TaylorMade Better Equips its Sales Force

While supply chain tasks such as taking inventory and documenting orders are a necessary part of being competitive when serving retail customers, performing these tasks is not necessarily the most productive use of a sales representative's time. In fact, these activities were pinpointed as issues detracting from sales time for sporting goods manufacturer TaylorMade.

Sales representatives for TaylorMade sell clubs, clothing and accessories to more than 10,000 retail outlets. TaylorMade executives concluded that if the company could automate sales force services, which required more than 60 percent of the in-outlet time for the 100-plus representatives, the overhead savings and increase in sales revenue could be significant.

TaylorMade chose AT&T to deliver a wireless solution based on its network and value added services for designing the ideal mix of solution components. Sales representatives are now equipped with Pocket PC-based devices using the AT&T Wireless network and the devices are used to expedite the inventory process, as well as for wireless sales data entry and access.

To help TaylorMade's enterprise system improve its supply chain process, sales representatives now use a barcode-scanning feature on their mobile devices to quickly take in-store product inventories. This information is loaded into the company's enterprise system in real time. It is then available to shipping, billing, manufacturing and other TaylorMade departments that rely on this information for their performance.

In addition, sales representatives can now access sales call information, up-to-date product catalog information and in-transit and on-order information in real time; they can also place orders, receive order confirmation and even print sales orders while at the customer site. Time that used to be spent taking inventory is now dedicated to making additional sales calls or sharing sales management reports and other information with retail store owners to maximize their TaylorMade product sales.

TaylorMade's wireless sales force automation solution has:

• Increased revenue: Sales revenue growth since inception averages 15 percent per sales representative, and 10 percent to 20 percent per customer order.
  
  
• Increased average sales calls per day: Because TaylorMade sales representatives now require significantly less time to conduct product inventories and process sales orders, they have more time for selling. The increase in sales calls is equivalent to adding approximately 25 sales representatives to its sales force.
  
  
• Improved customer service: Sales representatives now have time to provide valuable information to store owners. They can provide the amount of revenue the store is generating from sales of TaylorMade products, compare that to sales of competitors' products and suggest ways that retailers can increase their sales.
  
  
• Increased sales forecast accuracy: Automatic collection of near real-time sell-through data helps TaylorMade manufacturing manage operations more effectively.
  
  
• Reduced inventory time up to 75 percent: Inventories have greater accuracy and enter the central TaylorMade system much faster. This led to increased job satisfaction for sales representatives and helps other departments in the company be more efficient.
  
  
• Increased customer satisfaction: On-time deliveries and more effective merchandising of TaylorMade products have increased store owner satisfaction and loyalty.