Assignment Assessment Report

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Expected Assessment Grade Feedback

Outcomes Criteria based
on
D,M,P,R
system
General Parameters
Clarity Clear
understanding
of the concept
Analytical Ability to
Thinking- analyze the
problem
realistically
Research Done- Research
carried out to
solve the
problem
Formatting & Concise& clear
Presentation- thinking along
with
presentation
Subject Specific Parameters
 Achieved Yes/No
Grades Grade Descriptors
(Y / N)
A Pass grade is achieved by meeting all the
P
requirements defined.
Identify & apply strategies/techniques to find
M
appropriate solutions
Demonstrate convergent, lateral and creative
D
thinking.
Redo the Assignment to improve the quality of
R
Assignment work

Assignment Grading Summary (To be filled by the Assessor)

OVERALL ASSESSMENT
GRADE:
TUTOR’S COMMENTS ON
ASSIGNMENT:
SUGGESTED MAKE UP PLAN
(applicable in case the
student is asked
to re-do the assignment)
REVISED ASSESSMENT
GRADE
TUTOR’S COMMENT ON
REVISED
WORK (IF ANY)
Date: Assessor’s Name / Signatures:

STRATEGY OF CRM ADOPTED BY RAMCO

Ramco Systems has recently implemented an on-demand CRM system to better

manage customer relationships and sales opportunities

Ramco, a global provider of software and services has recently opted for an on-
demand CRM solution from Salesforce.com. Today, Ramco Systems has offices in
nine countries and over 300 customers in 1,000 locations worldwide across
multiple verticals. Many of Ramco's clientele include organizations from banking,
insurance, discrete and process manufacturing, aviation, distribution,
transportation and logistics, healthcare, e-governance, retail, and more.

Initially, the company's focus was to operate as a pure enterprise product vendor,
focusing on Microsoft client-server technologies. The company then shifted gears
and became a total solutions provider on different technology platforms and
architecture. Ramco also provides a pay-per-use business model for its clients and
provides its applications through partners.

At present, diverse technologies are being used in Ramco. These range from IBM
AS400 systems to current multi-core, multi-processor systems procured from
different hardware vendors. The company has systems running on different types
and flavors of operating systems including Windows, Unix and Linux.

Raghuram D, CTO, Ramco Systems says, "As the company strives to become a
more customer-driven organization with an enhanced focus on marketing and
sales, our ability to track and manage our business effectively is also becoming
increasingly important. Our business is growing and to successfully expand further
we required a system that supports our sales team and improves their ability to
track and close more deals."

Earlier, Ramco offices across geographies used different applications. There was
no uniformity in data collection and processes. The company needed a uniform
base of its prospects and customers. It wanted a solution to monitor its progress,
project its revenue, performance and showcase uniformity.

Ramco Systems deployed a global on-demand CRM from Salesforce.com in

January 2007 and completed the implementation in less than six weeks to
improve lead management, better manage customer relationships and for sales
effectiveness. The new implementation co-exits with other systems being used in
Ramco. The company chose Salesforce.com after evaluating CRM solutions from
several vendors.

"We had evaluated different vendors who provide both on-premise and on-
demand SFA (Sales Force Automation). Some of the technical criteria used for
evaluating the vendors included security, availability, co-existence capabilities
with our current technologies and extendibility," says Raghuram. The CRM
application was rolled out to Ramco for about 60 sales personnel in India, Europe,
the Middle East and USA.

When it comes to software as a service, licensing agreements should be carefully

examined. As Raghuram explains, "We looked at different licensing options and
got an optimal solution at a very good price." The company has opted for a user-
based license for an extended period, and thus has been able to negotiate good
rates.

As Ramco is an IT service provider itself, their business requirements were

somewhat different. Hence, the company proceeded to add some templates
specific to their sales force requirements and customized their solution
accordingly.

For instance, Ramco has added some steps in the workflow and fine-tuned a few
templates provided by Salesforce.com to meet their reporting requirements.
 "Since we have gone in for the software as a service model, Salesforce.com
provides us with certain capabilities to modify the software," explains Raghuram.

Chetan Pathak, VP Sales India Operation, Ramco Systems adds, "Along with this
Salesforce.com implementation, we have also implemented Six Sigma processes.
One of these new processes was for lead generation. We integrated this process
with the on-demand CRM application." Today, the company has end-to-end
visibility when it comes to aspects such as lead generation.

Despite the quick roll-out and smooth implementation, the company has had to
face certain change management issues in transitioning some of the sales
personnel from the earlier CRM application. "Our sales personnel used to update
Excel sheets when on the field. However, the on-demand CRM application needs
Internet connectivity to operate, so while on a flight, they couldn't connect to the
new application. Additionally, the sales staff was very possessive about their
traditional way of working and was resistant to change," says Raghuram.

To resolve this issue, the staff was educated about the importance of access to
centralized information and the about the benefits the business could achieve
through this project. Education, alleviation of their fears and hand-holding during
the initial phase helped in overcoming this issue.

"Salesforce.com today has helped us streamline and automate our sales process
in a cost-effective manner and gives us visibility into our marketing campaign
effectiveness as well," opines Raghuram. The implementation has improved the
visibility of the entire process. Different reports have enabled a more meaningful
analysis to enable the sales team performs better.

"It also helps better manage Ramco's sales process and pipeline, improve lead
conversion rates and boost the productivity of our sales staff," adds Raghuram.

As the sales team at Ramco has become more accustomed to the system, they
are beginning to appreciate the time it saves them. The new system allows them
to concentrate on continuously growing the business.

With the success of this project behind them, Ramco plans to include their sales
partners in this on-demand system as well. This will help in bringing about
transparency with partners and grow the business. As Pathak says, "We also plan
to go in for more meaningful alerts and reports and move on to management by
exception, so that we don't spend unnecessary time on routine things."

QUESTIONS:

1. What are the customers process involved in Ramco’s problems?

2. How were sales programs implemented? Bring out the methods used. Could they
have been better?
3. What are the benefits derived by the company from these programs?