5 Industry Solutions for Microsoft Dynamics CRM

By: Collin Couey on January 16, 2020

People usually assume that customer relationship management (CRM) software is only for the sales, service, and marketing industries, but there are many other markets that utilize CRM software for specific business needs.

Jump to your industry:


Construction


Distribution


Insurance


Manufacturing


Real Estate

To meet all of these unique industry requirements, Microsoft employs hundreds of partners that resell, customize, and implement Microsoft Dynamics CRM. These value-added resellers (VARs) and independent software vendors (ISVs) extend the core Dynamics CRM applications to meet the needs of companies in specific markets. The breadth of these solutions is highly varied, which is an indication of the scope and capability of the Microsoft partner channel.

At Software Advice, our advisors speak to thousands of business owners each week about their software needs. The following Microsoft Dynamics CRM partner solutions represent the five most common industries (presented in alphabetical order) in which callers seeking CRM software work (self-reported). These systems are examples of Microsoft Dynamics CRM VARs that are designed to help resolve some of the most common pain points for each of these industries.

Construction

If you’re in the construction industry, a CRM can help you by automating key aspects of your job such as writing contracts, tracking sales, managing warranties, tracking deadlines, and monitoring important client relationships.

Additionally, the contact management aspect will make sure you never miss important dates in reference to your clients or contracts.

Strategic Industry Solution (SIS) seeks to address the issues of tight profit margins and uncertainties in the construction industry with its Construction ERP and CRM Software. The solution is based on Dynamics AX, Dynamics SL, and Microsoft Dynamics CRM. It aims to increase efficiency and ensure risk mitigation for construction companies, general and specialty contractors, as well as civil engineering firms.

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Project costs dashboard available in SIS Construct365 (Source)

SIS Software’s Microsoft Dynamics solutions offer analysis and reports, HR and payroll, labor management, business development (i.e., conversion of prospects and project estimation), job costing, resource management, project execution (i.e., managing resources, deadlines, budgets, and billing), and more. SIS also provides accounting for equipment and labor that’s tied up with the project management capabilities to improve efficiency across the project lifecycle.

Distribution

Distributors deal with massive volumes of incoming and outgoing products, all of which come from different vendors or clients and are handled by either sales or warehouse managers.

With CRM software, distributors gain access to increased coordination and communication between sales teams, warehouse managers, clients, and vendors so that important information such as client and vendor data doesn’t fall through the cracks. This will lead to a better overall customer experience which leads to repeat business and higher revenue.

Hitachi Solutions provides wholesale distribution business management solutions for various industries, such as paper and office supplies, food and beverage, toys, electronics, and cosmetics and personal care manufacturers and distributors.

Hitachi’s-pricing-approval-dashboard

Hitachi’s pricing approval dashboard (Source)

It offers Hitachi CRM for transportation and distribution, which provides shipment information, a 360-degree view of the customer, performance status across contracts, customers, lanes, terminals and regions, customer service, and sales management.

Hitachi Solutions’ products are powered by Microsoft Cloud and are marketed as a combination of Microsoft AX, CRM, and Business Intelligence with Hitachi’s expert services and ongoing live support.

The shipment information feature integrates with transport management systems to provide visibility into current and historical shipment information. The customer 360 view helps manage shipping preferences, key contacts, and third-party logistics providers, as well as pricing and service agreements to combine sales, marketing, and customer service efforts.

CRM in performance management helps identify downward trends so as to quicken decision-making. Customer service gives a single view of all customer shipment activity to manage communication. Sales management deals with volume-based forecasting and managing RFP, RFQ, and bidding processes within the CRM for increased collaboration and cross-selling opportunities.

Insurance

Customer support and experience matter a lot in the insurance industry, so the primary benefit of using CRM software is the increased level of customer satisfaction and personalization you can provide your clients.

With a CRM, you’re also more likely to resolve claims more quickly with the improved communication channels that the software provides.

