Innovative Technology banks on sales increase with SYSPRO integration

International cash handling solutions manufacturer Innovative Technology has streamlined its entire business to manage multi-site data from the UK thanks to the easy integration of SYSPRO ERP with Microsoft CRM and QlikView Business Intelligence software.

Innovative Technology operates from multiple sites in the UK, Germany, Spain, China and Brazil, which all previously operated independently. Following the rapid four-month implementation of SYSPRO ERP from K3 Syspro (K3), and subsequent integration with QlikView Business Intelligence software and Microsoft CRM, Innovative Technology has been able to channel all company data through one single solution. Regular sales reports for each office can now be generated from its single UK base. This central access has given Innovative Technology seamless visibility of worldwide company data which has significantly streamlined sales processes.

Streamlining Data Increases Efficiency and Boosts Growth

Paul Smith, IT Manager at Innovative Technology explains how much more effective sales operations have become since this implementation. “Trade shows are a major form of marketing for us, and help us to significantly increase our reach to potential new customers. When we do exhibit at a trade show, we are now able to talk to potential new customers and quickly register them on our CRM system at the show.

“This information is then passed on to our office-based marketing team, who are able to send further sales information to the prospect in real time so they can access it remotely from the show. Our Workflow module then automatically sets up a new account for the enquiry within SYSPRO in our sales order processes and back office staff are alerted so they can carry out further follow up visits. It would normally take a few days to register enquiries and have the relevant information sent out to potential customers, but we are now able to have enquiries listed well within half an hour of meeting somebody. This has led to increased sales and much smoother processes all round.”

Innovative Technology is a market leader in the provision of bank note validation solutions for the amusement, gaming, vending, retail, and kiosk industries. The company has released a number of new products over the past few years, which have contributed to strong business growth. The company’s existing IT technology did not have the capacity needed to support this growth, which is why the business looked elsewhere for a fully integrated solution. In addition to experiencing benefits from a robust and reliable back end system, the company’s sales and customer service teams are also experiencing a major boost to their productivity, with the new CRM system linking seamlessly to customer records held in SYSPRO. An online configuration tool is further helping to speed up sales order processing by configuring the company’s range of industry standard products to suit individual customer requirements quickly and accurately.

Further supporting the growth of Innovative Technology and helping it to become more responsive to customer enquiries is the QlikView Business Discovery platform, delivering crucial business intelligence to help drive bottom line decision making.

The reporting software is integrated into both SYSPRO and CRM to generate regular reports across the entire business from sales reports to stock reports. Paul Smith explains how these reports have enabled the company to enjoy even more time saving efficiencies.

“We created a budgeting system that backs onto our CRM system. As we operate from international offices, all the budgets for our customers were previously collated from various systems but are now driven through one single CRM solution. We can now channel the information from our CRM software into QlikView to report on this information. This has really helped us to project our sales information more accurately than before and has saved a lot of time compared to our previous method, which was paper-based.”

Innovative Technology previously tracked and reported financial information using spreadsheets. Trying to keep a track of numerous documents in order to generate consistent sales reports proved challenging. The company can now quickly and easily generate sales reports in QlikView, and tailor the data outputted depending on who the report is for and the level of authority of the recipient within the company. All reporting information now comes from QlikView and every single unit of product that leaves the manufacturing facility is tested, captured and reported on through QlikView. This ensures that every phase of production is always recorded and to a high standard. This has been an integral service to the company since implementation.

Meticulous Planning Ensured Project Deadlines Were Met

Also key to the rapid implementation of SYSPRO was the preparation and planning that each contributing party carried out. As part of its implementation planning, K3 brought together experts from its SYSPRO, CRM and QlikView divisions and held dedicated workshops with Innovative Technology’s internal IT team to ensure that a rapid and successful implementation would be achievable.

Paul Smith explains the process:

“K3 worked with us really well to ensure quick and successful implementation of SYSPRO and integration with CRM and QlikView. We wanted the entire system up and running in the space of just four months, which was always an ambitious target. We were delighted that we managed to implement on the day we had planned. On the day of the switchover we only needed one person on site from K3 because the entire process had been forecast beforehand so our own IT team was able to handle much of the process. We spent the next six to twelve months bedding the new system in and familiarising ourselves with its rich functionality and have since investigated the user portal to add our own customisation to the solution.”

Integration Allows for Customisation and Scalability

Customisation was another issue high on the agenda for Innovative Technology when it compiled its initial checklist of vital functions. It was important that the company had in place a system that had the scalability to grow alongside the business. Since implementation, the company has been able to add additional functionality to its CRM package in the shape of enhanced product information, additional mandatory cells for data entry and more buttons and links within the system. SYSPRO has also been customised to support extra fields on sales order forms and K3 has developed an integrated module for production control on request.

“Once we started using the system and becoming familiar with it we recognised the need for an additional production control module in order for us to easily assign a sales order to the office where it was issued wherever in the world that office is,” Paul Smith explains. “When we raised the issue with K3 they built us a specific solution from scratch and made sure that it integrated into the complete solution. This integrates seamlessly with the wider system and the result is that we can now better manage our orders from one place and ensure that we are responding more quickly to demand. The whole project has proved to be a really beneficial investment throughout the business.”