Groupe Alainé
Sector
Activity
Transport, Logistics, Overseas and Forwarding, the ALAINÉ Group's expertise is divided into four complementary business lines to effectively meet the expectations of industry and distribution professionals in France and Europe.
Founded in 1945, Alainé has forged a reputation as a specialist in key transport and logistics markets. The firm employs 1,200 people and generated revenues of €273 million in 2021. Its business has grown by 85% over the past 10 years, through a combination of organic growth and targeted acquisitions.
Alainé has set ambitious business development targets as it seeks to maintain its strong growth trajectory, win new clients and achieve more sales through cross-selling. The management team opted to deploy Salesforce in order to assist its sales reps with lead generation, foster synergies across divisions through data-sharing, and track its sales performance.
“We chose a scalable, open and powerful system that, over time, could support customer service features and connect with our business applications. Our ambition is to keep learning more about our clients, and to foster synergies and collaborative practices across our business lines.” — Jérôme Ezcurra, Logistics Director, Alainé.
Context and objectives
Prior to 2021, the firm’s sales reps had no way of keeping track of their activities, working across divisions or monitoring their sales performance.
After running an internal pilot to confirm whether it needed a CRM system, Alainé decided to deploy Salesforce with the following aims:
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Assist sales reps with intensive lead generation
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Foster synergies and increase collaboration between the firm’s five divisions, in order to boost sales through cross-selling
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Manage data efficiently, all in one place
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Track sales activities using indicators
Work performed
Alainé and Hardis Group worked together for a month and a half on Salesforce design and configuration.
Following a series of design workshops facilitated by Hardis Group consultants:
- The CRM core model was installed and configured in line with Alainé’s requirements and processes (site visit reports, campaigns, sales updates, lead management, etc.).
- Indicators and dashboards were created to allow to senior manager to track sales activities.
Application
The system was first deployed and tested in real-world conditions at a trade fair, before being released to sales reps and managers, who received prior training. Around 40 sales reps now use the application on a daily basis.
Benefits
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360° knowledge of clients and prospects
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Improved information-sharing and collaboration across the firm’s five divisions
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Granular tracking of sales activities
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Open system that, in future, will support customer service features and be connected to business applications