Vertafore Agency Platform Software is specifically targeted at life and annuity, property and casualty (P&C), and health insurers. It aims to support marketing and sales team to gain, nurture, and maintain relationships in the distribution channel. The mobile-enabled solution allows producers and distribution partners to have anytime access to information.

Vertafore’s-policy-builder-page

Vertafore’s policy builder page (Source)

Vertafore has three plans that insurers can choose from: contact management, opportunity management, and performance management. Contact management includes communication by the sales team and work management features, such as task tracking, reporting, calendars, and document storage.

Opportunity management includes all of the features from contact management as well as recruiting, sales opportunity management, and sales reporting. The performance management plan includes all of the above features in addition to territory performance management, custom sales workflows, and Vertafore analytics.

Manufacturing

A CRM assists manufacturing businesses by providing greater visibility into the sales pipeline, giving a more complete view of customer information (what they want, when they want it). This includes improved data analytics and the ability to improve your lead quality because your sales team will be better equipped with more comprehensive customer data.

O9 Software’s digital Integrated Business Planning (IBP) uses AI-powered integrated planning platforms to help manufacturers make more informed business decisions by providing a more complete view of their data to better address market needs.

Essentially, o9 helps businesses cut down on inefficiencies that occur when weekly or monthly planning meetings are using large PowerPoint decks that fail to address important points such as sales gaps or manufacturing needs. The software provides businesses with a digital collaborative platform that can show all relevant data in real-time to help reduce delayed decisions.

O9’s-product-forecast-dashboard

O9’s product forecast dashboard (Source)

Its list of applications includes AI-powered Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP), Annual Operating Plan (AOP), and Long Range Planning (LRP).

S&OP moves businesses away from spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations toward a more data-centric digital collaborative platform by giving business owners more insight into their data.

With the AOP application, businesses are able to make sure their business goals are aligned with performance goals. O9 claims more organizational responsiveness by helping businesses align their S&OP and AOP processes onto one platform to help meet their functional measurements and performance management goals.

Integrated digital processes included in the LRP application help businesses move away from inefficient or slow manual processes by simplifying the time and effort it takes to create a long-range plan.

Real Estate

Much like the insurance industry, real estate is all about making sure your customers are happy and remain loyal. CRM software allows a brokerage and its agents to communicate more effectively with potential buyers and sellers as well as maintain and nurture existing clients for when they’re looking to buy or sell a home.

For more information about what a CRM can do for your real estate business, check out the “3 Keys to Successful CRM Adoption for Real Estate Agencies.” And if you’re not sure whether you need a more general CRM or a real estate specific one, we’ve got you covered. Check out “Is an Industry-Specific CRM Best for Your Real Estate Business?

AscendixRE is a CRM solution for brokerages, property owners/operators and real estate investment trusts. AscendixRE offers additional capabilities within the traditional CRM solution to help users maintain the complex business relationships among companies and contacts and to manage real estate assets.

AscendixRE’s-Microsoft-Dynamics-CRM-dashboard

AscendixRE’s Microsoft Dynamics CRM dashboard (Source)

AscendixRE offers general CRM features, such as contact management, contextual reporting and document management, and corporate real estate (CRE) features that include social CRM, preference tracking and matching, SSRS reporting, and configurable dashboards.

Additional features include marketing, property management, lease tracking, sales history tracking and analysis, availability and deal tracking, ad hoc lists, data deduplication (to remove duplicate entries), and EDGE API availability (for third-party app integrations).

Next steps

This article is a brief online directory with some examples of Microsoft Dynamics CRM partners for buyers who need resellers for training and implementation, and it only discusses five of the thousands of different options available.

If you’re interested in learning more about CRM solutions in general, check out our CRM Buyers Guide. As always, our advisors are here for you if you need any help picking a CRM. Set up an appointment for a 15-minute consultation. Talk to an advisor to narrow down your feature shortlist, budgeting concerns, or to find out more information about vendors.

Note: The applications selected in this article are examples to show a feature in context and are not intended as endorsements or recommendations. They have been obtained from sources believed to be reliable at the time of publication.