The Sales and Marketing department have several problems. The first problem is their lack of technology or keeping up with the times. The sales and marketing department needs a better system to track their customers. Currently they have customer information on different databases, paper files and microfiche. Our proposal is to buy a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) program. A CRM is a software program that contains a large database which contains customer information. There are several areas that the new CRM software would benefit Riordan Manufacturing.
The first area that a CRM program would help the Riordan Manufacturing Sales and Marketing team out is with Historical sales. In the past the Sales and Marketing team used pencil and paper to record sales data, although recently they have switched to recording their data electronically. The data that is recorded contains:
Dates including order, delivery, and payment dates by order.
Unit and dollar volume of each product including plastic bottles, fans, heart valves, medical stents, and custom plastic parts rolled up to be examined by product group and customer.
Sales by customer to include price paid, cost, margin, and discount given.
Although the Sales and Marketing department has started recording the historical data electronically, by using a companywide program such as CRM, this will allow the team to be more efficient by being able to access and utilize historical data.
Another area that needs significant improvement is the availability and quicker access to past marketing research, marketing plans, and design awards. To build on its past success it is important for the Sales and Marketing department to have easy access to their past successes. Although we recommend continuing the initial plan of converting all written forms to electronic documentation, we also believe the CRM will help access the information quick as the CRM software will allow you to build relationships between awards,...