Intergraph Achieves 95% Forecast Confidence with Salesforce

"Ever since we started using Salesforce, forecasts have correlated to results with a 95-percent confidence level."


Challenge
  • Intergraph, a provider of complex spatial-information solutions with operations around the world, required a CRM solution that could consolidate its global sales pipeline and improve the accuracy of its forecasts
  • The company's existing contact management system comprised disparate spreadsheets, which resulted in silos of customer data, preventing pipeline visibility
  • The company experienced significant variances between sales forecasts and actual quarter closing numbers, and with long and complex sales cycles, this posed a threat to the business

Solution
  • After considering Siebel On Demand, ACT!, and Goldmine, Intergraph selected Salesforce for its multicurrency and multilingual support, robust feature set, and on-demand architecture that enabled universal access
  • With the help of salesforce.com implementation partner GrowthCircle, Intergraph deployed Salesforce SFA in eight weeks, with a successful 60-country rollout in three months
  • The company integrated its Management Operations Systems sales methodology and processes into Salesforce for global visibility and consistency of opportunity data companywide
  • Microsoft Outlook integration merges existing contact data into Salesforce, which reps can sync with their RIM BlackBerries
  • Using Force.com Builder, Intergraph deployed custom applications to support marketing project management, collaboration, budgets, and event management
  • Intergraph also implemented the AppExchange partner application VerticalResponse to manage its outbound email campaigns
  • Dashboards enable executives to track their pipelines with real-time analytics and have become the primary communications tool for executives

Results
  • One central repository of customer and contact information fosters global consistency in sales process, behavior, messages, and sales language—improving sales operations and boosting revenue
  • Intergraph now has visibility into its global sales pipeline for the first time in company history
  • The company has seen a noticeable improvement in win rates, resulting from stakeholders' ability to view "Top 20 Opportunities" on their dashboards and get involved in deals at the right time
  • With accurate and consistent opportunity data maintained in Salesforce, interactions between sales management and reps are more strategic
  • Intergraph decreased its forecast creation time from more than a week to less than a day—an 80-percent increase in efficiency
  • Forecast accuracy improved with a 95-percent confidence level, engendering executive confidence in forecasts
 
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