Microsoft Dynamics Food and Beverage Distribution Telesales Guide This telesales guide provides an overview of the information you will need to drive demand for Microsoft Dynamics ERP or CRM solutions with customers in the Food and Beverage Distribution vertical. BACKGROUND INFORMATION Vertical Overview The food and beverage distribution vertical is a large worldwide market that includes the distribution of non-durable goods. The industry is struggling with low profit margins, increased regulatory pressures, and strengthening customer power. Intense price pressure at the store and retail level puts downward pressure on distributors and leads to smaller margins. There is also a growing challenge to traditional distribution methods: alternatives such as mail order, catalog sales, and direct sales threaten to bypass traditional distribution channels altogether. Target Audience Potential prospects are companies that: Deal with low receivables and payables due to rapid inventory turnover Struggle to improve common industry objectives such as inventory turns, order fulfillment rates, cycle times, and charge backs Have wholesale-distribution operations that are becoming more complex with ever-changing customer requirements Desire tighter synchronization of business processes throughout the supply chain and across the entire organization Require tracking technologies such as radio-frequency identification (RFID) and electronic product codes (EPCs) Prospects and customers may or may not know the value that an ERP or CRM solution can provide their organization. Their mind set could be any of the following: Are unaware of ERP or CRM software Don t recognize ERP or CRM software as the way to meet their needs Perceive ERP or CRM solutions as only for the big companies and too complex or expensive Conclude that upgrading their current accounting, bookkeeping, or customer-relationship software will suffice Are actively searching for their first ERP or CRM solution Target Contact Inside the prospect s business, talk directly to the technology-influencing business decision maker (TI-BDM). While this could be virtually any senior individual in the company, the following are the most likely roles to be interested in ERP or CRM solutions: For ERP solutions: COO / VP of Operations Warehouse Manager For CRM solutions: VP of Sales / VP of Marketing Telesales Guide page 1
Microsoft Dynamics Food and Beverage Distribution Telesales Guide ROLE-SPECIFIC CHALLENGES AND QUESTIONS TO ASK Role Most Relevant Solution(s) Challenges Probing Questions COO / VP of Operations ERP Dealing with Food and Drug Administration (FDA) food-safety regulations Shorter product life cycles cause strain on distributors capabilities Customers are demanding services that distributors do not have the infrastructure or processes to support Unexpected fluctuations in demand force higher safety-stock levels How do you comply with food-safety regulations such as requirements to track products from the manufacturer to the shelf? What is the speed and accuracy of your delivery process? How does your current system enable you to track the progress of your delivery trucks in real time? How do you justify your technology investments versus adding on more inventory or sales people? Warehouse Manager ERP Expiration and best-before dates must be closely managed to keep dead inventory off shelves Increasingly short lead times force exacting management of customer orders It is difficult to rationalize warehouse technology investments with razor-thin margins How do you efficiently manage your shipping and warehouse? How do you manage shorter product life cycles? Are you able to keep up with unexpected fluctuations in demand? How? What have you done to improve your inventory management? With regards to the different shelf lives of your food inventory, how have you been able to control your inventory costs and risk? How do you deliver real-time visibility on product orders and supplier availability? Telesales Guide page 2
Microsoft Dynamics Food and Beverage Distribution Telesales Guide ROLE-SPECIFIC CHALLENGES AND QUESTIONS TO ASK Role Most Relevant Solution(s) Challenges Probing Questions VP of Sales / VP of Marketing CRM Customers are demanding services different reports, different RFID forcing a great deal of flexibility on the distributor Every customer wants a different custom service Wholesalers often offer very different values, products, and services forcing a solution-sales approach New products and services being offered continually makes it difficult to keep sales people up to speed It is difficult to manage complex and unique promotions from hundreds of suppliers and countless retailers Operations needs more accurate sales data to create more reliable forecasts Have you been able to create any new value-creating services for your customers? Which ones? Have you implemented RFID? Has it worked well? Are your customers are demanding new services? Which ones? What type of efficiencies are your retail partners seeking? How have you attempted to develop deeper relationships with your manufacturing and retail partners? Can your sales people integrate their customerrelationship-management tools with quotations, billings, and suppliers costs? How? Would you consider your sales forecasts accurate? Why? How do you judge whether a marketing campaign is successful? What initiatives have you put in place to improve customer service? Telesales Guide page 3
