Experion Technologies

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m head of corporate strategy at Wings Biotech, a pharmaceutical company that produces over-the-counter products. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Experion Technologies?

Our reporting was mostly on paper and via courier. For that reason, it was happening 15 or 30 days late, so we wanted to create technology that would allow the people in the field all over India to punch in their data on a real-time basis, and for us to see the data, analyze it, and act on it real time.

We have been trying to make this type of application since 2005. Every year we would try out a new vendor, and it failed four times, even with the best vendors.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Initially, we met and discussed the problem we were facing. Their team came up with a beautiful solution for all of our queries. The backend was a dashboard system and the frontend was a mobile-based application that was accessed on mobile phones. Those who were in remote areas could go to an offline web-based solution and work there as well. The app was made only for Android because those were the devices we gave to our team members. There have been a lot of upgrades to the system since it was built.

When a salesperson makes a call and takes an order, the application gives a smiley emoticon. When there isn’t an order, the app gives a notification saying, “Fine. Try harder next time.” We have 400 people on our sales team and they talk about how many smileys they have. I think that was one of the most unique features.

What is the team dynamic? 

Different people from our team talk to different people from theirs. Our business side talks to their business side and development talks to the developers. There’s a project manager who manages everything. I oversee the whole project, so I communicate with the most senior members of the team.

How did you come to work with Experion Technologies?

I was searching for a solution and during my talks with another technology company, they told me about Experion, who had done field supporting applications. They had me check out their previous projects. I was in Singapore in 2014 and I was also told to check out Experion. He said they have the capability to give me the solution I’m looking for. The next week, I went to meet them. The time was right, and the solution they created is very good.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with them in 2015.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

The best feature is that it’s more user-friendly than anything we had. It’s more human than robotic.

Our productivity has grown 23% since deploying the application. In one year, the sales team’s productivity increased by 2.7 times. They used to spend three to four hours working in the field making the doctor and chemist calls, and then three hours per day were spent producing their paper reports. Those three hours can now be spent making business calls. They have more time to utilize in the field.

How did Experion Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

In the beginning, there were some delays from our end. We had a lot of experience in failing in this project so this time we didn’t leave any stone unturned. 

I wouldn’t rate them as perfect on the execution, but they did what they could. They were very aggressive in deploying and giving us the solution. However, I think it could have been much faster.

They had an in-house tool that we used to collaborate. The team communicated via Skype and I mostly used email and calls. For bigger tasks and review, they would travel to us or we would go to them.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Every time we raised a problem which we thought couldn’t be solved, they always said it was possible — even the most outlandish things we asked for. They had a solution in their plan for everything. The problem we faced was a unique problem. It took us 10 years to find a vendor who could solve the problem. The solution is still working well.

Are there any areas they could improve?

They should learn some time management.  We have given them additional projects and it caused them to have too much on their plate. They commit to too much at a time so, sometimes they’re unable to fulfill it. We’re in an environment where we understand what timelines mean, so when they’re working with someone internationally, they should be more diligent on the timelines.

I also think their business development team could be more outgoing as initially, they were not interested in pitching their business. They’re quite happy to sit in their office and they wanted us to come to them. Now they travel to us, but I think they need to do more in terms of pitching their business.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Our company deals with rice and rice products. We were founded 55 years ago in India, and export around 50 containers per months, mainly to the Middle East and parts of USA, Australia, and the UK. I am the head of IT for the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Experion?

We have seven divisional marketing departments, two of them focused on retailers. We have identified 24 districts in the Kerala market, based on which we are collecting orders from retail shops. We wanted to deploy technology which would automate this process, and doing so required a large development team.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Experion implemented the FieldMax solution in our infrastructure. We are also looking at integrating mobile GPS functionalities for planning optimal delivery routes.

How did you come to work with Experion?

I searched online and spoke to one of Experion's sales people, who visited our office. We also spoke to two or three other companies, but we chose Experion because of the cost and their experience.

How much have you invested with Experion?

I was not in charge of the financial part.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Experion in 2010. The implementation, testing, and training took two or three months to complete.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

We used to have one person for every two districts, which amounted to 12 people on our backend team. After implementing FieldMax, we have reduced the team to five people in charge of all 24 districts. This has not only amounted to a reduction in cost, but also reduced our error rate.

Our members used to take orders through physical books. After switching to FieldMax, they can visit at least 30 locations per day. This has boosted our overall sales by around 40%.

We have added two additional areas in the FieldMax software, besides order-taking. We also have an analytical reporting tool that helps us understand the full potential of the market by allowing our research department to locate every retail opportunity in our area. Working through a SAP allows us to clearly identify any variations and see the overall efficiency of our infrastructure.

