IntelliGlobe and IBM solution helps a small Danish company that produces and sells cleaning products to increase its business

IBM Business Partner: IntelliGlobe

IntelliGlobe software, which is Lotus Notes-based, delivers customer relationship management automation that allows an organization to efficiently interact with customers, prospects, partners and internal associates. IntellliGlobe is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark.

When a company goes through a major information technology upgrade, it’s not unheard of for a few brief glitches to crop up before everything settles down.

But for Simi A/S, a Danish company that produces and sells cleaning products, an upgrade gone wrong was “a yearlong nightmare,” said Gregers Bisgaard, sales manager at Simi.

“For example,” he recounted, “our sales representatives would enter data in the morning, and it would disappear by noon. We were losing data because of the method of synchronization in the system. It was totally wrong and we had to make a change,” Bisgaard said.

Simi A/S dropped Microsoft® and saved money by turning to IBM and IntelilGlobe, an IBM Business Partner, whose software is based on IBM Lotus® Notes® and Lotus Domino®. The solution for Simi A/S included the IntelliGlobe Customer Relationship Management Solution (CRM), IBM Lotus Notes, Lotus Domino and IBM iSeries® and xSeries® servers.

Simi needed a sure upgrade in short timeframe

Beyond needing to correct what was wrong with the previous system, Simi wanted its managers to have the latest information on sales but not to spread that information too widely for fear it might get into the hands of a competitor. And, given the ongoing problems with the prior installation, Simi needed a quick solution to get out from under an intolerable situation.

Bisgaard said he had known of the reputation of Lotus Notes, and a friend recommended he contact IntelliGlobe. The friend was right.

“A month after we signed the deal with IntelliGlobe, we were up and running with only a few requirements not implemented, and they were implemented shortly,” Bisgaard said.

The benefits for Simi A/S and its employees have been exceptional.

Sales people, often working remotely, can respond quickly to customer requests. They can enter new orders and check the status of orders immediately. Simi A/S managers have real-time information about financial information, particularly sales and delivery. And, there is no need for a full-time IT person.

IntelliGlobe replaced the malfunctioning system and added new features. These included the CRM that was easily integrated with the existing finance system running on an IBM iSeries. With IBM Lotus Notes and Lotus Domino, plus the IntelliGlobe CRM Solution, Simi A/S manages all customer data in its finance system running on an iSeries server,” Bisgaard said. All the CRM data and back-office information are managed from smaller xSeries servers, he said.

“Because of the IBM and IntelliGlobe solution, when one of our sales people sits down with a customer, he has all of that customer’s information on his laptop. As he works with the customer, he can enter new orders and check on the status of previous orders. What all this means is our company can respond faster to customer requests,” Bisgaard explained.

“The laptop also gives the sales representative immediate access to other business information such as sales statistics, meetings, correspondence and documents -– regardless of where he’s located. Each morning he just has to replicate his Lotus Notes system with our in-house servers,” he said.

“At the same time, in headquarters, we can see all the data and know what our sales people are doing,” Bisgaard continued.

Customer service improves

Bisgaard cited another advantage. “Customers get very professional service because they can contact the Simi order desk and find out exactly what they’ve discussed and agreed to with the sales representatives,” he said.

Simi A/S has 15 employees. The company is headquartered in Farum, Denmark, and serves about 6,000 customers and prospects with a database covering millions of transactions. “Frankly, we couldn’t have grown as rapidly as we have without the IBM and IntelliGlobe solution,” Bisgaard said. “By choosing IBM, we don’t need a full-time IT person running around to make sure our servers are up and working properly.”

Partnership with IBM ‘most beneficial’

Alon Ekelund, a partner in IntelliGlobe, said Simi A/S managers tell him the company has experienced improvements in “buying behavior, sales opportunities, contacts, customer interests and customer satisfaction.” He attributes that to the solution being “user friendly and easy to navigate, so there’s no need for extensive training.”

Another advantage is cost savings. “They saved money by completely eliminating the expense of their previous software supplier. They dropped Microsoft for Lotus,” Ekelund said.

IntelliGlobe participates in IBM PartnerWorld® Industry Networks, which offers a rich set of benefits to all IBM PartnerWorld members who want to team with IBM to build their vertical market capabilities, expand their partner network and attract customers in the markets they serve. IntelliGlobe is “optimized” in the manufacturing industry, which means it has developed further specialization by optimizing its applications with IBM technologies, achieving success with its own solutions and other criteria.

“The association with IBM has been most beneficial to us,” Ekelund said, “especially the joint marketing campaigns we run. It’s hard to find a better partner.” IBM has provided IntelliGlobe with solid sales leads, Ekelund said.

“We’re pleased with the number of solid leads we’ve received from IBM. For example, IBM gave us the lead on our sale to a company that makes products such as membrane switches, silicon keyboards and front panels and sells them throughout Western Europe, North America and Scandinavia.”