Sage Customer Portal Key Fit Indicators

Overview

This article defines the key indicators that a Sage rep should be looking for when working with a potential prospect for the Sage Customer Portal. While this is not all inclusive, it gives some additional context on additional indicators of fit outside of the assumed:

• Using Sage 100 ERP System
• Based in North America
• Interested in providing online tools for customers and employees to self-service on purchasing, order/invoice tracking, and online invoice payments.

Audience for This Article

This article is intended for internal Sage employees only; specifically those working with prospects or channel partners who are considering the CIMcloud solution. Below are some common indicators of fit, and how CIMcloud solves the problem:

Functional Fit Indicators

1. A/R Tracking and Payment Portal

The Sage Customer Portal is a subset of the overall CIMcloud offering, which uses base functionality to allows customers to move Accounts Receivable functionality online.

• High volume of manual effort distributing invoices to clients – i.e. print > envelope > mail
  • CIMcloud syncs a clients invoice history straight from Sage, so you can move the distribution of invoices into a digital format
  • While some clients view this as too futuristic for their business (“our customers are old school”) electronic distribution and access to invoices is something that will have increasing demand as younger generations continue entering the workforce
• Payment via check in mail or “call in with credit card”
  • Yes, many small businesses are still receiving payment for goods and services via check in mail
  • With CIMcloud users can pay invoices online via ACH or credit card, with a cash receipt posted back into the ERP
• High volume of call-ins requesting order status and/or line items
  • With CIMcloud’s A/R Tracking portal sales orders will be synced from the ERP showing customers: order status, line items, invoices, and shipments
  • This can remove inbound call/emails that eat time and don’t require anything besides “read only data” that lives in the ERP

2. B2B Customer Portal

This is the next step up in the CIMcloud product offering that allows users to do all of the above + view product catalogs and place orders. With the full B2B Portal customers will also have access to add-on bundles, which allow the CIMcloud customer to “customize” the platform to fit their needs using standard platform functionality.

• Manual re-keying of orders
  • Whether orders are being placed by phone, fax, email, or in person meetings, if they are not directly input into the ERP (or via an integrated solution) then orders must be re-keyed by personnel into the ERP system
    • This opens the door for:
      • Redundant effort
      • Order inaccuracy (“fat fingering”)
      • Time delays in getting orders to fulfillment
  • CIMcloud’s ERP integration allows sales orders to automatically post in the ERP (in real-time) without additional effort from employees
• Inbound calls/emails on basic questions
  • Many businesses are constantly flooded with questions like:
    • What’s my price on this?
    • Do you have this item in stock?
    • What’s the status on my order?
    • Have I been invoiced for this yet?
    • Can you send me a shipment tracking number?
  • CIMcloud’s B2B Customer Portal allows all these questions to be answered without having to call or email a customers staff
• Product visibility and data management
  • Almost all businesses do a decent (if not good) job of managing product data in their ERP system. Where many fall short is keeping up to date and all inclusive information in front of customers
  • CIMcloud provides real-time access to product information and a catalog that will increase customer awareness of products you sell that they may not even know you have

3. Sales Rep / CRM Tools

Included with the CIMcloud Platform is base CRM tools, with add-on functionality available. Below are some common fit indicators on CRM use cases.

• My reps in the field have to call into Customer Service or VPN into Sage to service customers
  • CIMcloud’s CRM provides full access to existing customer data from the ERP system, with an ability to place orders or apply payments on behalf of the customer. All from any device (phone, tablet, laptop) and any time of day.
  • This gives reps better tools to answer questions and take action on behalf of existing customers
• We have a ton of / too many ERP licenses
  • Not all employees who need access to ERP data should have complete access to the ERP system
  • With CIMcloud, you can give remote access to specific data functions needed by CSR’s and field reps without having to add / pay for additional ERP licenses
• We have outdated quoting processes
  • With CIMcloud’s CRM Standard bundle (add-on) reps can use the online quote tool to collaborate with clients on a quote and apply price overrides until the order is eventually placed
  • By using email notifications, this fully automates the quote to cash process for businesses

4. Public Facing Website / Catalog / Cart

CIMcloud offers a variety of different “public facing” website applications. This includes:

• Information only site:
  • Tells who the business is, where they are, and what they do. This validates the business (who may have a severely outdated or non-existent informational website) without providing “eCommerce” to anonymous users
    • This is only applicable in a B2B-only business
• Public Catalog, no public cart
  • This allows businesses to use their product catalog as a demand generation tool for new wholesale business, without opening up ordering or price information to anonymous users
  • Example: https://www.lancelotjanitorial.com/
• Full Retail
  • This allows businesses to open up a full B2C sales channel. The benefit of CIMcloud (vs. the many other b2c vendor options) is the integration with a customers ERP. This allows:
    • Easier data management
    • No re-keying of orders
    • Real-time visibility into order history
  • Example: https://www.curtisequipment.com/