What did you find most impressive about Experion?

Experion's commitment and quality of work was very good, and I am very satisfied with their services. If we express our requirements clearly, we're always successful. Experion is one of the best software partners we've had.

BACKGROUND

Please describe your organization.

We are an Indian manufacturer and distributor of baby-care products. We have over 100 retail stores in India, as well as 16 warehouses and 120 distributors. We have been in business for 20 years.

What is your position?

I am the head of IT for the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What business challenge were you trying to address with Experion Technologies?

We needed to develop a mobile application for order processing and inventory management.

SOLUTION

Please describe the scope of their involvement in greater detail.

Experion Technologies developed our Android app and its backend infrastructure.

Could you provide a sense of the size of this initiative in financial terms?

The cost of Experion Technologies' work has been 10 million INR (Indian Rupees) [$154,000 USD].

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Experion Technologies in the beginning of 2015. The app took three months to complete. We have contracted Experion Technologies for the development of some additional modules for the app, such as warehousing, van-tracking, and so on.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any statistics or metrics from this engagement?

We have been using Experion Technologies' application successfully for the last two years for our warehousing, sales-order process and invoicing. Our workflow has gone to auto-mode because of it, and we have maintained our processes efficiently. The app is used by 200 people on a daily basis.

We needed to fulfill customer demands as early as possible since we're operating in a very competitive market. The app has helped us meet customer demands on time.

How did Experion Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

Experion Technologies is very good in terms of their technical expertise and their service. The collaboration with the team has been good as well. Everything is positive.

Is there anything Experion Technologies could have improved or done differently?

Experion Technologies could improve the technical awareness of its team. They are not up-to-date compared to European counterparts.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

We are a group of Indian exporters for buffalo meat. We are one of the largest exporters of this type of meat in the world, working with 63 countries mainly in the Gulf region. We have also ventured into products like oils and fats, bakery ingredients, vegetable pulps and purees, and so on.

I am the senior IT manager of the organization. I am in charge of all Oracle applications, including rollout implementations and support.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Experion Technologies?

We have recently ventured into the bakery and ice cream areas. We didn't have a CRM [customer relationship management] solution and were not able to track our field sales force. Particularly in the case of ice cream, we focus on B2B transactions, so sales tracking was very important.

We are using an Oracle ERP [enterprise resource planning] system, so we've evaluated their other offerings as well as ones from different vendors, and zeroed in on Experion as a partner.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We have used Experion Technologies’ FieldMax solution, which is a salesforce and productivity tracking tool. It allows us to track each person's daily tasks as well as our overall sales.

We have leveraged Experion's help for other parts of our business, including support and development of applications from scratch for our other businesses. Experion Technologies is our IT partner for CRM and cloud-based solutions, as well as mobile applications.

How did you come to work with Experion Technologies?

We put together a list of requirements and assessed whether we could get these functionalities from our existing ERP software. It was not the case, and even if it was, it could not serve as a mobile solution. We sent out the requirements document to 5–7 vendors, including Microsoft and Experion Technologies. We had a demo session with each of them and evaluated the functionality of their proposed solutions. We also took feedback from the market, namely the companies who were already using those products. Based on this information, Experion was chosen as an application partner.

How much have you invested with Experion Technologies?

The cost of Experion's work has been substantial but fair.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Experion more than two years ago. The collaboration is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

Our project with Experion has definitely been successful. We've seen its benefits, especially for our ice cream business. The platform has helped the person in charge of that area make decisive strategy calls. We are able to get reports of secondary sales and push schemes through to our distributors.

I am able to track my sales force better. In the past, I didn't have any evidence of their work with clients. Experion Technologies’ application provides GPS coordinates for each salesperson, so I can actually mark vendors in.

How did Experion Technologies perform from a project management standpoint?

Experion has a very good project management team. The person I've been in touch with is very down to earth and available for support.

What did you find most impressive about Experion Technologies?

In the software industry, after-sale support does matter, and we've had some very bad past experiences with other vendors. In Experion's case, the team has been very professional, is always one phone call away, and has always respected deadlines. Experion has actually pushed us to stick with the project plan.

Are there any areas Experion Technologies could improve?

Experion could open an office in Mumbai, but they're still only one call away, so it's not important.

What tips or recommendations could you share that might increase the likelihood of success with Experion Technologies?

Clients need to have basic business requirements clearly stated to Experion. With any IT company, we need to confirm that our goals have been properly understood in order to ensure a correct result.