[ad_1]
As existing industries migrate to cloud-based digital solutions to manage and grow their businesses, Salesforce hopes to be able to benefit from a reduction in their IT investments. The customer relationship management giant is focused on building specialized solutions for different business sectors and today unveils new business units dedicated to not just one, but two different business units. Between them, manufacturing and consumer goods.
Manufacturing Cloud and Consumer Goods Cloud, as the two new products are named, are the latest addition to the list of other vertically-specific products created by the company. Other sectors targeted to date include the finance, health, media, non-profit and retail sectors.
The idea behind Salesforce The strategy for building industry-specific solutions is as follows: while customer relationship management and manufacturing and consumer goods management processes share similarities with other industries, they also have specific requirements. relatively specific in terms of how sales are agreed and which customers are managed.
In the case of manufactured goods and consumer goods, both are capital-intensive enterprises where people working on physical products may be far removed from those working on sales (not only in terms of professional also in terms of software used to manage each transaction), or those in the field who help distribute these goods to the people who sell them.
"In the manufacturing sector, the changing demands of customers and the market can have a devastating effect on the bottom line. So it's critical to understand what's happening on the ground to succeed, "said Cindy Bolt, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Salesforce Manufacturing, to a statement. "Manufacturing Cloud brings teams closer to sales and operations while providing them with more predictive and transparent business so they can build deeper, more reliable relationships with their customers."
Salesforce does not create these services from scratch, in both manufacturing and consumer goods: the company has already touted solutions for both sectors as part of its efforts in specific industries. Past acquisitions of companies such as Steelbrick, a specialist in price quote solutions, a cornerstone of how manufactured sales are made, have probably also played a role in building new clouds.
Salesforce explains with Sales Cloud that it includes sales contract functionality that connects to the company's ERP and forecasting software to better forecast demand from individual customers as well as the broader market. The services also offer more analytics through Einstein Analytics and more features to work with channel partners. Third parties working with Salesforce on common solutions using Marketing Cloud include Acumen Solutions, Deloitte and Rootstock.
The Consumer Goods Cloud parallels the Manufacturing Cloud in that they target businesses that, by their nature and heritage, are deeply rooted in material assets and are therefore not easily "disrupted" by digital innovation. Indeed, despite all that we hear about the power of Amazon and e-commerce, 95% of products are still sold in physical stores. This system has many disadvantages, including the problems of precise control of consumer brands on the way products are distributed and sold.
"Retail execution remains one of the most important elements of a consumer brands strategy, but there is a lot to lose if the field representative does not have the data and technology necessary to make informed decisions, "said John Strain, GM and SVP, Retail and Consumer Goods at Salesforce, in a statement. "Consumer Goods Cloud provides these field representatives with the tools they need to succeed in the field, while helping to create business opportunities and strengthen relationships with their retail partners."
The company, citing research conducted by PwC, claims that of the $ 200 billion spent annually in the US by consumer goods companies in merchandising, marketing, and sales efforts for in-store sales, about $ 100 billion these expenses are never used in the same way. it was originally planned. (This is one of the reasons why many consumer goods companies have gotten into social media: it's a way to connect better and at least directly with customers.)
This is a huge area to address for a company like Salesforce, and the Consumer Goods Cloud is the beginning of that effort. The product covers software that addresses the following areas: optimize visits to stores, improve relationships with retailers, use Einstein's knowledge for analysis and ordering software. Accenture and PwC are among the partners.
Another important thing to note here is that the Salesforce movement in this area is a competitive strike: not only are there companies that have built products specifically for these markets – Sysco for Consumer Goods and Atlatl Software for Manufacturing, for example – but Salesforce has to deal with competitors such as Microsoft and SAP, who are also targeting the same potential customers.
Since the last quarter, Sales Cloud now accounts for over a quarter of Salesforce revenue, but today's news highlights how "sales" are becoming a more complex and nuanced topic for the company as its business continues to grow and as a cloud-based solution. Digital processes are becoming more and more ubiquitous in all sectors, beyond just knowledge workers. As salesforce develops more and more solutions to meet the needs of all businesses, it is likely that more and more vertical-specific tools will be moving towards the platform.
[ad_2]
Source link