The challenge
Powerglide's process management couldn’t keep up with its growth. When the company’s processes out-scaled its tools, inefficiencies started to appear, such as:
- Lift information became scattered across various platforms. This caused delays and created a potential for errors.
- The firm lacked a system to integrate service job updates, which is critical for timely and accurate on-site work.
- Powerglide had difficulties compiling data for actionable insights.
- Team members lacked access to real-time data.
What Powerglide was looking for in a CRM?
Powerglide needed a tool to unify its sales, design, and production teams. This meant not only having all the data accessible to the teams but also the underlying processes of data collection and entry. It was also crucial to Powerglide that their CRM integrates with the existing tools they use for work. Because of these requirements, the company looked for a CRM system that would:
- Integrate seamlessly with Gmail
- Was cost-effective, easy to implement and use
- Allowed customisable fields
- Offered more than basic functionality
- Integrated with third-party apps and integrators like Zapier
- Provided them with real-time reports
“We found NetHunt CRM to be really affordable. It was also integrated with Gmail, which is what we were looking for. NetHunt CRM also offers customisable fields, which is great. To top it off, NetHunt CRM is also integrated with Zapier, which greatly benefits us.”
Why Powerglide chose NetHunt CRM and how the firm uses the system
Native Gmail integration
Powerglide wanted a system that integrated natively with Gmail. It was important for the firm to have the primary tool in its inbox. This is important because having a CRM right at your fingertips minimises tab switching between different tools.
Smooth learning curve
Powerglide also chose NetHunt CRM because of its intuitive nature. This helped the tool’s adoption across sales, design, and field coordination teams. NetHunt CRM helped Powerglide manage customer interactions and project details efficiently.
Powerglide also connected NetHunt CRM to other essential third-party apps like Xero, Google Sheets, and Asana. Powerglide says this saved the company considerable time and effort that it would otherwise spend on manual tasks.
Customisability
Another NetHunt CRM feature vital for managing elevator projects is the ability to create custom fields. Powerglide made such fields tailored to the specifics of the elevator industry. As Allan put it, Powerglide’s sales team is also its design team. It requires special CRM fields for its work. An example of such a field is on-site measurements for projects.
Integrability
Powerglide enjoyed NetHunt CRM’s integration with Zapier. It helped the firm ensure that on-site measurements matched the initial design specifications from the architects' plans. The company achieved this through a back-and-forth automated workflow between Powerglide's tech stack. This automation reduced tasks that typically took up to two full days of manual work into seconds.
Powerglide took NetHunt CRM’s integrability a step further. The firm created its own mini-app to transform the data from the CRM into actionable steps for its manufacturing process. When manufacturing lifts, precise measurements need to be taken to make the best decision as to how to proceed. This app, designed with App Sheet, significantly reduces the space for human error during the manufacturing process.
The field team collects the lift shaft measurements and logs them into the app to a spreadsheet. The app sends the data into the spreadsheet integrated with NetHunt CRM through Zapier. Powerglide’s mini-app checks the site measurements against the initial design parameters stored in NetHunt CRM. This ensures accuracy and consistency. Once verified, the system automatically sends orders to steel suppliers for precision laser cutting. If the measurements don’t match up, the system will move the lead to the previous stage and add tasks to the project leader to let them know what to do.
This innovation doesn’t just save time. It reduces processes that took days into seconds. It also enhances scalability. Powerglide can now increase its production capacity without overburdening its staff and reduces the chances of human error in the process.
“The most important thing was ensuring NetHunt CRM data matched the original designs perfectly. We had to check that what we measured on the job site was the same as what was planned. Now, with NetHunt CRM integrating with Google Sheets and Zapier, we can quickly check everything matches up. What used to take us a day or two of hard work, now gets done in seconds. That's a huge time-saver for us.”
Streamlined process management
Powerglide needed the ability to track a deal's progress as it went through different stages until the team filled specific fields. It ensures that no job moves forward without the necessary checks.
Elevator manufacturing is complex. Coordinating the work of separate divisions within the company is really important. When everyone is aligned and informed before advancing to the next stage, any process runs smoothly, like a Swiss-made watch.
Automation
The company’s NetHunt CRM-powered Workflows send emails to clients asking them to make project selections, like choosing colours for their elevators. The system automatically sends reminders if a client does not reply in time.
This helps Powerglide keep its deals on track. However, the best part about utilising workflows is not having to do the “legwork” yourself. Powerglide only had to set the workflow up once, and it runs smoothly for every new client.
“We’ve automated several processes, such as ordering steel parts. This reduces human effort and errors, saving us time and money. This has allowed us to scale up production without the need for additional staff.”
Real-time reporting
Powerglide tracks various metrics inside NetHunt CRM. First, the firm looks at "days from created to confirmed." This report helps it understand market conditions and improve the sales team’s efficiency. Additionally, the company measures "days from created to procurement paid." In other words, when it receives the first payment. This report helps Powerglide better manage its manufacturing capabilities by not spending time working on unfinalised orders.
“Currently, we are manufacturing 12 lifts a month, that's by choice. We could easily be making 20 a month. What NetHunt CRM delivers on is scalability. We wouldn't be able to manufacture the number of lifts we are manufacturing without it, because we would have to employ another person or two just to manage the volume of orders.”
The results
Powerglide's implementation of NetHunt CRM improved the company’s efficiency and productivity. The CRM's robust features allowed it to manage its operations, enhancing business metrics.
5x
Lifts manufactured per month with improved, data-driven decision-making.
60 hours
Saved per month with automated workflows.
Reduced
Human error by automating routine processes with workflows.
Improved
Cross-team communication with a shared database and customised client cards.
