Pivotal uses Ross Systems tie, vertical CRM, to target manufacturers
By Staff -- Manufacturing Business Technology, 9/1/2005 6:00:00 AM
Customer relationship management (CRM) vendor Pivotal counts hundreds of manufacturers in its installed base, but sees a couple of new factors further pushing its solutions into manufacturing. These include being a sister company to Ross Systems, an ERP vendor focused on process manufacturers, and Pivotal's medical-device industry edition.
Pivotal and Ross are both part of CDC Corp., an enterprise software provider that targets North America and Asia Pacific, including mobile applications and Internet services in China. According to Bruce Cameron, Pivotal's general manager of industry solutions, Pivotal and Ross reported 10 joint sales as of July 2005. Cameron says more than 500 of Pivotal's 1,800 total customers are manufacturers, so it already has a significant installed base in manufacturing.
Pivotal's experience in providing solutions to about 25 medical-device manufacturers led it to package functionality into a suite called Pivotal Medical Devices.
Much of the functionality revolves around what Cameron calls "relationship management," necessary because medical device OEMs deal with complex networks in selling and supporting products. The CRM system offers roles management rules to ensure the right team members, possibly including distributors, are assigned to the right accounts. The functionality also helps OEMs track where sales originate, even when that source is a couple tiers down the supply chain. A pricing configurator ensures quotes are accurate and reflect volume discounts.
"We've seen the customizations that our medical-device users have made in the past," Cameron says. "Where there are similar uses by a cross section of this customer base, we've made that standard functionality."
Dale Hagemeyer, a research director with Stamford, Conn.-based Gartner, agrees that Pivotal has brought together functions medical-device manufacturers need, but it must compete with Oracle and Siebel in the sector—and with smaller vendors as well.
Hagemeyer says, "You need field-sales and tele-sales, and you need service and dispatch management. You need content management via a portal. Not many cover all those areas."
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