The Short and Sweet
TechAir Group was perfect for the job of helping National Co+Op Grocers (NCG) with their pain points. On a day-to-day basis, NCG was dealing with headache-inducing spreadsheets, valuable information locked away within emails, a frustrating contract process, and a gross loss of productivity.
We translated all of their problems into a streamlined technological workflow using Microsoft Dynamics CRM.
TechAir’s implementation of Microsoft Dynamics CRM for NCG:
- Dramatically enhanced customer service and increased user satisfaction
- Reduced manual processes, improved internal communication and ultimately increased productivity
- Created a unified, centrally-managed system holding a high volume of information
National Co+op Grocers (NCG) provides business services to over 200 retail food co-ops located in 38 states in the U.S. NCG provides management, marketing services, and business development to their member co-ops, providing them the opportunity to optimize operational resources and strengthen purchasing power – ultimately offering more value to food co-op shoppers everywhere.
What was the problem?
The staff was spending a lot of time gathering information before they could do their jobs. They were tracking projects using email and Excel documents; “reply-all” was the order of the day. All of this hunting and gathering was preventing them from providing an enriching customer service experience to their member co-ops.
Challenge Accepted.
We knew exactly what they needed – a custom-built Microsoft Dynamics CRM Dashboard and Information Hub. This solution would:
- Improve communications and information sharing
- Streamline new employee on-boarding
- Eliminate manual processes through automation
- Standardize procedures based on roles
Where did we start?
We created a Co-op Centric Dashboard and Information Hub. It integrates information from a number of other systems and is now the go-to place for the Development Team to review and update information, projects, and tasks. Now, anyone at NCG has access to all the information they need to work with a co-op at any time. Knowing that contracts and information of all kinds are time-sensitive and confidential, we also made certain that NCG’s Co-op CRM is secure, while still being easy to navigate.
Side-by-side, we walked through the solution with the team members so they could understand, learn and love their new technology. The NCG team can log in to the CRM dashboard and see “Co-op Happenings” at each co-op—who the managers are, new employees, etc. Other important trackers on the dashboard include: expansion proposals and new store developments, active issues, projects, competitors, a staff directory and a summary of the co-op’s business and financial information. Having all the co-op’s information at the click of a button allows for more effective communication amongst the Development Team members and other departments within NCG.
Mission Success
NCG can now take advantage of the endless possibilities their CRM has to offer, so they can continue to grow as an organization. They no longer have to dig through emails or worry about working with an out-of-date excel document. They no longer have to wait for someone to be back in office in order to get updates or information – they can simply log in and find the information.
NCG has a standardized, automated contract management process.
- Step-by-step, intuitive procedure that alerts only the necessary parties each time a certain task is completed.
- Anyone at NCG can quickly find out the status of this contract, without sending an email, or picking up the phone
- Individual co-op pages
TechAir strives every day to unlock our clients’ growth potential. With the new CRM in place, NCG is becoming more collaborative and can focus on what they are most passionate about – strengthening the retail food co-op system in America.
“This isn’t just about efficiency, it’s going to enable NCG to provide way better customer service to our co-ops, and dramatically improve our internal processes”
Dave Olson
NCG Development Manager