Clients

Maximising sales potential with Bluefin's fixed price SAP CRM package

Abacus Lighting is a world leader in the supply and installation of exterior lighting systems. Abacus specialises in mast and lighting technology; its products are used in sports stadiums, airports, car parks and ports, and throughout roads and cities. The company trades globally and has offices in the UK and China.

The business challenge

Abacus wanted to install an advanced sales system to drive the business into the 21st century and enable continued successful growth worldwide. The new solution had to consolidate disparate Sales Management systems, enhance the management process throughout the business, and provide marketing with the tools to build, execute and measure strategic campaigns.

The existing system was ten years old and had been supplemented with independent spreadsheets and databases.

Project vision

The 'Project Vision' goal was to ensure Abacus could grow its market share, maximise win rates for qualified opportunities, introduce a structured sales process across the sales teams and gain immediate access to crucial reporting analytics.

Additionally, Abacus wanted a clear picture of its customer base by recording interactions and capturing strategic data, thus enabling customer segmentation for targeted marketing campaigns. It also needed all departments involved in the sales cycle to have access to a single, consolidated view of up-to-date sales activity, ensuring a smooth sales cycle workflow throughout these departments.

Abacus assessed a number of options based on four key criteria:

  1. Requirement fit
  2. Scalability
  3. Speed of implementation
  4. Reduction of risk.

It selected the Bluefin template SAP CRM & BI offering, implemented via a proven template solution, ensuring speed of implementation and reduced project risk.

Bluefin has run SAP CRM and Business Intelligence together for years, providing a proven platform for such requirements. The provision of a template solution was a logical step, given the common sales cycle challenges throughout business.

Abacus Lighting needed a world-class Lead, Opportunity and Sales Management system. It had to enable us to successfully compete on both UK and global projects with the largest companies in the world. There was one world-class solution – SAP CRM.

Andrew Morris-Richardson, Board Director, Abacus Lighting

The solution

In a rapid blueprint phase Abacus and Bluefin tailored the template to suit Abacus' business requirements, and a number of important functional add-ons were incorporated. Next, the system was built, tested, and commissioned in under just 3 months. One of the main challenges was the cultural shift required within Abacus to achieve the vision. Careful management of the change process was essential to the successful roll-out of the Project Vision throughout the business.

Business benefits

The new system enables Abacus Lighting to drive worldwide sales, extend market penetration and drive efficiency throughout its business processes.

Significant benefits include:

  • Margin assessment and improvement: Abacus can instantly assess opportunity margins based on selling prices and product costs.
  • Improved win rate: they can focus on the opportunities they can win, and want to win.
  • Improved pipeline visibility: sales pipeline and forecast reporting provides side-by-side comparison of sales team achievements.
  • Activity monitoring: improving the accuracy of sales data and streamlined processes.
  • Improved efficiency: eliminating the need to enter data intomultiple systems so the sales team spends less time on administration and more time selling.
  • Seamless integration: between CRM and the existing logistics & finance processes in SAP ERP.
  • Measurable ROI from marketing.

"Abacus needed to truly reflect its strong position in the market place, to both promote and sell the excellence in its core competencies.  To achieve this goal, we needed a CRM solution which had a first-class pedigree and was proven in the global market place. We had to focus on the value and new opportunities that a CRM solution – which could grow alongside the company – could deliver," says Andrew

Why Bluefin?

Abacus Lighting needed a partner who could understand its requirements at a grass roots level, had a proven template-based system and a clear deliverable proposition, as well as a team that would integrate successfully with the Abacus team.

"The solution had to be priced competitively and we needed access to staff at all levels within Bluefin. A successful track record of implementations was paramount,as was the skill base to act both promptly and with intelligence and knowledge. Bluefin came up with all the deliverables, good team management and excellent resourcing when needed. They provided first-class support throughout," says Andrew.

The technical solution

SAP CRM 2007

  • CRM Marketing and Leads
  • CRM Opportunity Management, Quotations and Sales, OrderManagement
  • CRM Activity Management
  • CRM Outlook Integration

SAP BW 7.0

  • CRM Business Content
  • Web Templates
Download PDF
Back to Case Studies