Head in the cloud

Rodmatic has implemented the first stage of a cloud computing system that will give real time access from a single source for sales and customer service, accounting, production data and scheduling, diary actions and automated historical information of events allowing the management and sales team access to data anywhere in the world.

The Salesforce CRM Sales Cloud system will also enable internal communications and in the next phase eliminate the outsourcing of IT services and reliance on internal servers.

“Sales in the company have risen over the last 18 months with our volume production business growing by 50% giving us shipping targets of 500,000 components a week,” explains Rodmatic's managing director Richard Newborough. “At the same time, our high technology machining operation has expanded by 50% and this has pressurised our internal systems leading to duplication of effort, poor utilisation of resources and risk of downgrading our capability as a subcontract component manufacturer.”

Up to 90% of Rodmatic's production at Reading is exported to the fluid power, automotive and marine sectors and enquiries coming through the website were being swamped by some 20,000 junk mail items received each month. In addition, so much information was being carried in people's heads, individual notebooks and a variety of different systems which slowed communication and information exchange and, being largely people based, was not always functional which could lead to delayed decisions and errors.

The installation of Salesforce CRM by AstarCloud of Paddington in West London at the Reading factory of Rodmatic involved a degree of customisation through its business trained specialists which enabled the system to be adapted to suit the manufacturing environment. Mr Newborough describes the solution as: “being very pure in its approach, highly flexible and most important, very simple to use to retrieve information.”

With the cloud-based system data is entered just once as a possible lead from conversations or exhibitions, website, phone or fax enquiries. Through WorkFlow, quotations are prepared, updates recorded, similar to work accessed and any information referenced to the customer retrieved. Integration with mobile devices also provides external access by the sales and management teams which can include drawings of components for quotation or problem solving.

An event manager records action and activity plans which is diary-based against target dates and manufacturing schedules are available through APP Exchange. Also through live reporting, events and performance can be monitored.

Security is high using cloud computing through a multi-level ‘permission to view' system and through Salesforce Chatter, internal messaging is used in preference to email and this is being rolled out through a secure direct line for communication with certain customers.
Through cloud computing, demands on infrastructure such as increased data capacity and system capability can be introduced without additional investment in a new business system infrastructure. For Rodmatic, the system will integrate with existing electronic devices and in the next phase eliminate problems, investment and environmental issues from in-house servers with reduced outsourcing of IT services and lower maintenance charges.

Rodmatic
www.rodmatic.com