TMGT 7143 – ASSIGNMENT 3 – VER 3.0 JANUARY 18, 2013 – CLASSROOM DELIVERY TMGT 7143 Module 6 Assignment 3 TMGT 7143 Assignment 3 is due at the end of Module 6. Prior to completing Submission Assignment 3, it is suggested that you complete the Self-test questions and the practice activity entitled “Pure Pak Decision” in Module 6 of the manual. Assignment 3 is to complete the Decision-Making Analysis Template for the CRM System Selection example and submit it for marking. See below for the description of the example to be used in the assignment. Please use the Decision-Making Analysis Template Ver 3.0 in the Course Handouts module under Course Content. The 11 steps in the decision-making analysis process are listed for your convenience in the template. CRM SYSTEM SELECTION The IT team at Cora Technologies prides itself on the services it provides to employees, and aims to deliver the most capable and reliable software it can in all areas of the business – communication, productivity and sales support. It’s an open secret that the sales team struggles to deal with the vast amounts of data on the company’s customer, and has not been able to use the data to improve the relationship with the customer and extract more value from the relationship. The new CEO has set out a vision to transform the business by implementing a Customer Relationship Management CRM Solution. She has asked the IT team to select and implement a CRM system. The topic has come up before and a number of different options and products have been discussed. The CEO has established the following guidelines for consideration. Although this is a banner year for the company, the CEO is cost conscious and carefully monitoring future expenditures for every area of operations. In every instance, care should be taken to minimize cost wherever possible. The CRM must be able to support up to 200 users. Total costs for the CRM project (hardware, software licensing, implementation, training and maintenance fees where applicable) must not exceed $450,000 over 5 years of operation Ideally, the CRM solution should be scalable so that it can grow with the company. The company does not want to have to replace the system a few years down the road. The reputation of the vendor is important, as this is considered to be a good indication of the reliability of the system. Cora Technologies develops energysaving “green” products and so consideration will be given to vendors offering “green” solutions or having a positive environmental image. The CRM software should be easy to use to minimize training and encourage adoption by employees. Preference will be given to vendors with a local distribution or customer service team. The CRM system must be operational no later than June 30th next year, and a decision on the plan is not expected until the first week of the New Year. The only person who understands the present process for handling customer data for the sales team is leaving the company in July, which is why the new system must be in place by that time. There is no value to Cora of having the system implemented earlier than the end of June because various internal organizational changes need to be made over the first 6 months of next year. The company’s IT solutions expert has recommended the following four options for consideration. TMGT 7143 – ASSIGNMENT 3 – VER 3.0 JANUARY 18, 2013 – CLASSROOM DELIVERY ALPHA SOFTWARE Alpha is a BC company headquartered in Vancouver. It has proposed a CRM solution in which it will supply the software to Cora, and the hardware to run it on – all to be located at Cora’s facility in Burnaby. Each of 200 licenses is $500. The hardware is expected to cost $100,000. Alpha will provide $75,000 of services. The hardware platform will accommodate up to 300 licenses and is not readily upgraded beyond that. Annual software maintenance fees are 20% of the purchase price of the software licenses applicable for each of the 5 years of operation. Alpha has promised the system will be in place by June 30th. Alpha has an excellent reputation in the industry and has provided a number of glowing testimonials from clients. On the other hand, the company has only been in business 5 years and is one of the smaller players. In demos, the IT team found the user interface was not as intuitive as they expected. When asked about his company’s environmental record, the Alpha Sales Manager quipped that “at least our logo is green!” It has been rumored in local technology circles there is a chance Alpha may be acquired in the next year or so by one of the larger players in the CRM software market, which would make it uncertain whether the company would stay based in Vancouver and be able to support its current products. BASEJUMP CORP. Basejump is based in Seattle and has an innovative approach to the CRM solution. The company priced a 200-user concurrent license to meet Cora’s needs at $125,000 including annual maintenance. Basejump has priced the hardware at $125,000 and services (including a 3-day training program for users and administrators) at $50,000. The hardware has been sized to accommodate a 600-user concurrent license if needed in the future as the company grows. Basejump is a subsidiary of a major software company, and is well financed and carefully managed. It has a good reputation among customers, enhanced by the solid reputation of the parent company. It is headquartered in Seattle which is where the customer service team for North America is also located. After the 3-day training program, the IT team found the software easy to use. The founder and CEO of Basejump is known, at least in Washington State, for his outspoken support of environmental issues. He has also gained some notoriety for threatening to move operations (including customer service) out of North America to China or India in an effort to reduce costs. Basejump has indicated in discussions there is a possibility the planned rollout of the CRM solution at Cora in June might coincide with major changes to the software which could potentially affect access to resources and delay the introduction beyond June. CUSTOMER INFO SOLUTIONS Customer Info Solutions is based on San Diego. It provides a “software as a service” (SaaS) CRM solution for its clients, and has promised Cora that the rollout will be complete i.e. the solution will be in place for all 200 users by June 30th. CIS has no up-front charges (training etc. is provided free) and charges a flat fee of $40 per month per user for access to the system. TMGT 7143 – ASSIGNMENT 3 – VER 3.0 JANUARY 18, 2013 – CLASSROOM DELIVERY The system is scalable. CIS has a peerless reputation in the business, having led the development of a number of standards related to CRM, and receiving several awards for quality of service. The company’s facility is located in a Green Tech Industrial Park – where it is required to meet certain sustainability standards related to energy efficiency, use of water and other resources, and waste reduction. The user experience is designed to encourage employees to integrate CRM into the business. No specific training is necessary. CIS will customize the interface for the client. DREEMIN INNOVATION Dreemin Innovations is also a SaaS CRM solution provider. It promotes the product as an example of “green computing”, since it is a cloud-based product with access to renewable energy at its data center. This aspect of the company has been incorporated into Dreemin’s branding. Pricing is based on an initial charge for services of $20,000 (for training and configuration) plus $25 per month per user. The solution is completely scalable with effectively no limit on the number of users. While in principle the SaaS approach should increase availability, there have been reports of occasional unplanned outages that have led to questions about reliability of the system. This has led to a mixed reputation in the industry. In demos, the IT team found the user interface intuitive, and were able to navigate around the system after only a short video tutorial. Dreemin is located in Reading, England, and has a Pacific North West customer service representative based on Calgary. Since Dreemin already has the software up and running on its servers, implementing the CRM solution for Cora is fast. Cora could be online as early as March next year. There is some concern in the IT team about entrusting critical systems and data to a third-party. There is chance that data security could be breached. If customer data were compromised, damage might be done to the relationship Cora has with its customers.