage delivery for Field Service.”
Migration to the current version of the ORBIS Consumer Suite on new hardware is scheduled to take place in 2013.
