“If you are serious about cloud computing there really is only one player to consider - salesforce.com!”


Ian Cook Director Global Corporate Engagement

World Vision engaged services of web-based CRM provider salesforce.com

Challenge

  • Need for a robust system for tracking major donations and client accounts
  • Prerequisite for support in upholding the three Cs:  Co-ordination on a global scale, Coherency in communicating the World Vision offer, and Consistency of processes
  • Reporting on non-cash balance sheet items typically challenging
  • Regional operations required local language support
  • Sharing of information  and best practices between centres minimal
  • Affordability vital  as a philanthropic organization

Solution

  • World Vision engaged services of web-based CRM provider salesforce.com
  • Salesforce CRM introduced in key support centre (fund raising office) Australia in 2007
  • Gradual roll out to planned or underway to Thailand, India, Germany, Switzerland and Lebanon followed in 2009
  • Currently close to 100 user licenses across all regions

Results

  • Simplification and structuring of a highly complex business model  through automation, workflow and centralization of data assets
  • Regional offices that previously didn’t communicate with each other now enjoy efficiencies of information sharing in the cloud
  • Global teams collaborate easily in salesforce.com allowing World Vision to expand scope of projects
  • Multi-tenancy allows for effortless roll out of updates to global teams
  • Regional offices receive a local language instance of central CRM system
  • Changes to system go live after simple screen refresh!
  • New markets switched on immediately
  • Makes light work of complex reporting allowing World Vision to consolidate multiple sources of incoming value (multi-currency donations, grants, goods and services in kind, advocacy outcomes)
  • Performance dashboards supports enforcement of performance-related contracts
  • Central access to industry knowledge improves ability to adhere to legislation and ethics codes
  • Accurate allocation of personal impact across global teams versus purely financial accounting which has often led to organizational disputes.
  • Access to social networks (Twitter, Facebook, blogs) from inside Salesforce CRM facilitates research and reputation management
  • Complete visibility of customer histories increases opportunities for securing aid from new and existing clients
  • Real time insights into competitive organizations’ activities leveraged as incentives for  maximizing client commitments
  • Improved ability to roll out and monitor donation matching programs to the corporate world
  • Intuitive user interface makes it easy for World Vision to conduct own user training program
  • salesforce.com philanthropic package provides World Vision with an affordable, highly relevant app for niche market space

Full Case Study

World Vision is one of world’s major community development organisations providing vital assistance to 100 million people in need across the globe. World Vision operates in more than 90 countries, employs 22,500 staff, and has an annual budget in excess of US$1.5 billion. Its ability to make a real difference has attracted the likes of Hugh Jackman as ambassador.

One of the key areas for raising funds is through corporate relations. Businesses have the capacity to make an enormous contribution to the goal of alleviating poverty and it’s up to primary support offices like Australia to recruit and manage those relationships.
Challenges

Working with somewhere in the region of 700 NGO partners worldwide, World Vision recognized the need for a comprehensive Customer Relationship Management solution to track major donations and client accounts. A critical factor in its selection of a CRM was its ability to uphold its values: the three Cs.

•    Co-ordination on a global scale
•    Coherency in communicating the World Vision offer
•    Consistency of processes

Solution
Ian Cook, Head of Global Corporate Engagement for World Vision International led the search for a suitably robust CRM solution. His previous experiences in managing BP Australia’s Retail Marketing Operations had brought him into contact with cloud CRM provider salesforce.com, and he knew instinctively that nothing less than a cloud solution would successfully mould to the complex requirements of a multi-market niche organisation without pushing costs through the roof.

Following a review of the capabilities of Salesforce CRM, the first stage implementation was carried out in Australia in 2007 – a key support centre and fundraising office. Based on its success, World Vision gradually rolled out to other centres during 2009, including Thailand, India, Germany, Switzerland and Lebanon, bring the user license count up to 100.

Results
With Salesforce CRM up and running World Vision began experiencing tangible results very quickly. For example, a dramatic simplification of work processes through the systems intrinsic workflow and automation features. Regional offices that previously didn’t communicate with each other also started to enjoy the efficiencies of information sharing in the cloud.

From a development standpoint, multi-tenancy allows World Vision to continuously expand and make improvements to its CRM, secure in the knowledge that updates will automatically roll out to global teams without breaking their work pattern. Similarly, the decision to switch on new markets now requires minimum effort – it’s just a case of increasing license numbers.

Accurate deal tracking means that World Vision can now keep control of its transactions throughout every stage, even when they pass through multiple geographies. And, with an indisputable record of the regional participants of every deal World Vision can apportion credit on a memorandum accounting basis with a precision that was not necessarily possible before.

However, perhaps the largest selling point for World Vision was Salesforce CRM’s reporting capability and the easy integration into email applications. Previously, reporting had been something of a headache, with income including non-cash value items such as grants, goods and services in kind and advocacy outcomes. Now the organization is able to pull multiple data sources into reports effortlessly, making light work of a formerly arduous task.

Over time, World Vision is discovering the numerous long term benefits of complete visibility of customer interactions, such as the ability to identify new opportunities for expanding client’s involvement, as well  as to quickly access and leverage competitive information to negotiate the best possible commitment.

Keen to establish salesforce.com company-wide and have all employees and representatives working from the same page, Cook has successfully developed his own training course to quickly bring new NGOs online, made possible by the highly intuitive and flexible nature of salesforce.com.

“salesforce.com literally changes the game for NGOs!”

---- Ian Cook, Director Global Corporate Engagement, WORLD VISION INTERNATIONAL 

World Vision International

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