Element Six reduces CRM costs to reinvest in improving customer service
Cloud Technology
The Challenge
Element Six is a global leader in the design, development and production of synthetic diamond supermaterials. It operates worldwide with its head office registered in Luxembourg, and primary manufacturing facilities in China, Germany, Ireland, Sweden, South Africa, US and the UK.
When Paul Williams, Head of Group IM, discussed with the leadership team, they were clear that they were spending the right amount of money on CRM; so the only choice was to move to a different platform.
The Solution
Speaking about the project, Paul Williams, Head of Group IM said,
“We agreed that we would move to a more cost-effective platform and invest savings back into customer-facing initiatives and workflow improvements. Moving to Dynamics CRM, now Dynamics 365, is saving us in the region of £70,000 per year, based on the 220 users we currently have. That’s a lot of money to put back into improving customer service and delivering more value.”
Another requirement was that it would be easy to use. Paul added, “if people can’t use the system, it won’t add value. Look and feel plays a big part. You have to give people tools that they are familiar with and that they will want to use. Along with the lower cost, Dynamics 365’s integration with Outlook and the familiar Office style played a big part in our decision.”
Paul added: “Every dollar IT spends, our sales team has to earn, so we don’t spend lightly.” While Salesforce.com offered a lot of functionality, it wasn’t being fully used by our employees. It was also taking the entire CRM budget just to maintain the system.
I had worked with ANS before and knew they could work to our tight timescales. I liked their fixed price approach; they tell you what they are going to do and they deliver it. We compared a time and materials quote from an alternative supplier with the fixed-price quote from ANS. By choosing to work with ANS, we saved £19,000 on the implementation cost alone.
Element Six
The Outcomes
Dy365 is now being used in all of Element Six’s business functions across more than 20 sites. Paul’s vision is to use the framework as a basis for enhancing customer service and overall performance. Element Six have benefitted from the following outcomes:
- Lower cost to maintain Dynamics 365
- Saving £70,000 per year, £19,000 on the implementation cost alone
- Integrating core business applications, such as JD Edwards ERP system
- Provided a system that is fully used by employees
I can see what activities people are logging in, and even see where managers are using the system for reporting or following updates. With Saleforce.com, we had too many systems that weren’t integrated. With Dynamics 365, people just launch email and they have CRM right there.
Paul Williams
Head of Group IM
Element Six
Customer Stories.
Customer Story
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Customer Story
Element Six
Customer Story