Microsoft Dynamics Food and Beverage Distribution Telesales Guide ERP MICROSOFT DYNAMICS VALUE PROPOSITION Key Message If you only have 60 seconds to deliver your sales pitch, this is it: The Microsoft Dynamics business-management solution is designed for organizations like yours in the food and beverage vertical to enable you to: Reduce inefficient processes Simplifying shelf-life management and customer-specific requests with accounting, warehousing, and procurement applications. Build connections to suppliers and vendors Enable collaborative product availability, engineering specifications, and pricing information from supplier to customer. Improve order fulfillment and accuracy Optimize product placement to increase work-force efficiency, boost fulfillment rates, reduce cycle time, and eliminate user-error and charge backs. Sense of Urgency Many prospects may prefer to stay the course with their current systems rather than endure the changes involved in a software upgrade. The sense of urgency is around this point: Your current accounting software may be limiting your company s ability to meet its business goals. Upgrade now to achieve your business potential. EVIDENCE Summary Food distributor retains competitive edge with streamlined operations. http://www.microsoft.com/casestudies/casestudy.aspx?casestudyid=200364 TARGET NEEDS, PAIN POINTS, and MICROSOFT DYNAMICS BENEFITS Good candidates for an upgrade to a Microsoft Dynamics ERP solution may bring up any of the following needs or pain points. Microsoft Dynamics addresses those issues with these related benefits. Needs Managing suppliers It is often difficult to manage pricing, discounts, and policies. Lack of information Food and beverage distributors generally lack consumer information because most retailers and manufacturers don t share consumer information with them. Keeping up with suppliers moving offshore More suppliers are moving to China and Eastern Europe, causing strain on supply chains Pain Points in the Vertical It s difficult to track inventory to ensure tracking and trace regulations are met. Internal inefficiencies erode profits, diminish customer service, and slow growth sometimes due to the lack of integrated systems. Packaged goods and prepared foods create challenges in inventory management, business systems, and personnel training. Benefits of Microsoft Dynamics ERP Solutions Streamlined and efficient production and delivery Streamline business systems to speed order picking by 2X to 6X with powerful, integrated solutions. Better visibility Deliver real-time reports and alerts to management and customers on the status of the business. Increased agility Allow distributors to significantly increase volume without increasing the size of the building or staff. Telesales Guide page 4
Microsoft Dynamics Food and Beverage Distribution Telesales Guide CRM MICROSOFT DYNAMICS VALUE PROPOSITION Key Message If you only have 60 seconds to deliver your sales pitch, this is it: The Microsoft Dynamics business-management solution is designed for organizations like yours in the food and beverage vertical to enable you to: Implement flexible processes Efficiently deliver on customer demands such as specific packaging, marking, and shipping requirements. Develop profitable customer relationships React more quickly to constantly-changing customer demands. Provide more value to customers Respond faster to service issues by delivering the right answers to customers in real time. Sense of Urgency Many prospects may prefer to stay the course with their current systems rather than endure the changes involved in a software upgrade. The sense of urgency is around this point: Your current customer-relationship-management software may be limiting your company s ability to meet your customers expectations and your business goals. Upgrade now to achieve your business potential. TARGET NEEDS, PAIN POINTS, and MICROSOFT DYNAMICS BENEFITS Good candidates for an upgrade to a Microsoft Dynamics CRM solution may bring up any of the following needs or pain points. Microsoft Dynamics addresses those issues with these related benefits. Needs Demanding customers Customer-specific requirements are difficult to manage and implement efficiently. Market consolidation There are fewer retailers to sell to, resulting in higher risk with the potential loss of any one customer. Customer visibility Customers need the ability to place and monitor orders on the web. Pain Points in the Vertical Every customer wants a different custom service. It is difficult to capture and integrate catch weights. Benefits of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Solutions Increased coordination and performance Respond more quickly to market changes. Coordinate sales efforts by using consistent customer information. Improved company performance Provide up-to-date information to reconfigure your inventory levels, adjust your space allocation, and change your output schedules. Strengthened customer relationships Facilitate communication between your sales teams and your customers. Capture and store customer information from the field. Telesales Guide page 5
Microsoft Dynamics Food and Beverage Distribution Telesales Script OPEN THE CALL Hello, this is [Name] from Microsoft/[Partner Name]. I m calling today to talk to you about the flexible, easy-to-use business-management solutions we offer. These affordable solutions are designed to help companies in the food and beverage vertical like yours drive performance and help increase profitability. What is your role in your organization? Are you responsible for decisions related to Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) (or Customer Relationship Management [CRM]) solutions? If NO, identify the right contact Who is responsible for decisions related to ERP (or CRM) in your company? If yes, ask PROBING QUESTIONS to determine interest I am calling to discuss ways that we might be able to help you with solutions related to ERP (or CRM). PROBING QUESTIONS Identify your contact s current Pains, Plans, Processes, People, and Price (that is, budget and resource) situations. Pains: Based on the role of your contact, ask some of the role-specific questions provided on pages 2-3 of this telesales guide. Plan What are some of your current business priorities? Do you have any projects or initiatives underway to address this priority? What is your time frame for completing [project related to priority]? What are some of the ways you plan to measure success related to the priority? Process What solutions are you actively evaluating to help you meet your objectives relative to this priority? What (additional) solutions to address this priority are you aware of and planning to evaluate? Who else at your company is involved in the evaluation or decision around this priority? Are you currently looking at any ERP (CRM) solutions to address this priority? Which ones? Are you familiar with Microsoft Dynamics solutions? People Do you have employees with the needed capabilities to help you accomplish your objectives related to this priority? Are you working with any technology partners to help you implement any solutions to address this priority in this area? Which ones? Price Have you already allocated budget for this solution? Check Point: Is this prospect interested in evaluating ERP or CRM solutions from Microsoft? Is he or she a good candidate for a new solution? If so, move on to the PROVE VALUE section. Telesales Guide page 6
