Sales Best Practices with OurSys ERP

OurSys ERP is used by a diverse range of manufacturing organisations, each configured to meet their specific operational requirements. While every implementation is unique, there are several proven best practices that ensure consistency, data accuracy, and efficiency across sales processes.

This article outlines key best practices for maintaining master data, managing leads, handling enquiries and quotations, and booking sales orders effectively in OurSys ERP.

1. Master Data Management

Customer Data

1. Classify prospects appropriately - Customers who have not yet placed an order should be marked as "Prospect" in the Customer Master. This classification helps differentiate between potential and existing customers. Dormant customers who need re-engagement can also be reclassified as Prospects.
2. Avoid prefixes - Do not prefix customer names with "M/s." or similar titles, as this causes all records to be alphabetically grouped under "M."
3. Maintain unique customer codes - Customer codes can be auto-generated or manually entered but must remain unique. When Customer Name Secrecy is enabled, the system displays Customer Codes in place of names.
4. Check for duplicates - Always verify if a customer already exists before creating a new record. OurSys auto-detects exact duplicates but may not identify entries with spelling variations.
5. Ensure correct location data - Select the appropriate Country, State, and City. If a location is missing, request your administrator to update the master list. This ensures accurate region-based reporting.
6. Use Customer Groups wisely - Customer Grouping can represent corporate affiliations or any custom grouping relevant to your business structure.
7. Populate analytical fields - Always fill in Industry Type, Region, and Source. These fields are crucial for analytical and sales performance reports.
8. Grade and follow up - Assign grades to customers and configure follow-up reminders to maintain consistent engagement with key accounts.
9. Use complete legal names - Enter full forms such as "Private Limited" or "Limited" instead of abbreviations ("Pvt.", "Ltd."), as short forms are not permitted on the GST portal.
10. Assign bank details per customer - Specify the bank account to be used for each customer, especially when receiving payments in different currencies. The selected bank name appears automatically on invoices and pro-forma documents.
11. Enter GST details before order booking - GST numbers must be recorded before creating a Sales Order. OurSys alerts users in red if this field is missing, and GST information is mandatory during invoicing.

Customer Locations

1. Decide between multiple customers or locations - If a client issues centralised purchase orders, create a single customer entry with multiple delivery locations. However, if each branch issues separate orders, create distinct customer records and link them using the Group field.
2. Leverage Google Maps integration - Add Google location links in the Location Link field to access the customer's site directly from OurSys - a valuable feature for sales and service personnel.

Contact Person Master

1. Define the contact's hierarchy level - Always specify whether the contact is a decision-maker, mid-level manager, or junior staff. This classification supports targeted communication.
2. Capture personal details - Record dates of birth where possible (information may be obtained from LinkedIn or Facebook). OurSys provides a dashboard notification for upcoming birthdays to help maintain strong customer relationships.

2. Setting Sales Targets

1. Customer-wise targets - Define sales targets for each customer to monitor performance through Target vs. Actual Sales reports.
2. Sales representative targets - Assign individual targets to sales representatives for performance tracking and team evaluation.

3. Price List Management

For standard catalog items, OurSys allows you to configure multiple types of price lists, including:

1. Default price list (in home currency)
2. Customer-specific price list
3. Region-specific price list
4. Currency-specific price list
5. Quantity slab-based price list

4. Sales Region Configuration

Sales regions in OurSys define data access control. Each customer is assigned to a specific region, and users can access only the customers within their authorised regions.

5. Visit Management

1. Plan visits - Create visit plans to receive automatic email reminders every Monday.
2. Log completed visits - Recording visits helps justify travel expenses and ensures consistent customer engagement tracking.

6. Lead Management

1. Use custom attributes - Utilise the Attributes feature to capture company-specific information not available in the default OurSys fields. Up to 10 custom fields can be defined.

7. Enquiry Handling

1. Track enquiry stages - Update the Enquiry Stage regularly to monitor pipeline progression through the enquiry funnel.
2. Maintain detailed comments - Keep enquiry comments up-to-date for easier tracking across all open enquiries.
3. Access key customer data - Use the Details link next to the customer name to view critical information such as outstanding payments, open quotations, and sales orders.
4. Utilise custom attributes - Add up to 10 custom fields to capture company-specific enquiry details.
5. Assign tasks within enquiries - Create and manage enquiry-specific tasks to delegate responsibilities and track progress efficiently.
6. Use colour tagging - Apply colour codes to categorise enquiries (e.g., Hot/Warm/Cold) or create your own classification system.
7. Manage tenders effectively - Mark enquiries as Tenders, in case of tenders, to activate tender-related fields within OurSys.

8. Sales Order Management

1. Book orders promptly - Create a Sales Order as soon as a customer's Purchase Order (PO) is received, and send the Order Acknowledgement directly from OurSys.
2. Link quotations properly - When an order is based on a quotation, ensure the quotation is linked to the Sales Order.
3. Handle amendments correctly - If there are negotiated changes to a quotation, amend the quotation first before booking the order.
4. Upload supporting documents - Attach the customer's PO under the Uploads section of the Sales Order.
5. Mark late delivery clauses - Specify the applicable Late Delivery (LD) clause and penalty rate. OurSys automatically calculates LD amounts when applicable.
6. Record order deviations - If the received PO differs from the agreed quotation, document the discrepancy using the Order Deviation feature and communicate it to the customer.

Conclusion

By following these best practices, OurSys ERP users can ensure cleaner data, improved sales tracking, and greater customer engagement. Consistency in data entry and process adherence not only enhances reporting accuracy but also strengthens collaboration across sales, finance, and service functions. It improves customer response times and ultimately, fetch you more orders consistently.