Force.com Mobile Anywhere, Anytime Access Helps Karl Strauss Brewing Company Sell More Beer

Challenge

• Karl Strauss Brewing Company, the leading regional craft brewer in Southern California, wanted to leverage advanced CRM features for operational flexibility in the face of rapid growth
• The company saw an opportunity to differentiate itself in its local beer markets through superior and personal customer relations
• Their reps are always on the move so the solution had to be wireless
• Seamless and immediate integration with its Microsoft Dynamics GP financial system was an added requirement

Solution

• The company selected Salesforce SFA for its wireless capabilities, flexible deployment, integration options, and minimal IT requirements
• Field reps access Salesforce from their wireless BlackBerries through Force.com Mobile to create real-time orders from the customer site and synchronize data
• Custom objects and tabs simplify the data entry process for orders into the Salesforce app via the BlackBerries
• Using Force.com Builder, the company created a custom application to track brewery vehicle and maintenance costs
• Karl Strauss Brewery leveraged AppExchange partner Scribe Software to integrate Salesforce with its Microsoft Dynamics GP financial system, creating a closed loop opportunity-to-order process

Results

• Wireless access to consolidated customer data improves customer responsiveness, transforming sales reps from order takers to full customer-service partners
• Improved insight helps reps effectively cross-sell and up-sell to customers, boosting beer sales and customer loyalty
• A single, unified source of all finance and sales operations increases efficiency and improves business operations
• Karl Strauss Brewing Company is now a recognized customer relations leader in its markets
• The brewery has plans to streamline additional business processes with custom apps created through Force.com Builder