Siemens PLM Software Drives Channel Sales Success Across 60 Countries with Integrated Salesforce CRM and PRM Solution

“Salesforce drives a single global place for our channel partners, channel managers, and direct sales teams to go and collaborate whether it's an opportunity, a lead, or an account... and now all that information can be accessed in a way that makes it easy to analyze and leverage for growth.”


Challenge
  • Siemens PLM Software—a leading global provider of product lifecycle management (PLM) software and services—needed a scalable partner relationship management (PRM) solution to unify channel sales efforts across continents and make it easier for partners to do business with the company
  • An existing set of local in-house tools, databases, spreadsheets, written documents, and forms failed to tie together channel sales efforts
  • The PRM solution had to integrate with the company’s SAP financial systems 
  • Creating a single, global, collaborative, multi-language environment that would make it easy for the company to manage their Channel Partner program and collaborate with partners was crucial

Solution
  • The company selected Salesforce PRM to fully integrate with its new Salesforce CRM solution for an integrated 360-degree view of its business
  • With the help of Successforce Consulting, the company deployed Salesforce Partners—a Web-based portal solution—to more than 1300 partners in more than 60 countries worldwide with multi-language support in less 100 days
  • The company simultaneously implemented Salesforce CRM to 1,000 internal direct and indirect sales teams
  • Through a custom template on their Partner Portal, Channel Partners (resellers & distributors) can mass export, update, and import leads and opportunities to simplify the partners use of Salesforce Partners
  • Other integration points include a single sign-on access, links to sales and marketing content on the Partner Portal from leads and opportunities, Quoting tool, and Price book
  • Siemens PLM Sioftware designed the Web-based portal with custom screens and fields that map to its look and feel without worrying about the underlying architecture 
  • Multiple internal and external telemarketing teams distribute and track leads with partners using Salesforce Partners
  • By rewriting apps found on the AppExchange, the company created tabs for everything required to interface and manage their Channel partner program including Business Plans /Channel objectives, MDF Budgets/Requests/Claims, and Traiuning/Certification tracking

Results
  • Salesforce delivers a single global location where channel partners, channel managers, and direct sales reps can manage , access, and collaborate on sales information in a way that makes it easy to analyze and leverage
  • Adoption by global partners shot to almost 80 percent within the first four months of deployment
  • To date, Salesforce Partners has driven more than 30,000 sales opportunities in various stages of registration 
  • Insight into channel opportunities helps the company gauge its capacity, productivity, and partner mindshare to optimize the Channel Partner Program for future success
  • Portal localization improves adoption by Channel Partners and facilitates collaboration
  • Salesforce handles the backend, allowing Siemens PLM Software to focus on the value it brings to its channel partners and that its partners bring to their end users
 
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