ERP and CRM to amplify efficiency gains and customer service levels at Arcam

Maintaining superior customer service and technology standards in a highly competitive, fast-moving industry, meant award-winning hi-fi and home cinema manufacturer, Arcam, needed the support of a new state-of-the-art computer system.

Based in Cambridgeshire, Arcam was established in 1976 by a group of university students who began building amplifiers for local enthusiasts because commercially available amplifiers lacked quality and reliability.  Arcam now employs 70 people, exports to 40 countries and turns over 12 million.  It continues to apply a philosophy of design simplicity and materials integrity to all its products.

An expanding company with an increasingly diverse product range, Arcam needed to upgrade its IT system to help introduce greater efficiencies into its internal processes and improve an already high standard of customer service.  The company is implementing a fully-integrated, 30-seat SYSPRO ERP system with Microsoft CRM from K3.  The system is scheduled to go live in June 2006 and expected to deliver substantial benefits.

SYSPRO will help accelerate the companys management decision-making processes by removing manual reporting systems and eliminating the re-keying of data.  Consolidating databases across the company, the new system will allow Arcam to introduce efficiencies into its business processes - from R&D through engineering and manufacturing, to sales and purchasing - all experiencing increased complexity as technology demands change and grow. 

Jacky Cross, IT and special projects manager (and one of the companys founders): Were expecting it to revolutionise the way we work internally.  We have a clear strategy for the business - where were going and how to get there - and we needed a modern, intuitive computer system that will support that

Arcams relationships with its dealers and end-users are vitally important - the company attracts a high level of product registrations from customers and the CRM system will provide instant access to historical information, bringing significant advantages.  
Jacky Cross again:  If one of our sales people is visiting a dealer on the other side of the world, they will be able to instantly access the latest information on that account in real-time, irrespective of the time-zone differences; that gives a massive boost to customer service, as well as maximising sales opportunities.

By automating the engineering change control process, the new system will also free up engineers from administrative tasks and allow them to focus on their core responsibility of developing the leading-edge products for which the company has become known.

The capability within the CRM system for Arcam to accurately profile its customers will facilitate the delivery of full permission-based marketing programmes - such as product upgrade promotions to end-users and dealer-specific events - and the company also hopes to develop the system to allow dealers to order spare parts over the Internet.