ACE Microtechnology

BACKGROUND

Can you talk a bit about what your company does?

We are a manufacturer’s rep in the United States for recycling, winding equipment, and for laminating/coating equipment. Our parent company in Austria also owns us. We are a stocking/distributor for this company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your main goal or objective going into the project?

Well, we have had our documents, units, and operation, and we had our quotes. We had them in different areas, on Microsoft Excel sheets and Excel files. What we want to do is put them in one central location with our contacts, and then link it together.

What was the process for finding and choosing to work ACE MicroTech?

We had three or four companies that we spoke with. They seemed like they knew much more about what our small company was looking for. We’ve only got 20 employees. Our customer-base is not so massive, and our entries are not massive either. But, we did need a tracking and follow-up tool to work with. We felt like ACE would be a good partner going forward.

SOLUTION

Can you tell me a little more about the scope of the project itself?

We’ve hired five new salespersons. We want to integrate the Microsoft CRM system into getting these five new people familiar with our products and our process. At the same time, getting the present employees also involved.

How long ago was the project completed?

We began the project back in April or May of 2012. It’s not totally completed currently. The sales module, the units of operation, and the contacts are just now beginning to get into the service area well. When our service technicians go out into the field, they’ll be logging in case studies and cases and following-up within the CRM. So, it is not complete as of now. The first phase was completed about four weeks ago.

Which edition of Microsoft Dynamics is it?

It’s the latest version that they have. We had the old Solomon system and then we upgraded in 2011 to our Microsoft Dynamic system. Then, in early 2012 to mid-2012, we began the CRM version.

Can you provide a general cost estimate for the project?

It’s hard to say because we did some purchase of hardware. We had new sales folks. We had the ACE group. I’d say we’ll end up spending $25,000 to $35,000.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

How happy are you with the results so far?

I would not say I'm totally happy with the results. But, it takes time. It’s the information end, and the system is only as good as your people who use it. I’m really happy with the information we’ve put in, the quality of information we put in. At this stage, I would say I’m happy but a little impatient at the same time. I want it to be a tool where I can look directly to the bottom line. Will this ever be a tool where we can look directly to the bottom line? Our sales cycle of some machines is two to three years. If we sell two of those machines, which we’ve been working on for two or three years, then all of a sudden it’s skewed. The biggest thing we’re looking for is information and follow-up and ease of documentation and following through with the products that we’re selling. It’s not that we’re selling a bunch of small products. We’re not a call center that logs in information daily but we will have daily input. At the same time, it’s going to be a very difficult situation and that's what Microsoft CRM did for us. They throw out a number of 17 percent, but I think that’s just totally made up. There’s not a guarantee. There’s so many variables that we work with.I can't understand ACE's claim that it’s going to go directly to the bottom line. Hopefully, it will. Hopefully, it will make us better overall.

When working with ACE MicroTech, is there anything that you found unique or special compared to other vendors that you’ve worked with?

These guys knew what they are doing. They were very professional, and did a good job. Now, we had not worked with any others in the CRM area. We have had mom-and-pop shops that had worked with us with us on our IT but nothing to this magnitude or on this type of project. No.

Is there anything that you’d do differently a second time around or you think ACE MicroTech could improve upon?

Well, we’ve got some problems, not necessarily ACE. Microsoft causes problems with their changing, upgrading, and going into the system and making changes without notifying us. We just had that problem this week that was very frustrating. ACE will help us through that. That’s a Microsoft problem, not an ACE problem.

BACKGROUND

Can you provide a little background about your company?

Staffing and consulting.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was your main business goal or objective for going into the project with ACE Microtechnology?

It’s just maintenance. We were on QuickBooks and we outgrew it, so just support for larger volumes.

What was the process for discovering and choosing ACE Microtechnology to work with?

They were referred to us by our IT team.

SOLUTION

Could you tell me a little more about the project itself?

It’s just a standard Microsoft Dynamic implementation.

How long ago was the project completed?

It just finished.

Which Dynamics product was it?

Dynamics GP, just general ledger.

Can you provide a cost estimate for the project?

$30,000.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

How happy are you with the results so far?

I’m very happy.

When working with ACE Microtechnology, is there anything that stood out as being unique or special
compared to other developers or vendors you’ve worked with?

I would say the best thing that they do is work very fast. They don’t waste a lot of time.

Is there anything that you’d do differently a second time around, or think that they could improve upon?

Probably training after. The implementation was stronger than the afterward end-user training.

If you could sum up your experience with them in one sentence, how would you do so?

Very satisfied. They met our expectations, and we got what we wanted out of it.