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Case Study: Mullen Corporation

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“dynaMACS is the best tool we’ve ever purchased to help our salespeople sell. The payback on this investment was immediate.”

Eric Lewis, President
Mullen Corporation

Mullen_Corporation_LogoClient Challenge

Mullen Corporation had used a DOS-based program for years, and it worked sufficiently for inventory management. But as technology became more sophisticated, the agency began to think there had to be a better way to manage sales and commission information. “It was taking a tremendous amount of time to enter information into the system,” says Eric Lewis, President of Mullen Corporation. The agency found that reports were not accurate due to the large number of manual entries. The agency was limited in the type of reports it could generate, and salespeople could not see up-to-date information on their own computers.

Mullen_Corporation_StatisticsdynaMACS Solution

Mullen Corporation was correct. There was a better way: dynaMACS was able to address all of the agency’s issues. The agency’s Return on Investment (ROI) was immediate – and far-reaching.

Most of the agency’s monthly commission statements are now imported electronically in minutes, rather than hours. As a result, Mullen Corporation reduced its accounting staff from two full-time accounting resources to one part-time person. “Before dynaMACS we had more people doing accounting, and the tools we were providing to the outside sales team were mediocre at best. Now, we’ve significantly reduced resources, and the quality of reports is right on the money,” Lewis says.

With dynaMACS, the agency knows if manufacturers are paying accurately, or making mistakes. As for the sales team, the ROI in that area is crystal clear: “The salespeople are organized, up-to-date, and have all the tools they need to outsell our competitors,” Lewis says. The sales team can access up-to-date data from the office, at home, in a hotel, and even during meetings with customers. “We now have the ability to sit in front of a customer and utilize up-to-date sales numbers during our meetings,” Lewis explains. “They are very impressed by that, and many comment on how nice it is to have us share these reports with them.”

Summarizing his thoughts the ROI dynaMACS has provided, Lewis says, “I wish we had switched to dynaMACS years earlier.”

Case Study: ISK Industries

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“dynaMACS is dramatically better than our old software in terms of ease of use, reporting capabilities and the ability to automatically import manufacturer reports.”

Bob Johnson, CFO
ISK Industries Inc.

ISK_LogoClient Challenge

ISK Industries Inc. used a custom-built sales and commission software for many years. But when the time came to update the program, CFO Bob Johnson says, from a bottom line perspective, the cost far outweighed the benefits. The software was not particularly user friendly and had limited reporting capabilities.






 

ISK_Industries_StatisticsdynaMACS Solution

For ISK Industries, the switch to dynaMACS can be summed up in one word: Dramatic. “Compared to our old software, the difference is dramatic. dynaMACS is dramatically better in terms of ease of use, reporting capabilities and the ability to automatically import manufacturer reports,” Bob says.

It’s also been a big timer saver, helping the agency to be more productive. Resources are able to focus on revenue-generating activities, rather than administrative tasks. Bob cites more benefits in four key areas:

Sales IQ: “There are countless ways to sort the data. It’s extremely flexible, and any type of report is available in a couple of clicks.” Data can be viewed on-screen, saved or printed in a matter of seconds. Users can move from summaries to detailed information on manufacturers, sales numbers, commissions-paid, customer and sales rep performance, and more.

eSi: “Nowadays, the vast majority of commission information comes from manufacturers via an Excel spreadsheet. We are able to use what they send, without having to manually enter data.”

dynaMACS Mobile: “Distributing information is so simple. We can quickly send out a file and all of our reps have the most up-to-date information. We are also able to select what data is sent to which sales reps.”

Support: “After just an hour of training, we were up and running. I didn’t get inundated with questions about how to use the software. It’s extremely intuitive.”

Tip #1208 – Checking for Software Upgrades

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Keeping up with the latest version of dynaMACS software will provide all users with the latest changes in dynaMACS functionality. We continually listen to your feedback in order to make dynaMACS a more user friendly tool and to add or improve features that will help you and your agency become more successful. It is recommended that you periodically check for software updates.

To Check for dynaMACS Software Updates

    1. From the dynaMACS main screen select Help>Check for software update…Help_Check_Update
    2. From the True Update Welcome dialog box select the Next button.True_Update_WelcomeNote - Operation Failed

      Operation Failed

    3. If the following Already Updated dialog box appears, this indicates that you are already on the most recent version of dynaMACS. Select the Close button and restart dynaMACS.True Update 2
    4. If the Update Available dialog box appears indicating that there is a newer version of dynaMACS than the one installed on your system, select the Next button.True_Update_Windows
    5. The Updating Software dialog box will appear displaying the status of the download process. This may take several minutes.Updating_Software

When the download completes the dynaMACS installation process will start. Please follow the prompts and instructions until the installation of the update is complete.

Tip #1207 – Using Sales IQ to Identify Sales Problems

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The dynaMACS  Sales IQ feature is a powerful tool that allows you to monitor and analyze all of your sales and commission performance.  Did you know you can also identify customers that have not bought in a period of time?

Example

In the following example we will look at a quick and simple way in Sales IQ to see what customers have not purchased from a particular manufacturer in the past three months.

