Enhance Existing CRM And Customer Relationships

RefrigiWear is a leading manufacturer of insulated industrial outerwear. In late 2010, RefrigiWear had reached a point with its growing sales force and customer base that required implementing a strong CRM system. Because the company serves a broad range of industries, its international customer base is diverse and widespread, it needed a flexible, easy-to-use, web-based CRM system.

Customer Profile

RefrigiWear is the leading manufacturer of insulated industrial outerwear. For more than fifty years, the Company has supplied a wide range of industries with insulated garments and accessories needed to keep workers warm, safe and productive. The Company manufactures and sells over ninety-five styles of insulated clothing, headwear, accessories and covers. RefrigiWear is located in Dahlonega, Georgia.
 

Problem

Context
In late 2010, RefrigiWear had reached a point with its growing sales force and customer base that required implementing a strong CRM system. Because RefrigiWear serves a broad range of industries, its international customer base is diverse and widespread. As such, RefrigiWear needed a flexible, easy-to-use, web-based CRM system that could be integrated seamlessly into the existing infrastructure and implemented quickly. What’s more, RefrigiWear wanted its sales force to be able to use the system with limited training or manual input.  
 
Finding the Right Partner 
To select the right technology solution to integrate into its existing back office system and help create efficiencies, RefrigiWear first looked at other web-based CRM systems in the market. Having already implemented VAI’s S2K Enterprise Management Software, RefrigiWear and VAI discussed possible integration options to S2K Sales Force, which is VAI’s Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software system. Given RefrigiWear’s success working with VAI and utilizing its S2K Enterprise Management Software, RefrigiWear elected to implement VAI’s S2K Sales Force. 
 
RefrigiWear found that the advantage to using VAI’s S2K Sales Force was that all its customer data would be integrated through the back-end system, and automatically uploaded into the software, as opposed to a third party add-on CRM solution that would require having to input the data manually. The software could be up-and-running in a matter of days and fully integrated into the existing infrastructure.
 

Solution

Process 
In less than a week, RefrigiWear was up-and-running with VAI’s S2K Sales Force, which is designed to improve a company’s bottom-line by strengthening customer relationships and loyalty. With one central database, the software enables a company to use its existing technology while providing a company-wide, real-time view of all interactions with customers and prospects. VAI’s S2K Sales Force has an integrated contact management feature that provides real-time access to all customer and product information, and marketing automation tools that generate effective, consistent and timely campaigns.
 
Using the Solution to Solve the Problem
Since VAI’s S2K Sales Force is easily integrated into RefrigiWear’s existing VAI S2K ERP system, the manufacturer could quickly and easily facilitate complete order processing and customer or prospect tracking. This software enabled RefrigiWear to perform functions such as:  track specific opportunities, review current order statuses, check prices, view account information and history, and create to-do lists to flag follow-up activity. 
 

Evaluation

Results and Benefits
In terms of effectively utilizing the sales force, RefrigiWear’s sales team now has access to a CRM system 24/7, whether they’re on the road or in a meeting with a customer. For example, the sales team is able to access customer information on the fly using a smartphone, tablet, netbook or laptop. This has proven very useful to those sales team members who need to check a purchase order or pull up contact information for a contact while on the road and headed to meet with them onsite. What’s more, the system is very user-friendly and the sales team has collectively enjoyed the experience of working with the product to facilitate customer relations. 
 
In addition, follow-up with contacts is more efficient and more accurate – RefrigiWear is able to flag a customer request or request to follow-up with a prospect. This information is automatically distributed to the sales force, so there is no lag in communications and necessary follow-up can be executed at rapid pace.  
 
Customer Quote 
“VAI’s Sales Force was the perfect choice for Refrigiwear to integrate into our existing VAI S2K system. We needed the software to be fully functional very quickly, and VAI delivered,” said Robert Scarboro, IT Director, RefrigiWear, Inc. “Our sales force was immediately impressed with the product’s ease-of-use and mobile capabilities – our team is always on the move and it’s crucial to be able to use a web-based CRM. Our sales force is creating better follow-up with our customers, which increases our customer satisfaction.”
 
For more information about VAI products and services, visit www.vai.net.

 

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