Microsoft Dynamics Food and Beverage Distribution Telesales Script PROVE VALUE - ERP General Microsoft Dynamics ERP Benefits for the Vertical Customers are Demanding Flexibility Pain: We understand that your customers are demanding new services reports, RFID implementations, shipping schedules, packaging, etc. forcing a great deal of flexibility on food and beverage distribution firms. Benefit: Microsoft offers business-management solutions that make it easier for food and beverage distribution organizations to meet customer demands by: 1. Accurately tracking shipping and delivery of parts by integrating data-collection functionality with ERP 2. Supporting the use of RFID and bar codes to help lower costs while improving customer service 3. Implementing custom processes to support individual retailers needs Supply-chain Inefficiencies Pain: We realize that food and beverage distributors supply chains are under strain due to complex outsourcing, compliance, and legacy technology issues. Benefit: Microsoft offers business-management solutions that make it easier for food and beverage distribution companies to deal with both upstream and downstream supply-chain issues by: 1. Tightening delivery times and schedules by processing orders with shorter lead times 2. Automating logistics planning to minimize fuel consumption and infrastructure costs 3. Streamlining data flows across the organization, allowing every department within the company to work with the same data for real-time decision making Evidence JJ Food Services JJ Food Services is one of the leading independent food-distribution companies in the United Kingdom. Summary Food distributor retains competitive edge with streamlined operations. Business Situation For most wholesale and distribution companies, profitability depends on highly efficient business processes, from taking customer orders to delivering products on time. JJ Food Services is constantly striving to fulfill the demands of its customers efficiently, but with disparate systems in place, it could no longer achieve this. Solution JJ Food Services implemented a Microsoft Dynamics business-management solution. Benefits Greater visibility of information improves decision making Immediately improved ability to provide customer service Time savings and productivity gains Unlimited potential to customize business-management solution Link http://www.microsoft.com/casestudies/casestudy.aspx?casestudyid=200364 Telesales Guide page 7
Microsoft Dynamics Food and Beverage Distribution Telesales Script PROVE VALUE - CRM General Microsoft Dynamics CRM Benefits for the Vertical Real-time data Pain: We know that sales teams within food and beverage distribution companies often do not have access to real-time information on customers or suppliers. Benefit: Microsoft offers business-management solutions that make it easier for food and beverage distribution companies to gather and access real-time data by: 1. Allowing sales people to integrate their customer-relationship-management tools with quotations, billings, and suppliers costs 2. Having seamless 24/7 communication between customers and themselves, enabling faster, more responsive service 3. Speeding critical answers to customers with low-cost, easy-to-implement webbased systems Maintaining Customer Relationships and Generating New Business Pain: We understand that food and beverage distribution companies often struggle to find additional revenue streams, both from new and existing customers. Benefit: Microsoft offers business-management solutions that make it easier for food and beverage distribution companies to increase revenue by: 1. Using retailer mandates and food-safety regulations to create incomegenerating services 2. Identifying opportunities for new products and services by leveraging and extending technologies like RFID and inventory management 3. Improving productivity and return on assets (ROA) with full operational visibility across warehouses and throughout the organization Telesales Guide page 8
Microsoft Dynamics Food and Beverage Distribution Telesales Script QUALIFY: Based on what we ve spoken about today, I would recommend that you look at [solution]. Can I send you more information related to [solution]? May we schedule a meeting to determine the best solution to your current needs? Microsoft has a current offer on [product]. This special offer ends [date]. Would you like to know more? CLOSE THE CALL: I will send you a [solution] information packet immediately. I will schedule... Before we close, can I confirm your contact information? Correct spelling on name Title Mailing address, city, state, and ZIP E-mail address Direct phone number and fax Thanks very much for your time. Please feel free to call me at any time. You can reach me at [phone number and e-mail address]. Telesales Guide page 9
Microsoft Dynamics Food and Beverage Distribution Telesales Script VOICE MESSAGE SCRIPT If you know the name of the COO, VP of Operations, Warehouse Manager, VP of Sales, or VP of Marketing, ask for that person directly. You may reach his or her voice mail box first. Hello, this is [Name] from Microsoft/[Partner Name] I m calling today to talk to you about some of the affordable Microsoft Dynamics business-management solutions we offer designed specifically to help businesses in the food and beverage distribution vertical. Please call me at [XXX-XXXX] and we can discuss how Microsoft Dynamics can help you achieve more of your business goals. Thank you for your time, and I look forward to speaking with you. RECEPTIONIST SCRIPT If you don t have a specific person s name to ask for, a receptionist can connect you. Hello, this is [Name] from Microsoft/[Partner Name] For ERP Solutions I hope you can help me. I m trying to reach the person who manages your warehouse or operations department. Who would be the best person to speak with? For CRM Solutions I hope you can help me. I m trying to reach the person who manages your customer relations. Who would be the best person to speak with? Can you connect me please? If challenged, say: I d like to speak to the person responsible for purchasing business software solutions in your company. Telesales Guide page 10