Salesforce Engagement Success Story: Empowering a Global Consumer Goods Organization with a Strategic CRM Solution
A global consumer goods organization approached The Negotiator Guru (TNG) to assist in sourcing, negotiating, and contracting a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) digital capability for a new business unit within their organization. The client's objectives were to thoroughly assess the marketplace, identify suitable suppliers, secure a fair market price, and eliminate any potential contractual risks that could hinder future growth. We commend the client's proactive approach, and as a result, they partnered with Salesforce, a supplier incentivized to support our client's success and expansion.
Our Approach
To achieve optimal results, we leveraged our 4-step IT Software Negotiation Process, tailored specifically to meet the client's unique requirements:
Step 1) Discovery
We collaborated with the client's project team, assisting them in understanding and considering various assessment criteria in alignment with their business and technical needs. This process ensured a comprehensive understanding of the organization's specific requirements.
Step 2) Strategy
To maximize the value of the CRM capability, we developed multiple user personas across the new organization. By considering how different users would utilize the CRM solution, we created a tailored approach that addressed diverse user needs and facilitated seamless adoption.
Step 3) Negotiate
Throughout the negotiation process, we provided expert advice to our client, ensuring an equitable relationship between Salesforce and the organization. By advocating for our client's interests, we secured a mutually beneficial agreement that supported the client's growth objectives.
Step 4) Contract Execution
With a focus on future-proofing the client's CRM implementation, we diligently analyzed the contract, identifying and eliminating potential contractual risks that could impede the organization's progress over the next 3-5 years. This step provided the client with valuable safeguards and ensured a commercially aligned path to growth.
The Remarkable Results
Our engagement delivered exceptional results for the global consumer goods organization. The client established a strategic partnership with Salesforce, positioning them for long-term success. Furthermore, we provided a competitive rate benchmark baseline, enabling the organization to ensure they were paying a fair market price. With our expertise in contract execution, we aligned the contractual terms to protect the client's interests and foster their growth trajectory.
At The Negotiator Guru, we are committed to empowering organizations with strategic software solutions. This success story exemplifies our ability to source, negotiate, and contract CRM capabilities while ensuring favorable outcomes for our clients. Contact us today to leverage our expertise and drive optimal results for your CRM engagements
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IT Software Case Study
Client Name/Size/Sector:
- Company Name Confidential
- $15+ Billion Annual Revenue
- 5K+ Employees
- Financial Services
Supplier:
- Salesforce
Engagement Type:
- Client engaged “The Negotiator Guru” (firm) to deliver IT Strategic Sourcing Advisory Services to a specific business unit.
Problem:
- While the client had a centralized procurement department (good thing), there was very little support from the IT department. In other words, the IT department operated independently and did not trust the client’s procurement department.
- The client did not have a centralized spend visibility tool
- Note: The client had SAP as their primary ERP system but was not able to accurately identify spend across regions as a result of poor reporting from the tool.
- The client’s IT spend is broken between global and regional budgets depending on the application.
Activities:
- Identified current state contracts across the globe
- Identified both influencing and decision-making stakeholders within IT and the Business Units that utilized similar software packages.
- Coordinated global business units and stakeholder meetings to discuss opportunity, gather feedback, and drive results.
- Utilized proprietary tools, templates, and techniques to assign global roles & responsibilities, action items, and negotiation tactics in the interest of speaking from one voice.
Results:
- Client Savings: $13 Million
- Negotiated the agreement down from $25 Million to $12 Million for a 3-year contract.
- Even though the firm was retained to focus only on a specific business unit, we identified cost savings opportunities that benefited multiple business units across the organization.
Microsoft Case Study: Fortune 50 Company
Microsoft Engagement Overview:
Fortune 50 Company
One of our Fortune 50 clients engaged use to advise on a high-stakes negotiation with Microsoft. The client had a large contract with Microsoft which we were able to both 1) negotiate a large technology uplift while also 2) produce a $5 million in net savings.
Key Activities
We utilized our 4-step IT Software Negotiation Process to successfully engage with the client:
- Identified current state contracts and client-based obligations
- Developed a risk profile of current state contract language against enterprise project plan timelines and dependencies
- Utilized our proprietary decision-matrix framework to drive C-Level decision making
- Advised client on key dependencies to consider throughout the project
- Directly provided hands-on support/representation throughout the entire negotiation and contracting process
The Results
(not comprehensive)
- $5 Million cost savings and $10.7 Million cost avoidance over contract term
- Significant technology uplift providing access to the most advanced digital capabilities
- Uniquely engaged and supported the company’s cybercrime resilience strategy
- Enabled Device Modern Management allowing for additional endpoint security
- Negotiated a client specific license structure enabling the client to be highly flexible of their utilization of the platform
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$53M in IT Savings for a biopharmaceutical company
One of our recent clients was a biopharmaceutical company with $5B+ in annual revenue. The client had a large software contract with one of the industry leading providers. The original agreement was charged on a “case volume” basis which was leading to rapid growth in costs beyond our client's budget.
We helped the client renegotiate the agreement with their software vendor by:
- Changing the cost lever from which the client was billed from “case volume” to “seat-based licenses”
- Setting rates on a “should cost” basis due to The Negotiator Guru’s extensive experience in the IT Sourcing industry
- We decided that 35% was an acceptable margin for a software provider to be charging the client. Previously, the software vendor had been charging a 200% margin.
- Handling the entire renegotiation process
The end result:
$52.3M+ in savings over 5 years
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