American Enerpower

American Enerpower Leverages Hosted Microsoft Dynamics CRM/xRM Platform to Improve Operational Efficiency and Gain a Competitive Edge

Based in Houston, Texas, American Enerpower provides energy marketing and management consulting services and assists business and residential clients to execute electricity and natural gas contracts with the best price, terms and conditions.

As a very service-oriented company requiring frequent interaction and communication with clients, it needed a more reliable, robust and integrated CRM solution to better respond to client needs on all levels, while having the ability to manage sales and operational components more efficiently.

Using CRM/xRM as a framework for rapid development, PowerObjects implementedhosted Microsoft Dynamics CRM for American Enerpower across the entireorganization including management, operations and sales. The CRM solution replaced an out-dated and unreliable proprietary solution that was not meeting their needs.

Situation

American Enerpower was using a propriety solution originally built in Microsoft Visual Basic to track sales activity, client data, and multiple transaction and commission information related to various projects. “Our previous solution was very slow and cumbersome and we continually had issues with its reliability and ability to give us accurate reporting of data,” said Dick Lewis, president of American Enerpower. “Being an email-intensive company, we also lacked the ability to integrate Microsoft Outlook with the solution, which made it difficult to track the history of client communication, project status and related information,” he added.

As the company began taking on additional business, it became apparent that the existing system was not meeting their needs.

Solution

After searching for a new solution that would fit their unique business needs, Lewis felt that hosted Microsoft Dynamics CRM was the answer. The company looked to leading Microsoft Dynamics Gold Certified Partner, PowerObjects, to implement a hosted CRM solution.

“Our business is unique and we were not able to find a solution that would accommodate all our needs. We chose Microsoft Dynamics CRM because of its reliability, strong platform integration capabilities and one that we could use to recreate many attributes of our old system while adding even more functionality. PowerObjects and Microsoft Dynamics CRM solved our major objective which was to embed a commission calculation capability within CRM that is truly unique and what competitively distinguishes us from our competitors,” Lewis said.

The entire implementation of the project was completed within four months. Using the Microsoft Dynamics CRM/xRM platform for development, PowerObjects recreated the proprietary solution that was originally developed in Microsoft Visual Basic, migrated all of the data into one source, developed the workflows and customized the reports. PowerObjects also integrated CRM with Microsoft SharePoint, and now the company has the ability to access and share information across the organization and with clients quickly and easily.

As a value-add in working with PowerObjects, American Enerpower received PowerObjects’ PowerPack add-on modules free of charge. These modules, PowerEmail, PowerDashboard, PowerSurvey, PowerView, PowerEdit, and PowerFax, extend and enhance the functionality of CRM for the company.

Key Benefits

The new CRM solution has made a positive impact on the company. One of the greatest benefits the company realized with the new solution was the ability for all the staff to access a centralized database of information quickly and easily. “Before the implementation, our staff had trouble accessing all the information they needed and now everything is in one centralized database that we can access in real-time. It has given us the ability to better service our clients and focus on growing our business,” said Lewis.

PowerObjects also integrated CRM into Microsoft SharePoint, and now the company has the ability to access and share information across the organization more easily. “Our business is very document-intensive, and the new CRM system along with the collaboration capabilities of SharePoint has greatly enhanced and improved communication internally as well as with our clients,” he added.

From a sales perspective, the company now has the ability to view client data real-time and track sales from start to finish. “It’s made us much more effective in our sales efforts and has allowed us to get the information we need to quickly analyze our sales status and make adjustments as needed,” said Lewis. The reliability and stability of the new solution has also brought reassurance to Lewis. “Before we used to continually worry about the stability of the system and the accuracy of our data but now we don’t worry about it. PowerObjects did such a great job and has given us the comfort level that everything is running smoothly and correctly.”

Lewis believes the company has realized substantial benefits thanks to PowerObject’s guidance and expertise. “Overall, the results of the new solution are dramatic. Our organizational efficiency has increased close to 25% to date and it has unquestionably given us a competitive advantage in the marketplace,” added Lewis.

About PowerObjects

PowerObjects is a recognized leader in delivering Microsoft Dynamics CRM/xRM solutions to customers in a variety of industries. As a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner with numerous CRM/xRM projects under our belt, we combine the right focus, with the right people and the right processes to bring value to every organization we work with. As Microsoft Dynamics CRM as their core focus, PowerObjects can handle everything from standard implementations to creating a complex line of business applications using CRM as an “xRM” platform. PowerObjects can offer a solution that fits your organization including Hosted CRM, On-Premise CRM or xRM solutions.