Lortscher Agri Services Case Study

Lortscher Agri Service Improves Operational Efficiency and Cuts Customer Response Time by More than 50 Percent with Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online

Located in the small town of Bern, Kansas, Lortscher Agri Service, Inc. (LASI) was founded in 1948 as a family business and today is a leader in the pet and animal food product industry. Throughout the years, LASI and its employees have built lasting business and personal relationships through a commitment to quality and customer service. Today, the business has evolved into a major animal nutrition provider formulating, processing and supplying ingredients for pet and companion animal food blends to customers across the entire country.

Challenge

As the market demand for companion animal food products was continuing to grow, so was the need to help the company keep up with the pace. The company was using Microsoft Outlook and Excel spreadsheets to manage many of their day-to-day business functions including sales quoting, order entry, product formulation, processing, quality control and packaging which became inefficient, unorganized, and difficult to manage. “Our old systems and processes were not working for us, and as we continued to grow we couldn’t keep up with the demand. Our business is very process oriented and we needed a CRM solution to help manage all the steps and activities and make sure that nothing falls through the cracks,” said Lane Lott, Business Development Manager at Lortscher Agri Service.

Overall, the company needed a CRM solution that would provide:

• Consistency and the ability to streamline and support various work processes
• A single data source and cost-effective platform to support growth
• An integrated and user-friendly solution for all staff
• Improved sales and marketing capabilities
• Enhanced customer service capabilities by leveraging intelligent real-time data
• Remote access from anywhere, anytime due to a decentralized staff

Solution

After reviewing several cloud-based CRM solutions, the company chose PowerObjects to implement Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online due to its rich customization and reporting capabilities, as well as familiarity and ease of use. Another aspect that was attractive to LASI was the unique service-as-a-subscription model that PowerObjects offers. The program allowed the company to work with a team of PowerObjects CRM experts to define the requirements according to their business processes, migrate any disparate data, and get them up and running with CRM online quickly. With PowerSuccess, for set monthly fee, LASI has access to a dedicated CRM team who is there to help implement, train and guide the organization’s CRM activities every step of the way. “What we like about the PowerSuccess program is that it takes us step by step through the process and we have a dedicated team of CRM gurus that we can rely on to get things done,” he added. “Dynamics CRM is a very robust product with a lot of functionality and it’s a relief to know we can pick up the phone anytime and get our questions answered without worrying about being charged each and every time.

Key Benefits

With the new solution up and running, the company is taking full advantage of everything Microsoft Dynamics CRM has to offer. One of the greatest benefits the company realized with the solution was the ability for the entire organization to have access a centralized database of information. “With the data in one place and our business processes mapped out in CRM, we now have an integrated system that everyone can access and stay on track,” said Alaina Mooney, Animal Nutrition & Food Safety Director at Lortscher Agri. “Everyone is on the same page now and there’s no confusion as to what needs to happen to get the job done. It’s amazing how much time we save with CRM because it’s all right at our fingertips,” she added.

Before CRM, it could take the company up to two weeks to develop a new pet food formula for their customers because it required multiple steps and approvals impacting various departments throughout the organization. Now with the workflows and approval processes built right in CRM, the customer turnaround and response time has been cut in more than half. “With such a quick turnaround time, our customer service has greatly improved allowing us to keep our customers happy while generating more business,” Lott said.

With the intuitive dashboards and reporting within CRM, each team now has greater access and visibility into the data, giving them better intelligence to do their jobs. “Before CRM we had very limited visibility into customer accounts and activities. Now we can pull reports and view dashboards in CRM very quickly allowing us to quickly analyze account status and make adjustments as needed. It’s been invaluable to us as an organization,” said Mooney.

Overall, Microsoft Dynamics CRM and the PowerSuccess program has been a win-win solution for Lortscher Agri. “The PowerObjects team and the entire process have been great and the outcomes have been even better for our company. We are fortunate to have a partner like PowerObjects who we can rely on and show us what CRM can do for our organization. We are so glad we made the investment in CRM as it’s paid for itself in just a couple of months and has moved us light years ahead of our competition in such a short timeframe,” Lott added.

About PowerObjects

Established in 1993, PowerObjects is one of a handful of organizations recognized as a leader in delivering Microsoft Dynamics CRM/xRM solutions to customers. As a Microsoft Partner Gold Certified in the CRM competency, 2012 Microsoft Dynamics CRM Partner of the Year, 2011 Microsoft Dynamics Inner Circle recipient, and Microsoft President’s Club member (2009-2011), PowerObjects has an impressive and rapidly growing list of customers benefiting from Microsoft CRM/xRM. PowerObjects fully embraces the power of customer choice and offers hosted, on-premise and online CRM deployment options. Headquartered in Minneapolis with offices in Dallas, PowerObjects provides CRM solutions to businesses and non-profit organizations in multiple industries including healthcare, life sciences, insurance, financial services, publishing, distribution, manufacturing and professional services. For more information, visit www.powerobjects.com or call 612-339-3355.