Harald, why do we need a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool at VTG?

The CRM system is a Microsoft Dynamics-based tool for managing all of the company’s interactions with current and potential customers. The aim of the CRM is to give us a 360° view of our customers and to map all business activities in rental and logistics, as well as for wagons and tank containers, in a central tool.

The CRM is therefore the leading system for sales, in which customer inquiries are recorded and managed. It serves as a showcase for our sales activities, so to speak, although the processing of inquiries and the creation of quotations continues to take place in the ERPs (WAMOS!, Its4Rail, Monitor).

What else does our CRM have to offer?

Our pricing service is also embedded in the CRM, in which the wagons to be rented are configured according to customer requirements and rental prices are calculated on this basis. In addition, customer contacts are documented in the CRM in the form of so-called “visiting reports”. In the future, further functions are to be added to the CRM in order to achieve our goal of providing a clear and comprehensive overall picture of our customers.

Pretty comprehensive! How long have we actually been working with the CRM?

We have now been live for just over a year, since April 18, 2023 to be precise. The pricing service was then activated as part of the Moneypenny project within the CRM in October 2023.

Of course, there were various “teething troubles” at the beginning, but we have sorted these out in the meantime. We have also already implemented some minor updates. All in all, we are satisfied: there is no standstill and the CRM is being continuously developed.

How many colleagues work with the system?

At present, 238 employees across Europe use the CRM for their daily work – including our colleagues in the Asset Segments as well as our sales staff.

But that’s not all: in order to obtain a 360° view of our customers in the long term and to be able to make decisions on the basis of meaningful data, it is essential that all VTG locations work with the CRM.

You can find out more about our CRM and the software behind it in the video from our partner AKQUINET:

How many customers are recorded in the CRM?

As of today, we have a total of 2,170 active accounts in the CRM, with several accounts recorded for some customers due to their organizational structure. This includes both existing customers and potential new customers with whom we do not (yet) have an active business relationship. In principle, every potential customer who makes an inquiry or who we actively approach is recorded as a customer (account).

As CRM Manager, you are the main point of contact for users. What does your day-to-day work look like?

I am the central point of contact for all CRM users in Sales, Marketing and the Asset Segments and am responsible for the corresponding management. For example, I answer questions and provide extended support for day-to-day work in the CRM.

In addition to the permanent adaptation and further development of the CRM, my tasks also include obtaining feedback and providing information about innovations, including in regular Q&A sessions. Thanks to my many years of experience in sales and operations, I also see myself as a “user advocate” in collaboration with the IT developers in order to make the CRM as user-friendly as possible.

Are there also challenges in your daily work?

Of course! Probably the biggest challenge of my work is to harmonize the different requirements and wishes of the individual employees with the technical possibilities and to provide the best possible solutions. My goal is to make the CRM easy to use and transparent so that it supports users in their activities in the best possible way and contributes to VTG’s success.