The legacy industries are moving more and more towards cloud-based digital solutions to develop their businesses. Now, Salesforce hopes that it will get some cut of this when it comes to the IT investments. The CRM (customer relationship management) giant is doubling down on providing specialized solutions for individual industry verticals. The company is now showcasing new business units, which are dedicated to consumer goods, and manufacturing.
The names of the two products are Consumer Goods Cloud and Manufacturing Cloud. However, the company has also created other vertical-specific products. Some other vertical-specific products include media, retail, and healthcare.
Salesforce concentrates on making industry-specific solutions. The main idea behind Salesforce’s strategy is that the CRM that manufacture consumer goods have some common factors with other industries. However, they have specific requirements regarding how to manage sales and clients.
When it comes to consumer goods and manufacturing, both are capital-intensive businesses. Therefore, people working on physical products might be disconnected with those working in sales or those in the field helping to distribute the goods to the clients.
Cindy Bolt, the GM of Salesforce Manufacturing said, “In the manufacturing industry, changing the demands of the customer and market can have catastrophic consequences. Therefore, it is very important to know the ground realities if you want to succeed. Manufacturing Cloud will lessen the gap between the operations and sales teams. It would also ensure a transparent business, which would help in building long-term relations with customers.”
Salesforce isn’t producing consumer goods and manufacturing, out of nowhere. The company has been marketing these services for some time now. The company recently acquired Steelbrick, which is a specialist in the quote-to-cash solutions. Therefore, this acquisition has played an important role in the manufacturing of cloud goods.
In the manufacturing cloud, the company has introduced a feature for sales agreements that connects with the company’s software. This would help in predicting customer demands and the wider market. The services also include analytical insights through Einstein Analytics. The third-party groups working with Salesforce are Rootstock, Deloitte, and Acumen Solutions.
The Manufacturing Cloud and the Consumer Goods Cloud have some things in common. Both target businesses that manufacture physical goods and don’t change easily by digital innovations. However, we know that 95% of Amazon products are still sold in physical stores. Amazon was recently involved in a social media scandal.
“Retail execution is probably the most important part of a consumer goods strategy. However, many opportunities go to waste if the field rep doesn’t have the appropriate technology to make decisions,” said John Strain, the GM of Retail and Consumer Goods qat Salesforce, “Consumer goods gives them the tools needed for success. They also help in building a stronger relationship and viable business opportunities.”
Research from PwC states that, in the U.S., consumer goods companies spend around $200 billion on marketing and sales efforts for in-store sales. However, $100 billion of the total isn’t used the way it is intended. Therefore, this is one reason why so many consumer goods companies have arrived on social media. It is a good way of connecting directly with the customers.
The above research shows that this is a huge revenue area for the company; Consumer Goods Cloud is just the start of it. The product has software that addresses the areas, like making better relations with the retailers, optimizing store visits, and using Einstein insights for ordering the software. Major partners of the company are PwC and Accenture.
However, Salesforce has entered a competitive market. There are many companies making products specifically for these markets, like Atlatl Software for manufacturing and Sysco for consumer goods. Even Microsoft is also targeting the same customers.
Sales Cloud now generates almost one-quarter of Salesforce’s revenue. This news clearly shows that sales have become quite complex as businesses grow. Therefore, companies like Salesforce will make more vertical-specific tools in the future to facilitate the sales business.
