Take the Industry 4.0 Leap With Salesforce Manufacturing Cloud
We are in the midst of the fourth industrial revolution. And that’s why we can expect automation, machine learning, and IoT to revolutionize the way manufacturers deal with customers.
For decades, manufacturers have been product-centric. By incorporating smart technology for industrial automation, large-scale manufacturing has become more flexible, informed, and efficient. Putting an optimal smart manufacturing network to use, manufacturers have not only ensured the smooth operation of their factories but also increased their competitiveness and profitability.
However, the norms of having a competitive advantage have changed. It is now more about a great customer experience. Customers too look for the same connected digital experiences from manufacturers that they get in their regular lives dealing with brands from other industries.
So the question is, can manufacturers use technological advancement to streamline their sales, operations, and CX initiatives?
Yes, they can do it with Salesforce Manufacturing Cloud in their corner. It’s a powerful, agile, and scalable Cloud product developed by Salesforce exclusively for the manufacturing industry.
This article will uncover everything you need to know about the Salesforce Manufacturing Cloud and what makes it ideal for manufacturers aiming to future-proof their operations and CX.
What is Salesforce Manufacturing Cloud?
Salesforce Manufacturing Cloud is a cloud-based platform powered by AI that serves the needs of the manufacturing industry. It helps manufacturers establish better collaboration between their sales, operations, and customer service departments, providing the foundation for a more profitable and sustainable business.
The Manufacturing Cloud offers:
- A single platform for managing customer-centric operations
- Prebuilt processes, workflows, and frameworks for the manufacturing industry
- AI-enabled tools for streamlining operations
How Salesforce Manufacturing Cloud Enables Manufacturers to Transition into Industrial Revolution 4.0?
The past few years have been challenging for manufacturers. Disruptions in supply chains, shortages of physical goods, and challenges in communicating with clients have impacted their business. While it was difficult to do anything about pandemic-related supply chain disruptions, it was still possible to streamline internal processes. And that’s where Salesforce Manufacturing Cloud played an instrumental role.
According to a Wipro Report[i], 56% of manufacturers in Europe have reported improved productivity due to cloud adoption.
Here’s a quick look at the factors that explain how Salesforce Manufacturing Cloud benefits manufacturers:
Modernizing Commercial Operations:
Imagine a sales team having a complete view of customer information on one system. Now imagine it being supported by AI-infused insights and predictions and it being well-equipped with the best practice workflows to drive focus on the right leads and opportunities. That’s the kind of scenario Manufacturing Cloud can create for manufacturing businesses.
Transforming Service Experiences:
Traditionally, manufacturers looked upon support services as their cost centers. However, the tides are turning fast. Manufacturers have understood the change and are looking towards customer service as their profit center. A technology platform like Manufacturing Cloud empowers them to create incredible service experiences and enable a profit-generating service model. So, from providing simple services such as selling spare parts or extended warranties or IoT-enabled predictive maintenance that addresses problems before they impact the customer, manufacturers can benefit from a single platform and make their employees deliver stellar CX.
Putting Data to Work in More Meaningful Ways:
High-quality data is critical for any business to thrive. However, this data also needs to be translated into insights to drive better decision-making. A technology platform like Manufacturing Cloud enables businesses to leverage advanced analytics and AI to translate data into insights, no matter if it comes from multiple sources or even legacy systems. It has built-in AI capabilities to interpret data and take action on it based on its relevancy, whether it is a service case or a sales opportunity.
Key Features of Salesforce Manufacturing Cloud
Sales Agreements
It helps businesses to track and manage a run-rate business, which is often the backbone of manufacturing organizations’ revenue and operations.
As part of a run-rate business model, clients or partners commit to buying a certain amount of merchandise over a set period of time. In most cases, manufacturers can create baseline expectations for future orders that can be assessed and monitored over time. Here’s how manufacturers can use Sales Agreements:
- Maintain the agreement lifecycle, which includes collaborating with clients on new agreement volumes and prices, current contract revisions, and future contract renewals and expansions.
- Develop key agreement metrics, such as planned and actual volumes, product pricing, and margins, as well as custom metrics to meet specific needs.
Account-based Forecasting
During run-rate forecasting, it is important to incorporate both current and future business prospects for each customer account.
When estimating a budget, other factors, such as past order trends and market and consumer information, should be taken into account. Therefore, accounting-based forecasting in Manufacturing Cloud can be used to:
- Identify the expected volumes and sources of income for new and run-rate businesses.
- Develop and fine-tune sales projections, existing business pipelines, and production planning that is relevant to downstream supply chain and production planning through collaboration between sales, finance, and operations.
- Utilize data to provide forecast ideas to sales and account managers to reduce the time spent on developing and monitoring predictions.
Manufacturing Analytics
It goes without saying that any CRM is only as valuable as the information it provides. In conjunction with Manufacturing Cloud, Salesforce has augmented Tableau CRM capabilities to provide manufacturers with information about:
- Product Performance – Determine how each product performs compared to the forecast or plan in terms of revenue or unit quantity.
- Account Health – Monitor income against forecasts and plans.
- Sales Agreement Insights – Gain insight into a specific contract’s planned and actual revenue, including real monthly income.
Rebate Management
It is a service designed to fulfill the needs of companies planning, executing, and targeting cash payback incentives. It allows organizations to create incentive programs and share them with channel partners, including up-to-date performance data. With rebate management, enterprises can simplify time-consuming incentive program administration.
Service Forecasting
In order to manage aftermarket service demand, Salesforce is expanding its Manufacturing Cloud forecasting platform, which is currently used to estimate run-rate business. With the help of critical data points like past repair orders, standard formats, and installed assets, businesses may be able to predict demand for specific components and field service specialists.
Conclusion
As we are amidst Industry 4.0, the ability of manufacturers to adjust quickly to the changing technology requirements can put them far ahead in business. And adopting Salesforce Manufacturing Cloud can be one such move that manufacturers can make to significantly improve their bottom line.
Want your manufacturing business to get ready for Industry 4.0 and beyond? Just write to us at [email protected] and we’ll take it from there.
Statistical References:
[i] Business Wire