Micron Consumer Products Group Connects Global Teams to Increase Sales and Improve Coordination

Micron Consumer Products Group (CPG) wanted its teams to be more aligned and more efficient. The sales, marketing, planning and other teams had employees located across the globe who were dependent on siloed technology solutions. Communications between departments were done through email and it was difficult to get processes approved in a timely and efficient manner. The team needed a solution to stay efficient and improve coordination and communication.

To do this, Micron CPG began searching for a platform that would allow the business to develop applications to streamline their workflow with minimal to no IT resources. The team selected Quickbase because of its overall ease of use and speed to solution. Now with multiple applications, the results have resulted in gains in process efficiency, better coordination, a reduction in errors from manual efforts and the ability to deliver better results to internal stakeholders.

Challenge

• Business processes siloed across globally distributed teams
• Lack of visibility into discount approvals and other processes led to inefficiencies
• Processes and communications done on spreadsheets and emails resulting in no single source of truth on key processes
• Outdated reporting tools hampered decision making

Solution

• Customer Program management and New Partners applications built on Quickbase helped connect multiple teams and processes
• Built-in workflow tools to automate inefficient, manual processes
• Fast, flexible reporting with charts and graphs
• Governance features that allow for fast development while keeping data protected
• Better ability to track and correct defects

Benefits

• 93% process improvement for discount approvals, leading to greater sales volume and increased revenue
• Reduction of errors in package design process, reducing risk of costly mistakes
• New applications developed and deployed
• Improved visibility to programs in a central system that drives better customer engagement and negotiations

Global Teams Need Global Workflows

As the consumer-facing division of global memory giant Micron Technology, Micron CPG offers Crucial DRAM, SSD, and system solutions through e-tail, retail, and reseller channels. Like any company with teams in almost every corner of the globe, getting processes to flow smoothly can be challenging.

Micron CPG needed a better way to manage its discount request process, which spanned multiple teams and locations, and wasn't managed by a single software solution. Sales reps would request discounts by email, but depending on the circumstances, they might need approval from the pricing team, product marketing team, finance department, or a global sales executive or sometimes a combination of those leading to an overall frustration by team members.

The Micron CPG team saw an opportunity to use Quickbase to automate several manual processes that required collaboration from distributed teams and with multiple sources of data. This was able to be done without having to rely on IT whenever a change or modification would need to be made.

To smooth the discount request process, the team built a Pricing Request application on Quickbase. With little or no prior Quickbase experience, the team was able to get the Pricing Request application up and running in less than one week.

The application stores updated price lists and uses built-in formula fields to enable sales reps to perform discount calculations quickly without using spreadsheets. Automated notifications route discount requests to the next approver, so the request is always in front of the right person or team. Built-in reporting features also allow sales reps to check in on the status of any request at any time.

The results speak for themselves. Not only are sales reps now able to check in on the status of a request quickly and from any device, but those requests are also handled much faster. The average response time for a discount decision has been reduced by 93% in a key process that arms the sales team to close deals faster and increase overall revenues.

Quickbase as a Platform for Operational Excellence

Solving the discount request challenge was the Micron CPG teams first success with Quickbase, but it wouldn't be the last. Other business process challenges the team has solved with Quickbase include:

Sample requests

To streamline the process of requesting samples for customers and prospects, the team deployed a Sample Request application built on Quickbase. Any requests entered into the application are automatically routed to the fulfillment team. The sales rep then receives a notification when the sample is shipped, plus a follow-up notification seven days later so he or she can follow up with the customer or prospect.

Printed packaging quality control

To ensure that all printed packaging is accurate and up to date, the team built a Quality Assurance application on the Quickbase platform. The application stores and automatically updates logos, messaging, and safety certification marks to enable marketing teams to work from the most accurate information when creating package designs.

Customer Program Management

The application is integrated with Micron’s ERP system to manage customer program details. It routes new customer programs through a workflow process for sign off from Marketing, Sales, and Finance leadership allowing auditable tracking of the approval process. It has centralized the management and reporting of customer programs for significantly improved data management of customer terms, marketing development fund (MDF) budgets, and rebates across all product types.

New Partners

The New Partners application is used to track all customer account details routed through a workflow approval process prior to the creation in Micron’s ERP system. The application has helped to industrialize the decision-making process around new customers by providing Sales and Marketing better visibility to new customer requests leading to better decision making

Quick Results with Quick Speed to Delivery

For Micron CPG, the ability to deliver applications that meets its needs is one thing. Delivering them at lightning speed is another. That speed gives Micron CPG the ability to not only reduce its backlog of application requests, but also to reap the benefits of process automation in a fraction of the time required for traditional IT development processes.

This post was updated on November 15, 2019