“We required an application that could handle production, consulting, billing of clients, contact management, as well as allow us to manage reports and finance with a level of customisation. And NetSuite was the mechanism that gave us that functionality.”
Hermann Case Study - NetSuite CRM - NetReturn
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| At a glance | |
| Company: | Herrmann International Asia |
| Location: | Offices in Sydney (HQ) and Melbourne |
| Industry: | Consulting; professional services |
| Challenges: |
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| Software switched from: | Microsoft Excel; MYOB |
| Results with NetSuite: |
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The Challenge:
Herrmann International is a global training company, originally based in the US but now with offices across the world. The company uses a profiling tool – the Herrmann ‘Brain Dominance Instrument’ (HBDI) – to help groups and individuals become better at their jobs by analysing the way people think and communicate. The HBDI is a cognitive profiling tool, measuring ‘thinking preferences’ in four actual physical sections of the human brain.
Headquartered in Sydney, the Australian affiliate Herrmann International Asia has seen its revenue grow over 70% in the last two years, with another 30% revenue growth expected in 2006. The company was originally a product seller – licensing the HBDI tests from its American parent and on-selling them. But in the space of three years, Herrmann Asia has evolved to become a business solutions company with a range of training and consulting offerings. In the words of Matthew Galik, Director of Sales and Marketing, “the complexity of the business exploded.” As well as consultancy work, Herrmann also began producing workbooks, adding cost accounting issues into the mix.
The company had been using MYOB for accounting, with Galik trying to juggle various aspects of the business using Excel spreadsheets for managing customer contacts. Focused on sales full time, Galik needed back-office support: “Imagine trying to manage so many aspects of a business only using MYOB!”
“We required an application that could handle production, consulting, billing of clients, contact management, as well as allow us to manage reports and finance with a level of customisation. And NetSuite was the mechanism that gave us that functionality.”
The Solution:
Two years ago, Herrmann’s US office connected to NetSuite, giving Herrmann Asia the impetus for a switch. While Galik says MYOB is “a good solution for some businesses,” NetSuite allowed the company to integrate previously disparate business processes. According to Galik, the main reasons for choosing NetSuite were the CRM component, automation of the customer fulfilment process, the ability to manage inventory, cost control and management reporting.
“It allows us to work on ‘front of house’ instead of doing the back-end stuff.” Where Herrmann once had two projects running, there are now over 30 at any one time. “I no longer have to worry about an element of a project going out on time,” says Galik. “I can come back in two weeks and everything is done.”
The Results:
The biggest result for Herrmann has been the ability to automate many of their business processes and begin to support two direct sales people, allowing them to concentrate on gaining new customers and managing existing customers.
What’s more, the hosted application can expand as Herrmann grows, without consuming valuable resources. While the company currently employs 13 staff, its network of contractors and resellers is over 400 people.
An added bonus was the alignment with Herrmann’s US operations. The company is looking at integrating its information and accounting databases between the US and Australia. And since the conversion to NetSuite, Herrmann’s European partners are now looking to adopt the NetSuite CRM component.
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