Inortech

Optimizes Customer Loyalty With Sage CRM

Based in Canada, Inortech Inc. is a raw material supplier of paint, ink, plastics, and adhesives. The company also offers formulation expertise and in-depth R&D support services. Because of the volatility inherent in chemical distribution, small to midsized chemical distributors such as Inortech have found maintaining a competitive edge challenging in a lackluster economy. Constantly striving to improve customer service and increase suppliers’ visibility in the markets it serves, Inortech wanted to improve access to customer credit information and other customer- and product-related data. Its objective was to accelerate collections and better control and track sales processes.

To meet its goals, Inortech, a long-time user of Sage accounting solutions, implemented Sage CRM. “There’s just too much potential for human errors in customer service operations that are paper-based,” says Jean-Marc Pigeon, president of Inortech. “And with the stresses of today’s economy, we cannot afford the costs of these errors. Sage CRM eliminates these costs, empowering us with fast and reliable electronic access to information and automated workflows. It ensures that each staff member is working as productively as possible, that each customer receives the best possible service, and that our bottom line is as strong as possible.”

A Long-Term Commitment to Sage
With the help of Implanciel, Inc., a Sage partner based in Laval, Quebec, Inortech initially implemented a Sage 300 ERP* accounting solution over a decade ago. “We have always been satisfied with Sage as well as the service and support we received from Implanciel,” Pigeon says. “So when we realized the need to improve our customer service and sales support operations, I naturally turned to Implanciel for a product recommendation. They told me about Sage CRM, and I was convinced that it offered exactly what we needed—a way to easily create a comprehensive customer service solution that met the needs of our company as well as our industry.”

Challenge
Inortech needed to speed up collections, enhance the tracking of customer information, improve sales processes, and minimize training time and related costs for new sales representatives.

Solution
Sage 300 ERP and Sage CRM provide sales and customer service representatives with easy web-based access to comprehensive information about prospects, customers, and product.

Results
Inortech has quicker, more reliable access to information; optimizes staff productivity and customer satisfaction; reduces training time; and closes more sales.

Sage CRM Quickly Pays for Itself
Because Inortech’s new Sage CRM system provides sales representatives with easy access to comprehensive information about prospects, customers, sales histories, and products, staff training time has been dramatically minimized. In fact, Inortech hired a new sales representative shortly after implementing Sage CRM and has already reaped the rewards. “By getting this individual up to speed in weeks, not months, Sage CRM not only paid for itself in its first quarter of use, but actually created positive cash flow,” Pigeon says.

In addition, Sage CRM has also accelerated collections for outstanding invoices. “By tracking information through Sage 300 ERP and presenting it to customer service representatives on their CRM screens, we have been able to reduce our collections by an average of ten days,” Pigeon says. “This improves our cash flow, our own credit, and our ability to expand our business.”

With Sage CRM on board, Inortech can store product information, including inventory and pricing, in its database and make the data available to both field sales and internal customer service representatives. The database also includes complete customer histories, including credit, sales, and accounts payable data from Sage 300 ERP.

In addition, new workflow processes have been created that automate existing business procedures. “By automating workflows and providing management oversight, Sage CRM empowers us with the ability to promptly complete all actions required to make and keep customers satisfied,” Pigeon reports. “And, with all information readily available at their fingertips, sales representatives can deliver unparalleled customer service and strengthen client relationships. In short, Sage CRM and Sage 300 ERP deliver the business management capabilities we need to stay competitive.”