MATAUTO

INGPROCESSESPractical aDVicE from peers and industry experts on solving critical issues.

Eliminating redundant tasks

throughautomation

7 ADVICEOf PEERPIECES

NOTES FROMTHE FIELD

VOlUME 4

Many companies are utilizing disparate

solutions that often add to employee

workload instead of decreasing it. Employees

should be focusing on their jobs, and

streamlining business processes to increase

efficiency, not slow them down.

AUTOMATING PROCESSES

Microsoft Dynamics CRM can help reduce

costs and increase profitability by organizing

and automating business processes. With this

flexible solution from Microsoft, employees

are able to nurture customer satisfaction and

loyalty in the sales, marketing and customer

service fields.

WhAT IS “NOTES fROM ThE fIElD”?

To help organizations with some key issues,

Columbus has asked our customers and industry

experts, “What advice would you give your

peers to eliminate redundant tasks through

automation using Microsoft Dynamics crM?”

Our customers, employees, analysts, consultants

and partners from all over the globe have

provided feedback directly to Columbus or via our

social media channels to give their “Notes from

the Field.” We received hundreds of responses

which were distilled into this document that we

hope you will find useful and interesting.

NOTES FROMTHE FIELD

What advice would you give your peers to eliminate redundant tasks through automation?Q:

“ One of the most important activities that happens after generating a lead is the hand-off process to sales. Automating this process using a “lead release” workflow helps to provide a consistent hand-off and greatly improves tracking metrics. The workflow should capture the date the lead is released, the person releasing it and next steps in custom fields as well as generating a formatted e-mail that includes pre-qualification data and a link to open the lead form. A custom “release note” text field can be included in the form that serves as the intro line in the e-mail to the sales person. This is an easy step that equally benefits both the sales and marketing team by saving time and improving win conversions.“

CUSTOMER SERVICE MANAGER, United States

“ The automation features in Microsoft Dynamics CRM are second to none. Any repetitive task can be automated to streamline your workflow. “

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS, United States

identify what tasks are

redundant and then

understand why there are

multiple people doing them. ANONYMOUS, United States

“ Some quick script on a Microsoft Dynamics CRM form, or a new button in the ribbon, can significantly reduce clicks by populating, as well as showing and hiding, any fields on the form.”

VP OF SERVICES, Denmark

Using an integrated marketing

automation solution has

significantly decreased the

amount of redundant tasks our

marketing team performs. Leads,

clicks, page views and more are all

generated automatically.

MARkETING DIRECTOR, Norway Spend some time on configuration

if you have redundant and manual

tasks. We have saved so much

time and energy by programming

workflows into our Microsoft

Dynamics CRM system.

IT MANAGER, United Kingdom

“ Understanding the full flow of processes will help you to be able to build a better process that will work for everyone in the future.”

VP OF SERVICES, Denmark

Columbus is widely recognized as a global leader in maximizing efficiency and business performance. With deep industry expertise we know how to make our clients more successful by adapting and implementing proven Microsoft-based solution sets for immediate business impact.

By upgrading to a Columbus end-to-end business application you will gain real time access to accurate business details and full control over every aspect of your operation, so you can adjust to changing business environments.

Our proven SureStep+ process and unique solution sets ensure a faster and less expensive implementation of truly flexible and future-safe ERP, CRM, BI and related business applications that deliver competitive advantage. By clearly scoping projects and phases Columbus enables clients to grow continually adapting their solutions to realize value and justify the technology investment.

TEChNOlOGY SOlUTIONSMicrosoft Dynamics CRM

Microsoft Dynamics AX

Microsoft Dynamics GP

Microsoft Dynamics NAV

Business Intelligence

SharePoint and Development Services

Columbus Advanced Discrete Manufacturing Solutions

Columbus Business Integration Solutions

Columbus rapidValue

Columbus Supply Chain Solutions

Columbus food and Beverage Solutions

Columbus Add-On Modules for Microsoft Dynamics AX

HOW CAN COLUMBUS HELP?

We can help you streamline processes to optimize your business performance in a

professional and pragmatic way. By upgrading to a Columbus end-to-end business

application you will gain real time access to accurate business details and full

control over every aspect of your operation, so you can adjust to changing

business environments.

POwER YOUR BUSINESS PRODUCTIVITYMicrosoft Dynamics CRM is a modern business application engineered with the latest technologies to transform the way you find, win, and retain customers.

With embedded social, mobile experiences, proactive process guidance, and breakthrough insights, Microsoft Dynamics CRM can help improve productivity for everyone in your organization.

As an enterprise-ready solution with low total cost of ownership, Microsoft Dynamics CRM delivers a whole new level of business value.

CAPABIlITIES

MICROSOFT DyNAMICS CRM

SALES

MARKETING EXTENDED CRM

• Spend more time selling and less time on administrative tasks by using intelligent sales capabilities.

• Take full advantage of lead-to-cash visibility, guided sales processes and actionable analytics to optimize sales efforts.

CUSTOMER SERVICE

• Arm service staff with a service and support solution that combines productivity with ease of use.

• Take advantage of case management, workflows, dashboards, and knowledge management.

• Deliver consistent, fast and efficient service.

• Better understand customers with a 360-degree view into customer preferences, history and demographics.

• Manage and streamline marketing operations.

• Create automated and measurable multi-channel marketing campaigns.

• Maximize the value of your business relationships.

• Quickly and easily extend your CRM solution and build custom applications to track any business relationship.

• Customizations without compromising features, capabilities, budget or delivery time.

Familiar, intelligent and

connected solutions tailored for

your business needs.

A big tHaNK YOU to everyone who has contributed to the Notes from the Field including:

Brian Dewulf. richard riddle, lori McKienzie, lauren radlick, leah liinangi, chris Green, Devan andrzejewski, Jennifer Mislinski, Bill anderson, Ellen Hoefste, Vince lopiccola, thomas Hauge.

WANT TO KNOW MORE?For more information on Columbus, including case studies, videos and white-papers, visitwww.columbusglobal.com/us

The Columbus CRM Notes From The Field Series:

Volume 1Increasing Sales

Volume 2Marketing Visibility

Volume 3Customer Inquiries

Volume 4Automating Processes

For more information on Columbus, our clients’ experiences and our solutions, please visit www.columbusglobal.com

’Columbus’ is a part of the registered trademark ‘Columbus IT’

ABOUT COlUMBUS:

Columbus is the preferred business partner for ambitious companies worldwide.

We exceed 20 years of experience and 6,000 successful business implementations,

and we’re proud to offer our customers solid industry know-how, high performance

solutions and global reach.