Carpeting giant sees fast salesforce software ROI

Interface, a $1.2bn supplier of modular carpeting, claims to have seen a six- to nine-month return on investment (ROI) for salesforce automation software (SFA) from IBM and Relavis.

A system based on an IBM DB2 database and Lotus Notes groupware was being used by 220 EMEA employees, but customised SFA software imported from US operations wasn't doing the trick.

Interface worked with IT services company Salmon to install the new software, still sitting on top of mainly IBM-based infrastructure, which has greatly helped co-ordinate teams of salespeople across Europe.

Patrick Riley, senior VP of new business development at Interface, said: "We stand and fall on our sales but we are looking at long lead times, multiple influencers and a [sales] staff attrition rate that means we used to struggle to pass on knowledge."

An IBM partner, Salmon's job was to implement the software so that data is pulled together from the different parts of Interface's business and so that forecasting can be carried out accurately.

The SFA system now uses browser-based thin clients for staff on the road, and is in languages other than English.

It has helped the company stay closer to its customers, though Interface is reluctant to call the technology CRM.

"We’ve avoided that - it sounds too grandiose," said Riley.

Although financial details haven't been disclosed, it is thought to have cost several hundred thousand dollars in licence fees and implementation.