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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - COMPETING IN CRM INDUSTRY (by Chandra Devi)
06 May 2004 – Subang Jaya, WHEN the dotcom bubble burst in 2000, not many online companies in the country managed to survive. MnEportal.com Sdn Bhd, an online business hub catering to the mechanical and electrical (M&E) industry, was one which found it difficult to keep afloat at that time.
Unlike other companies that faded into oblivion, MnEportal is still very much alive today in the form of a customer relationship management online platform for Optegra Sdn Bhd, a Multimedia Super Corridor-status company that provides mobile CRM solutions.
Instead of abandoning the portal altogether, Luke Long, the then-president of MnEportal and founder and chief executive of Optegra, decided to make the best out of the portal's strong CRM platform and entered the market. Finding stiff competition from established CRM players, he went one step ahead to leverage the platform to introduce mobile CRM solutions for enterprises.
"We were catering for the M&E industry, offering participants a reliable and secure virtual environment to exchange information and to conduct business-to-business e-commerce transactions. When the dotcom venture went down, we decided to take this rich CRM platform and enter the CRM market but faced competition from matured players. That's when we put on our thinking caps and came out with the idea of extending CRM solutions to the field," Long says.
The company had then found the right niche and carved out a strong business proposition in the mobile CRM industry.
SMART.X-Enterprise Suite
According to Long, there are not many local players in the mobile CRM market. With the edge to customise for local needs, Optegra did not find foreign players a major threat to its business.
Moreover, its mobility solution is adaptable to companies of any size in any vertical market - from the pharmaceutical to fast-moving consumer goods industries.
Among Optegra's major customers are A. Clouet, Dumex, Hong Leong, Yamaha, Pfizer, British American Tobacco, JT International, and Eita Elevator.
Long says the underlying foundation of the company's solution is Smart.X-Enterprise Suite, a powerful Java-based enterprise solution that is reliable for application deployment across the entire spectrum of wireless devices, and simultaneous integration with multiple back-office systems.
He adds that the ability to deploy solutions across a myriad of tools such as personal digital assistants, mobile phones, smartphones, Tablet PCs and notebooks is another competitive edge for Optegra, as most competitors only provide solutions for PDAs.
In addition, the solution utilises a combination of synchronisation protocols and data compression to transmit data wirelessly. Optegra's synchronisation technology provides a single solution for synchronising both personal information management (PIM) and custom database information locally and remotely between servers and mobile devices.
"Up-to-the-minute e-mail, PIM and database information is reflected across all devices used in the company, from desktop and notebooks to handhelds, phones and pagers. Whether the staff are in the office or on the road, they can plug into an existing business process to access real-time information," Long says.
He adds that Optegra's solutions are able to hide the complexity inherent in a mobile and wireless network, making management and support simple.
Empowering mobility
The company's CRM offering allows all external salesforce activities at the customer site, covering the whole loop from customer contacts and ordering to service and support, Long says.
For example, the Smart. Sales solution for the fast-moving consumer goods offers an integrated suite of applications that allow sales reps to access customer information, sales history, inventory checks, perform on-site stock count, and to take orders with the latest promotional information.
Orders can be submitted real-time to enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems for processing to speed up fulfilment and to stay ahead of competition.
With such a system, orders taken at the customer's location can be uploaded from any wireless device to the server through the general packet radio service (GPRS) network for immediate order processing. The salesmen can, at any time, download real-time information such as the latest delivery status, transaction records and credit limit, thus enabling them to fulfil customers' requirements instantly.
For mobile workers, the solution enables access to mission-critical information whenever and wherever they need it. For management, it provides accurate and real-time information from the marketplace for strategic planning," Long says, adding that the advantages of mobile CRM include reduced costs, increased employee efficiency, and increased productivity and customer satisfaction.
Growing business
According to Long, companies are becoming increasingly aware of the need for mobility solutions. Enterprises are recognising that the ability of their sales and service reps to act decisively at the point of customer interaction is critical to gaining a competitive advantage.
"Sales and field service represent two of the most critical customer touch points. These front-line customer ambassadors drive corporate revenue and help manage costs. Hence, they need relevant information at their disposal to act responsively and decisively with each encounter with the customer. Businesses understand this and are investing in mobile solutions."
Copyright © The New Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Berhad, Balai Berita 31, Jalan Riong, 59100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
For additional information, please contact:
Sales and Marketing Department
MnEportal.com Sdn Bhd
Tel: (603) 8024-0188
Fax: (603) 8024-5517
e-mail: info@mneportal.com |
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