Advantages of the Salesforce Automation Systems - Report Example

Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of sales force automation. Introduction With the world expanding it is seen that the businesses are striving to achieve success too in this world. Gradually with every day it is seen that the businesses are implementing new strategies through which they can become even more successful. It is also seen that with progression many people are investing in the sector of business and hence a strong competition is created for almost all the companies. In such a competitive world it almost becomes inevitable for a company to survive if it does not follow new strategies and plans. Sales are an important aspect for every business and to enhance sales every business is promoting a new strategy so that they can increase their profits. One strategy which has been formed by businesses is of Sales Force Automation. A Sales Force Automation system revolves around the aspects of sales and the data received by these sales. Companies use this system to enhance their customer relationships by keeping a track on the data received by them. However Sales Force Automation also has some disadvantages. This essay would further discuss both the advantages and disadvantages of Sales Force Automation. Advantages The Sales Force Automation brings about a change in the processes of sales staff and managers. These changes were introduced with the advent of this concept in 1980s. Before the introduction of Sales Force Automation software and concepts, different software was used carry out different operations. There was a need to develop software that compiles these different software into one integrated package which may aid the sales force activities. The Sale Force Automation, hence, is the outcome of that hunt by the concerned groups. Morgan & Inks (2001) suggest that Sales Force Automation is, in the recent era, considered as ‘competitive imperative’ generating ‘competitive parity’ (Engle & Barnes, 2000). The positive aspects of Sales Force Automation are not limited. Siebel and Malone (1996) discuss the economic returns related to its use and assert that the economic gains are liquid and instant. The businesses adopt it for the achievement of economic benefits and sustainable profits. More to it, the use of Sales Force Automation is also subject to achieve increased Return on investment i.e. more than 100 percent (Moriarty and Swartz, 1989). Sales Force Automation is considered to be an important part of businesses these days. Information technology is now considered to be an important aspect of sales for the businesses as it helps to keep records and increase the efficiency of the salesperson when dealing with customers. Several researches have been conducted on the aspect of Sales Force automation to confirm the results brought by it. It is believed that Sales Force Automation acts in such a way that it helps the sales manager to know about the inner aspects of the company more clearly. It helps the sales manager to know about the products of the company and inform the client accordingly. Through the help of sales force automation the sales manager can be able to know about the warehousing of different products. Information about warehousing can help the sales manager to properly inform the clients of the company. Moreover the sales manager can also provide information to the manufacturing department about the number of sales done in a day so that the products can be manufactured accordingly. In other words SFA is a system which can increase productivity if implemented in the right way. A research done by Keillor, Bashaw and Pettijohn showed that SFA increased the productivity of the company.SFA is an automated process which helps the sales department to easily access information about the sales which can help them to take decisions accordingly (Keillor et al 1997). It is because of this easily accessible information that the sales department is able to convey the messages to the customers or the clients and thus it forms a platform for communication between the company and the clients. Erffmeyer and Johnson conducted a study to find out the effectiveness of SFA. It was found that through SFA the sales department is able to enhance the platform of communication between the company and the clients. It is because of the proper usage of Sales Force Automation that the clients are satisfied by the sales department of the company. For example if a client places an order with the sales department he needs an exact date as to when his goods would be delivered and this is exactly where the role of SFA comes. SFA helps the sales department to know as to how much goods do they presently have and how much more do they need to satisfy the demand of the client. In other words through the automated system they are able to know about the internal information about the company through which they can tell the client as to when would they get their goods. This would help to increase the turnaround of goods for the clients. It is also believed by many that sales automation force helps to increase the sales of the company as the reputation of the company is improved because of the automated system (Erffmeyer et al 2001). The primary advantage of SFA is that it decreases the time to access information for both the department of sales and the clients. It can be clearly seen that researches have underlined the advantages of SFA and if the system is further improved upon a company can benefit even more (Alan et al 2005). Disadvantages Regardless of the benefits, it must be noted that a study reveals failure of 61% SFA implementations (Morgan & Inks, 2001; Rivers & Dart, 1999). The automation of the sales force may provide good returns; however, the initial investments may pose as a drawback for the company’s current financial position. The investment in implementing the Sales for automation depends greatly on the size of the business. The larger the sales staff is, the greater would be the investment required to automate it. The change in technology and work nature is another threat to the organizational success. Workers are one of the greatest resources of the business and they need to be satisfied with their jobs and working environment. Introduction of a whole new technological environment may not only threaten them for the complications in its use but may also dissatisfy them as they would need to put efforts and time in understanding and getting familiar with the new technology. To overcome this technology fear and satisfy the staff, there would be a need to train them. The training sessions would require more investment and time. The orientation, training and evaluation of the performance after training requires efforts from the upper management. Hence, Sales Force Automation is not fruitful without some necessary steps which include the satisfaction and ease of the sales staff (Buttle et al. 2006). The sales force must be given clear instructions as to how and for what purposes are they allowed to use the automated system. The use of technology and automated systems should be encouraged by letting the sale force know of the advantages Automation brings. The sales force must have enough information on the management and assembling of information to avoid delays and wastage of time. The more the sales force knows about automation, the more are the chances of its successful implementation. In order to enjoy full benefits of Sales Force Automation, there is a need to understand and consider the barriers that are responsible for its failure. The strategic and organizational barriers are far difficult to manage than the technical ones (Wright & Donaldson, 2002). The organizational culture, structure and nature have a more striking effect on the success of automation than the technical faults. Regardless of the benefits, it must be noted that a study reveals failure of 61% SFA implementations (Morgan & Inks, 2001; Rivers & Dart, 1999). Ahearne et al. (2004) noticed and stated that much of the research is carried on the adoption of SFA rather than the use of it. Hence, the failure of SFA may be associated with the fact that Sales staff is not motivated to use it. There is a need to motivate them on attending the training sessions and using the technology as implemented. Conclusion: The rapid development in the technology has made many complicated tasks easier for men. The use of computer and related technologies, especially in the modern businesses, has made work easier for the corporation and sales force. A carefully constructed plan, efficiently elected attitude and proper training is the key to increased productivity. For the use of retail and wholesale businesses’ sales staff, which are required to keep records of daily transactions, Sales force Automation software and techniques brought a great change. The sales staff can save time using the automated systems and may use that time in other productive means for instance, in cultivating more sales by giving more time to the customers effectively. However, there are some pitfalls that prevail with the use of Sales Force Automation. This paper weighed between the advantages and disadvantages that Sale Force Automation brings using the existing literature and concludes that successful implementation requires strategic decisions to be taken efficiently. The Sales Force Automation may bring greater benefits if adopted and used by the sales force in an efficient manner. Bibliography: Ahearne, Michael, Luke Weinstein, Luke Weinstein, and Narasimhan Srinivasan. 2004. "EFFECT OF TECHNOLOGY ON SALES PERFORMANCE: PROGRESSING FROM TECHNOLOGY ACCEPTANCE TO TECHNOLOGY USAGE AND CONSEQUENCE". Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management. 24 (4): 297-310. Buttle, Francis, Lawrence Ang, and Reiny Iriana. 2006. "Sales force automation: review, critique, research agenda". International Journal of Management Reviews. 8 (4): 213-231. Engle, R. L., and M. L. Barnes. 2000. 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