Streamline Contact Center Operations and Support New Customer Growth with Microsoft Dynamics CRM

Introduction

Founded in 1981, Triplefin is a privately owned order-to-cash solutions provider located in Cincinnati, Ohio. The company, whose tagline is “the support behind the brand,” provides outsourced infrastructure to consumer and health care industries. Their mission is to offer superior levels of customer care, order management and fulfillment services, sales and marketing support, and billing and financial management services. In 2009, Inc. magazine ranked Triplefin as #154 out of the 500 fastest growing companies in the U.S.

The Challenge

By 2010, Triplefin’s growth had exploded off the charts, having expanded revenues from $3 million in 2003 to more than $120 million, mostly from acquisitions. Because of this, the company was running their Contact Center with multiple systems and databases—a challenging situation, especially when managing their contact center operation.

Triplefin had simply outgrown this process, in which they had to handle, track and manage thousands of inbound calls for their clients. In fact, the company was running 10 different CRM systems, each requiring separate training and maintenance. Making matters worse, Triplefin’s IT department often had to troubleshoot CRM issues, which was a costly and timely diversion from their core mission as an IT resource for clients.

“What we needed was a single CRM system that could keep client accounts separate and secure,” explains Linda Buken, Triplefin’s call center director. “Importantly, we also needed a system where our non-IT staff could add new clients easily and maintain those accounts, without leaning on our IT department for help.”

“Affiliated had been extremely responsive to all our needs. They demonstrated a grasp of our business immediately, implemented a complex solution under a tight deadline and met our goal to reduce IT reliance in CRM by 95%. From day one, their team proved to be top of the line.”

Pamela Scherer, Account Manager
Triplefin

A ‘Fast Track’ Implementation

With a large client about to come onboard, administrators felt it was a perfect time to make a full-scale transition to a new and modern CRM system. The company was intrigued by the potential benefits of the Microsoft® Dynamics® CRM solution, but they needed an experienced Microsoft Dynamics CRM partner who understood their business needs and had the expertise to implement the solution successfully as well as train their staff.

Triplefin hired Affiliated, a leading Ohio technology and professional services company and Microsoft Partner with a Gold competency designation for CRM in the Microsoft Partner Network. They seemed a perfect fit. “Unlike other companies, Affiliated understood our third-party business, which is very complex,” explains Pamela Scherer, a Triplefin account manager. “They quickly evaluated what we needed, delivered a custom CRM implementation, and even got our new client up and running—all in a couple of months. It was an amazing turn-around.”

Initially, the Microsoft Dynamics CRM solution was set up for the staff within the Contact Center, managing 10 separate clients’ accounts. However, the number of actual users is expected to double in the next six months. “Affiliated helped us change the way we do business. The results have been so advantageous, we’re expanding Microsoft Dynamics CRM to our own help desk system and sales/marketing department,” says Triplefin CEO, Greg LaLonde.

“Affiliated helped us change the way our contact center does business, all in a matter of months. The results have been so advantageous, we’re expanding the Microsoft Dynamics CRM solution to our own help desk system and sales/marketing department.”

Greg LaLonde, CEO,
Triplefin

Scalable, Robust CRM Benefits Growth

Training new contact center service representatives, for instance, has been dramatically simplified. Rather than learning multiple systems, they have one CRM solution to master for all client accounts. This alone has greatly reduced training time, but it has also increased reporting accuracy, which has led to improved customer service.

For example, one major client requires a dozen monthly call reports, delivered by the tenth of every month. Under the new solution, staffers no longer have to check and edit every report for accuracy; instead, that oncetedious, time-consuming process is automated, while taking into account complex coding anomalies. This enables Triplefin to deliver all the reports on a much timelier basis—by the first of the month. “It gives our clients virtually real-time data to make more informed decisions more quickly—a real competitive advantage,” Scherer says.

Triplefin also discovered the new CRM solution reduced service calls by 18% and reduced call time by 15%— delivering a more satisfying service to their clients’ customers. In sum, the contact center is more robust than ever, and the center’s staff more productive.

Additionally, Affiliated created custom tools that now allow non-IT staff to both add and maintain new client accounts as they come onboard. As a result, Triplefin’s Contact Center has dramatically reduced reliance on their IT department for CRM setup and maintenance by more than 95%. “We’re a much more efficient company now, and better prepared to grow in the future,” LaLonde says.

For more information about this project and others like it, please contact:

Author information

Mike Moran

Mike Moran is the president of Affiliated Resource Group (Affiliated) based in Dublin, Ohio. Moran co-founded Affiliated in 1993 as an ERP implementation and software development firm. Affiliated became a VAR in 1999. As president, he leads Affiliated’s company-wide strategy, marketing, and corporate development activities. The Company has grown into a multi-million dollar technology and business consulting company serving growing and mid-market businesses throughout Ohio. Moran’s passion is helping organizations align their business and technology goals then identify and implement technology-based solutions that increase operational efficiencies, improve customer experience, and drive more profitable revenue. As a member of the Microsoft Partner Network certified in both Platform and Dynamics solutions, Affiliated has won numerous awards including the U.S. Central Region Partner of the Year, and Heartland Area awards for Business Transformation and Customer Satisfaction & Experience. Affiliated is also a VMware Enterprise Solution Partner and has been a successful hardware and software provider utilizing Tech Data for over 10 years. Active within the community, Moran has served on the Dublin City Schools Business Advisory Council, the Technology Advisory Boards for Hocking College and the Marion Technical Institute and the Tech Data Internet Commerce Council. He earned a BBA in Accounting from the University of Iowa.

The post Streamline Contact Center Operations and Support New Customer Growth with Microsoft Dynamics CRM appeared first on Affiliated CRM Blog.