Adidas Sales Force Gets Down to Business
Adidas Group is equipping its sales force with a software infrastructure that improves customer service to accounts and ensures consistent global tracking of the company's overall performance. The adidas Group selects Business Objects, a provider of business intelligence (BI) solutions, as its BI standard in the United States. "Business Objects has made our sales force, and our entire business, much more agile," says Tim R. Oligmueller, sales automation manager for adidas Group. "With the business intelligence infrastructure, we can be confident we have consistent, accurate information when we walk into the board room. We will continue to upgrade and explore opportunities that will give us even faster access to the information that matters most to our business." Using the software, the sales team has the ability to track immediate information on product movement within the stores. Standardized reporting from Business Objects helps adidas stay on top of trends and close the sale. The BI solution allows the marketing department to monitor trends and inform customers while they are stocking products, and provides accurate information to deliver reliable forecasts for potential demand and prediction of future sales. The finance department monitors commission payments to its sales force, making the latest commission numbers available via an intranet powered by BusinessObjects Web Intelligence. In addition, traveling account managers have access via wireless PDA's to commission reports, critical account and sales data, as well as immediate and accurate information on product availability.