SOLUTIONS

Cargas Energy Software Integrated With Microsoft Dynamics® CRM

Combs shared that SMO ultimately chose Cargas over other software vendors for two reasons:

1. They felt Cargas would give them the best opportunity to provide a client experience above and beyond what SMO’s competitors can offer.
2.  Cargas is a preferred provider of Microsoft Dynamics CRM and has expertise in integrating it with other systems

Recognizing the potential customer relationship benefits and corresponding ROI, SMO began working with Cargas to implement the new solution. The company uses a variety of modules within the Cargas Energy software including delivery, service, routing, mobile, accounts receivable management, and inventory management.

“One flaw within our customer experience was that customers with service contracts didn’t always know what was or was not included under the agreements at the time of a service visit,” explained Combs. “Before the Cargas solution, our techs would handwrite invoices, which were sometimes presented days after the visit. Only then would clients realize that certain work or parts weren’t covered under their service agreements. That created misunderstandings when they were billed after the fact.”

With the Cargas Energy software, SMO can now present invoices for payment at the time of service calls. Those invoices clearly identify non-billable charges in addition to those that are billable.

Having the ability to determine efficient delivery routes using mobile technology has also given SMO the opportunity to enhance its service to customers. SMO now offers a same day/next day program that ensures—for a small additional fee—customers who call in before noon can get their deliveries within the same day and customers who call late in the day can get their deliveries as early as possible the next day.

“We weren’t actually looking for that capability, but we discovered it as an added benefit of the software,” shared Combs.

As for the Cargas Energy solution’s integration with Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Combs shared that was one of the critical decision factors SMO considered when evaluating vendors. The limited interaction between the company’s legacy system and its former CRM platform restricted SMO’s ability to manage customer relationships.

“That reinforces the value customers are getting from their service contracts. They see not only what they are being charged for, but also what they weren’t charged for because of their service agreements,” said Combs.

“With Cargas Energy and Dynamics, we have over 200 workflows built out to handle a wide variety of essential tasks, such as: creation of cases, notifying customers of account changes, escalations of customer inquiries, managing marketing campaigns, follow-up email messages to customers, and many others,” described Combs. “We utilize the case management capabilities religiously. Now that follow up is automated via email rather than manually written, checking for customer feedback no longer gets lost in the shuffle.”

SMO has also been able to implement aggressive escalation of cases, resulting in upper management receiving notification if an issue goes unresolved for just four hours. This helps ensure issues are fixed before they become problems.

“We didn’t have that capability before the Cargas solution and a fully integrated CRM,” said Combs.

According to Combs, SMO is also working on some additional build out of the integration, leveraging the APIs built between the Cargas Energy platform and the CRM.

“At SMO, we have a simple strategy for making key business decisions: We ask ourselves, ‘Are we going to be better able to connect with the client by doing this?’ After 90 years in business, we have seen the rewards that come from giving clients an exceptional experience—increased profit is among them.”

—SMO President John Combs

RESULTS

Benefits That Have Fueled Growth

With the ability to do on-the-spot quotes and invoicing/requesting payment during service calls, SMO has been able to organically grow their number of service agreements by 25% and improve receivables.

The mobile routing capabilities that made same day/next day delivery possible have enabled the company to grow its volume of residential fuel delivered by over 2.2 million gallons since implementing the Cargas Energy Solution.

SMO also increased its commercial fuel business by over 600% by utilizing the added capabilities of the Cargas software. “In a 5-year period, our commercial business has grown to be almost as large as our residential business,” shared Combs.

According to Combs, the increased efficiency gained from the solution has helped SMO increase its number of service calls to over 40,000 annually compared to 28,000 in 2010. It has also resulted in a reduction in cost per service call and in the cost per gallon of fuel delivered.

Combs said he believes one of the biggest advantages of working with Cargas has been Cargas’s willingness to be flexible and collaborative. “When working with Cargas, we all feel a part of the same team.”

The ultimate benefit, however, has been SMO’s ability to use the solution to do what the competition can’t—or isn’t willing—to do.

“The processes built with the integration have given us enhanced abilities to do business better. We can do far more than ever before for our customers—and it has streamlined work for all departments within our company. It has been a positive experience for everyone.”