Working with an apprenticeship training provider, Akita worked across their Dynamics 365 ecosystem to improve the efficiency of operations.
The training provider specialised in technology training for existing and new staff across the South of England. It first engaged Akita to enhance its staff's proficiency in Microsoft Dynamics 365 Marketing to support its promotion activities of training courses.
Following successful completion, it requested Akita work with the company to customise its Dynamics 365 Sales setup to deliver specific customisations and improve overall operations.
Challenges Of An ‘Out Of The Box’ Deployment
The training provider was utilising Dynamics 365 Sales deployed ‘out of the box’ by another provider. While this was usable, certain functions were not aligned with working practices, causing inefficiency.
To begin with, the training provider's sales team had all been assigned the 'Sales Manager' role within Dynamics 365 Sales. This resulted in issues in reporting visibility, with confusing dashboards showing the whole team rather than individual performance metrics. This was a simple fix, instantly providing a more relevant view of sales data.
We then worked closely with the company to ensure its sales CRM system was customised to capture all of the necessary opportunity information that its team needed. This included setting up marketing preferences, detailed opportunity information, clear account ownership, identification of decision-makers, and opportunity financials.
We also investigated and resolved issues noted with pipeline reporting within Dynamics 365 Sales, ensuring this held accurate and up-to-date data.
Lastly, as an efficiency point, Akita introduced its own innovative 'copy-paste record' solution. This tool – not indigenous to Dynamics 365 – provides one-touch record cloning; significantly reducing the time and effort required to manage lead and opportunity records.
Results
The customisation and improvements implemented by Akita have helped fit Dynamics 365 tighter to the training provider's sales operations.
The new structure and fields within the sales CRM system have supported improved data capture and more efficient and accurate reporting. Meanwhile, the resolution of technical issues in the live pipeline ensures that the sales team has access to reliable data.
Overall, the apprenticeship training provider has experienced an improvement in its operations, with increased data flow and improved productivity from its marketing and sales functions.
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