Industry-leading wholesale parts CRM & activity management platform, Microcat CRM (formerly FieldForce), is officially part of Pentana Solutions’ Integrated Partner Program.
This partnership delivers greater efficiencies to those using Microcat CRM – with automated sales data transfer out of Executive ERA to Microcat CRM’s impressive sales intelligence suite. Andrew Selim, VP of Microcat CRM Operations, said:
“Microcat CRM helps Automotive Dealers and OEMs sell more wholesale parts by bringing everything they need into one holistic solution – customer data, sales intelligence, staff activity, journey planning, issue management, workflow optimisation, digital marketing and more.”
Designed hand-in-hand with dealers and OEMs, Microcat CRM connects everyone in the parts supply channel.
“We know the challenges each stakeholder faces selling parts in such a competitive marketplace. From Auto Parts Sales Representatives striving for new sales, Parts Managers demanding better performance, OEMs looking for more effective communication channels, and the whole channel competing against the aftermarket – we’ve developed what we feel to be the most comprehensive wholesale parts solution of its kind,” said Andrew.
Cloud-based and optimised for mobile, Microcat CRM is designed to be insightful, simple and accessible no matter the user.
Haley Bowman, Integration Partner Program and Networks Manager at Pentana Solutions said:
“We’re very excited to realise the opportunity this represents, not only for our business but our combined customers as well. We’ve already seen Microcat CRM in action as a standalone solution and this coupled with their drive for technological excellence, will only aid further success in the automotive industry. By integrating with Microcat CRM, we envision a long and prosperous partnership that will benefit small, medium and large parts sales operations.”
Currently used by over 50 of Australia’s largest wholesale-focused dealers, several more in New Zealand and with plans to expand into new markets, Microcat CRM promises to deliver stronger wholesale parts sales through:
- More efficient and more focused Auto Parts Sales Representatives
- Improved customer service through workflow optimisation and accelerated issue management
- Real-time identification of sales threats and opportunities
Although every parts operation is different, when asked to quantify these outcomes, dealers (on average) typically see:
- 6 hours per week saving per manager across tracking, data analysis and rep & customer management
- 10 hours per week saving per Auto Parts Sales Representative across scheduling, admin and customer service tasks
- 50% improvement in daily call rates
In short, Auto Parts Sales Representatives spend more time in the field seeing more customers, asking the right questions and delivering better customer service.
Parts Managers achieve complete transparency on parts representative activity and customer feedback, so field-based staff rarely need to be in the dealership. It also allows them to attend to any issues and opportunities in a quicker manner.
OEMs have a real-time marketing & communications channel, helping them realise more out of their marketing investment, while providing the ability to measure market response instantaneously.
“It’s amazing how each time we present Microcat CRM to a new dealer, they just can’t believe how tailored it is to their business, what it can do for the cost and how fast we can get them up and running. We’re constantly working with our dealers to make it even better – they’ve really become our biggest advocates and we see our partnership with Pentana Solutions as another way to make their experience with us even better,” said Andrew.
The solution removes several manual, time-consuming and outdated processes by digitally transforming front office operations, while helping set new standards for how franchised dealers function in the wholesale parts environment.
And there’s no shortage of dealers happy to sing its praises. After only 5 weeks of usage, here’s what Garry Carmichael, General Manager of Alto Group Parts has to say about Microcat CRM:
“By providing real-time and immediate access, Microcat CRM allows my sales team to be more professional in scheduling visits, recording visit information, updating customer details and presenting offers and promotions. Immediate benefits I have seen since its implementation is an improvement in visitation daily call rates, more detailed visit notes and more importantly, who we have not been visiting.
Microcat CRM is now an integral part of the way we do business and is the complete CRM for a wholesale trade parts customer base.”