Expandasign produces and exports portable signage solutions to a global market from its factory in South Africa. Since 2003, Expandasign has partnered with Durban-based solution provider, Epages.net, to manage the challenges of dealing with multiple customers across different time zones.
The first stage of this process was the implementation of an online ordering system which allows the worldwide sales team to create quotes and place orders 24 hours a day.
The original system was recently rewritten in Miscrosoft .NET to enable Expandasign to take advantage of the interoperability and flexibility of .NET services."The online ordering system has many custom requirements," comments Marketing Director, Penny Macpherson."One of Expandasign's main issues revolved around incomplete information which required communication with the salesperson. Orders are received throughout the night during USA and Australia business hours. Queries sometimes had to wait a full working day to be resolved which affected turnaround times," she said.The problem was resolved by creating custom order forms which ensure the salespeople capture all of the information required to produce an order. An order which is incomplete cannot be submitted. Various checklists provide reminders about things like artwork, deadlines and delivery addresses. This has resulted in fewer queries and improved turnaround. The orders are checked and imported directly into the Accpac ERP system which calculates material requirements and creates a job specification.Having removed much of the manual process associated with production, the management team has been freed up to focus on sales and marketing. As a Microsoft Gold partner and one of only two companies in KZN with a Microsoft CRM competency, Epages.net is well placed to assist Expandasign in formalising its marketing campaigns.Expandasign has implemented Microsoft CRM to track and manage sales campaigns, advertising and lead generation. Its powerful capabilities allow the company to create targeted marketing campaigns and, more importantly, measure their success in terms of sales. Microsoft .NET Web services have been used to connect the online ordering system to the ERP and the CRM system to create a 360° view of the sales process.Marketing manager, Lynsey Hammond, comments: "Orders are being received from all over the world in addition to ad hoc enquiries through our Web site. With the CRM system, we can track how the order or enquiry was generated and use this information to inform our future marketing efforts."Expandasign will use the sales module to remind its salesforce of key industry events such as trade shows and conferences, ensuring they contact their customers to place orders.Because Microsoft CRM has a familiar interface and is integrated with Outlook, getting users to adopt the system has been easier and training times have been reduced.
