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Sales
The substantial forecast increase in customer numbers suggested that the amount of time
required for selling would rise substantially. The most important component of this would
be a major growth in the amount of sales force travel time. The introduction of personal
computers with journey planning programmes could improve the efficiency in this area by
around 10 per cent. As customer numbers rise, so too will the required level of preparation
needed for sales calls.
The new information system that the company was developing would improve sales calls
efficiency, should the company be prepared to spend an additional 8,000 in creating the
appropriate database management system for the sales force. Such a system would also
have the effect of improving the amount of time that was spent in sales callage by defining
more accurately the objectives of each sales call.
Carron Associates suggested that the introduction of video display systems could
substantially improve the quality of the sales presentation at relatively low cost, around €
5,000 for the entire sales force. The reporting system proposed for the technical support
team could also be introduced for the sales force to speed orders and completion of
reports. Modifying the system designed for the technical support department for sales
representatives would only cost around € 1,500, whereas a totally new system would have
approximately the same cost as that proposed for the technical support department,
around € 10,000.
Providing the sales force with portable telephones would further potentially improve their
efficiency. However the fixed costs per line and the cost of calls would both be high, with
an average expected cost per sales representative of € 1,200 per annum. A lower cost
alternative of a telephone paging system would only cost around 40 per annum, per
employee. The proposed changes in the work load of the sales force and the effects of
new technology are listed in table 14 in Appendix A.
Marketing
The work load of the Marketing Department was also likely to increase as a result of the
proposed company specialisation in valves. There would be a considerable increase in the
amount of travel, research and the preparation of reports. Again, the introduction of new
technology could substantially improve efficiency. The amount of time spent on the
preparation of reports would also be substantially reduced by the use of terminals and
appropriate software. All major items of information that were going to a wide audience,
throughout the company and to outside contacts, could be produced on a desk top
publishing system. Customer relationship management software would also help to identify
trends within customers and manage customer development.
The cost of the relevant hardware and software to support the Marketing Department in
this area was estimated at € 20,000. The effectiveness of the Marketing Department could
also be improved by using journey planning systems, which were already under
consideration for the Sales and Technical Support departments, and by providing access
to the on line databases purchased for the Research Department. To enable the
department to use this support equipment effectively, there (would have to be an
investment in training and in common with the other departments, you consider that
involving the Marketing Department in company planning and discussion meetings will be
essential.
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