  1. From the dynaMACS main screen select the Sales IQ button.Main Screen
  2. From the Sales IQ Home screen select the Manufacturers tab.Sales IQ Home 1
  3. As you can see in the list of manufacturers displayed below, there are 4 manufacturers with a negative YTD Variance, B.C. Industries being one of them.
  4. To view the customer sales activity for this manufacturer we will select and right click on the manufacturer B.C. Industries and then select Show Customers from the drop down box.Sales IQ Home 2
  5. From the Sales IQ:  Drill-Down (1) Manufacturer>Customers screen select 3 Months from the No Sales Activity In: drop down box which is in the lower right hand corner of the screen.
  6. Select the Refresh button.Sales IQ Home 3Note
  7. The list will refresh displaying the 15 customers that buy from B.C. Industries that have NOT purchased in the past 3 months.
  8. As you can see, the YTD Variance is a negative value in most cases.
  9. The customer All Others displays the combined values of all other customers that HAVE purchased from B.C. Industries in the past 3 months.
  10. The last two columns show what percent of the total sales for B.C. Industries each customer represents, this Year-To-Date and Last Year Total.  Using these values you can determine the significance of each customer.Sales IQ Home - Drill Down 1
  11. By using the Up  or  Down  arrows in the upper left hand corner of the screen you can quickly go from manufacturer to manufacturer to identify other customers meeting the same criteria of no sales in 3 months.Sales IQ Home - Drill Down 2

Case Study: Metra Associates Inc.

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“I wish we would have started using dynaMACS years ago. It’s a great tool, and everyone loves it.”

Herb Schneider, General Manager
Metra Associates, Inc.

Metra_LogoClient Challenge

They say hindsight is 20/20. Looking back, Herb Schneider, General Manager of Metra Associates, wishes he had started using dynaMACS years ago. However as many people are when it comes to technology, “I’m a creature of habit, I didn’t want to change,” Schneider explains. He was concerned about losing valuable historical data when transitioning to the new software; and was so familiar with the keystrokes of the previous CAS software that he thought the data entering process would not be as user friendly.

METRA_Associates_StatisticsdynaMACS Solution

A few months ago, Schneider “bit the bullet.” “I wanted the sales reps to have up-to-date information, and we simply couldn’t do that with the old software. dynaMACS would enable me to distribute data on each territory electronically to reps. There would be no waiting for paper reports, no sifting through paperwork to find crucial data. dynaMACS provided so many benefits that outweighed my reluctance to make the switch.”

Now that Schneider and his sales force have been using dynaMACS, the consensus is “I wish we would have started using dynaMACS years ago. Everyone – the sales reps, the sales manager, the owner and I – love it.”

Regarding the transition, Schneider says it couldn’t have gone smoother. Within an hour, all of the agency’s historical data was transferred with no losses.” As for the learning curve involved in using new software, “It was a non-issue. I had a quick training session with dynaMACS support, and we were up and running with no down time and no lost productivity.” In fact, the agency is more productive than ever.

Schneider filters data from commission reports by territory and sends to sales reps via email. Schneider and the outside sales manager access data in real-time via the company network, and can slice and dice information by manufacturer, customer or sales rep, and drill down for more details. “We couldn’t be happier with the product and the dynaMACS support team, who is always available to answer questions.”

Tip #1206 – dynaMACS Quarterly Tax Reporting

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In dynaMACS Sales IQ you can retrieve quarterly commission numbers which can assist you in expediting your tax reporting.  If you need to report by state, you can do so by using the Sales Analysis reports feature OR filter by state/region in Sales IQ.

Sales IQ Agency Comm (3Mos) – Example

In the following example we will generate a report using Sales IQ for quarterly commissions by manufacturer for commissions received July – September 2012.

  1. From Manufacturers tab in the Sales IQ screen select Commissions Received from the Source drop down list.Note: If you do not have the Commission Reconciliation module then you can pull the data from Shipments vs. Commissions Received.
  2. Select the Agency Comm (3 Mos)option from the Data drop down list.
  3. Select September from the As-of drop down list.
  4. Select 2012 for the As-of year from the drop down list.
  5. The quarterly commissions received will appear in the column Totals for Jul 12, Aug 12,u Sep 12.Sales IQ Home

Sales Analysis Commission Received by State – Example

In the following example we will generate a report using Sales Analysis for quarterly commissions by state for commissions received July thru September 2012.

  1. Select Commission Rec’d from the Selected Source of Data drop down list box.Note: If you do not have the Commission Reconciliation module then you can pull the data from Shipments vs. Commissions Received.
  2. Select Sales and Agency Commission from the Select Column Set (Headings) drop down list box.
  3. Select Customer State/Region from the Select Sub Totals Group drop down list box.
  4. Enter 09 and 2012 in the Print As-of Month/Year
  5. Select 3 Months from the Replace Current Month With drop down list box.
  6. Select the Print button.Sales Analysis Reports
  7. The following report is displayed showing the commissions received for Jul – Sept 12 by state.State Report