|
 |
|
General Information
|
Add To My Personal Library |
November 5, 2010
• Vol.32 Issue 23
Page(s) 1 in print issue
|
Powerful Software Within Reach
Oracle Accelerate Program Combines Solutions, Education
|
Oracle offers software that can help you with just about any business process. But for small to midsized enterprises, which typically don’t have staff on-hand to customize the software and teach end users how to use it, an Oracle solution may seem out of reach. Oracle understands this and created its Oracle Accelerate program to help.
The Oracle Accelerate program offers more than 300 packaged solutions with setup and education performed by one of Oracle’s experienced partners. Best of all, Oracle Accelerate is priced to fit within the budget of most SMEs. Oracle Accelerate is designed to help SMEs reap the benefits of full-fledged Oracle products, so you won’t be dealing with stripped-down software that’s missing key features. And, Oracle Accelerate solutions are scalable, which means they are prepared to grow as your business grows.
Jameco Electronics, an electronics catalog company, needed a CRM system that would integrate with its pre-Windows, green-screen ordering system. It turned to AMX International, an Oracle Platinum Partner, and the Oracle Accelerate program for Oracle CRM On Demand.
 Antiquated Ordering System
Jameco Electronics was established in 1974, and, for much of that time, generated most of its business from a catalog that was sent out about four times a year, according to Greg Harris, vice president of sales and marketing for Jameco Electronics. “After that, we modernized our demand generation,” he says. That being said, until recently, the inside sales team for Jameco Electronics had almost no ability to keep track of customer interactions.
AftAfter making a few failed attempts at creating a CRM system in the past, Jameco worked with AMX International (www.amxinc.com) to help the company create a CRM system that was actually going to work. One of AMX International’s specialties is helping Oracle customers plan and execute their technology upgrades, and AMX also provides services to protect, extend, and evolve the technology investments. AMX offers an out-of-the-box integration process into the ERP system, so Jameco could link the front office to the back office and integrate items from lead capture to the order-booking process.
Darin Stoddard, vice president of business development at AMX International, says, “Just to convert the old data from the existing system takes a long time in a traditional implementation, and starting from scratch would be a long process. The conversion to Oracle’s Web services and adapters allows us to quickly nsfercontent from various data sources to the new system.”
Some customers do not have a standard, repeatable process for sales"many just run spreadsheets"so AMX International shows the company sales processes that almost everyone has, as well as sales processes that are pertinent to the company’s particular industry. Harris says, “I certainly thought I knew what I wanted, and AMX International helped provide me with the industry best practices, and in some cases, I said ‘OK, let’s do it’ and others I said ‘no.’”
Facilitate User Adoption
The Oracle Accelerate solution from AMX International also includes workshops that are designed to facilitate user adoption. “In terms of a successful project, we look to user adoption as a big factor,” Stoddard says. “Because if the users don’t adopt the system, it doesn’t matter how great the technology is, the result will be failure.” To aid the adoption effort for Jameco’s salespeople, AMX International put information into CRM that, historically, the Jameco salespeople did not have easy access to, such as what the customer had done year-to-date and the last product purchased.
AfAfter three months of use, Jameco already considers the move a success, Harris says. “Since the moment that the CRM was put in place, sales have gone up, and I think it’s clear that there’s both a cause and effect.” Another side effect is that it’s become more clear to Jameco what the sales force contributes to the company. “In some cases, the assumption was that the salesperson was simply taking the order, and now, the sales force’s results make it clear what the sales force is contributing,” Harris says.
Jameco was initially planning on managing the CRM On Demand installation by itself because the purchase comes with support from Oracle’s team. “But AMX’s team was so good that it was cheaper for us to have them manage, customize, and develop reports than it was to do it ourselves,” Harris says. 
by Nathan Lake
Oracle Accelerate
A service that helps bring industry-focused Oracle solutions to small and medium-sized enterprises with the help of Gold and Platinum Partners in the Oracle PartnerNetwork.
“Since the moment that the CRM was put in place, sales have gone up, and I think it’s clear that there’s both a cause and effect,” says Greg Harris, vice president of sales and marketing for Jameco Electronics.
(800) 672-2531
www.oracle.com |
|
|
