ERP System: Tribute
Converted: ACT! 2005
After a lot of time evaluating different CRM/Sales Force automation solutions from ACT, Goldmine, Selltis, and Maximizer, Hydraquip selected the Tour de Force solution.
Headquarters: Houston, TX
Founded: 1951
Primary Industry: Distribution
Industry Vertical: Energy
Hydraquip Distribution took their first step in choosing a CRM/SFA solution by looking within their company to assess their needs, goals, and budget. After a lot of time evaluating different CRM/SFA solutions from ACT, Goldmine, Selltis, and Maximizer, Hydraquip selected the Tour de Force solution. With the proper research and planning in place, Hydraquip Distribution began their implementation project with Tour de Force in September of 2007. After an expedited implementation plan was put in place by the project team from MRH and Hydraquip, the rolled-out of Tour de Force to the Hydraquip sales team began in November of 2007.
When serving quality customers such as those in distribution, running and operating an efficient business requires ready to access information in real time. Prior to implementing Tour de Force , Hydraquip was using a variety of Word and Excel files along with Basic Outlook to manage activity reports, sales funnels, expenses reports and their customer contacts. This environment made it very difficult to communicate efficiently and respond quickly to their customer's needs. Hydraquip needed a solution that would standardized their processes and consolidate the knowledge they had about their customers and prospects in order to provide their sales team an environment to work efficiently.
After clearly stating their needs for a sales force automation solution, Hydraquip had several key objectives in mind; they wanted a solution that properly integrated with their primary business system, Tribute; they wanted a solution that was capable of a rapid adoption and is easy to use; they wanted a solution that has seamless integration with Microsoft Outlook; and finally, they wanted a solution that was configurable to the way Hydraquip did business. Needless to say, of all the solutions looked at Tour de Force was clearly the only solution to provide Hydraquip with these compelling objectives.
As a distributor operating from numerous cities in the states of Texas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma it was important for Hydraquip's sales team to all manage the sales process in a consistent manner. The MRH Project Consultant, David Bell, trained Hydraquip's Project Team through the critical phases of the implementation process to ensure that Tour de Force met their business needs and objectives as well as trained 60 out of the 145 employees on how to efficiently manage themselves within the Tour de Force solution. “Dave Bell did an excellent job providing us with information, guidance and changes to the data and permissions structure of Tour de Force so that it closely replicated our existing organizational structure , allowing us to use Tour de Force to our full advantage,” said Bill Boyle, Sales & Marketing Director at Hydraquip Distribution.
Hydraquip Distribution, a one hundred percent employee owned company, has eleven offices to assist their customers with value added solutions including component sales, integrated design, factory authorized repair, and field support services. In order to have a successful sales team your sales team needs to be held accountable and your sales managers need to have the tools to manage and coach the team efficiently. According to Richard Neels, President of Hydraquip,“Within the Manager's Console, the manager is easily able to select a salesperson and with a few clicks of a mouse they can see real time sales from Tribute, the open sales funnel, the recent sales activities and a summary of sales expenses”. Tribute has always been extremely flexible and scalable for the inventory management and invoicing accounting side of business. Tour de Force has consolidated critical sales data into one program allowing their sales team to communicate in a quick and efficient manor as well, giving Hydraquip a fully integrated solution that has significantly enhanced the communication and efficiency of the sales team. The MRH Technology Group firmly believes in ongoing relationships and according to Bill Boyle, “The MRH Technology Group realizes time is very important; the Extended Services team has done an excellent job with providing us with support services quickly and efficiently. They have provided ongoing training and consulting services to our team in order to keep us moving in a positive direction with the Tour de Force solution”.