[November 18, 2009] Model Metrics Helps Acco Brands Gain New Visibility into Direct Sales with Salesforce CRM Tweet SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 18, 2009 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Salesforce.com Dreamforce Conference -- Model Metrics, the leader in cloud computing services for the enterprise and a premier partner of salesforce.com, successfully implemented Salesforce CRM for enterprise-wide sales force automation for Acco Brands Corporation, providing the company with enhanced, up-to-the-minute visibility into its direct sales channel. The announcement was made today at Dreamforce 2009, salesforce.com's user and developer conference. Acco Brands, one of the world's largest suppliers of office products and the parent company of brands like Day-Timer, GBC, Quartet and Swingline, turned to Model Metrics as it sought to increase efficiencies, enhance operations and leverage technology to gain competitive advantages. Its rollout of Salesforce CRM in the United States, completed in September 2009, is the first phase of a three-stage global deployment of Salesforce CRM. The remainder of North America and the other nations around the world where Acco Brands operate will go live during the second and final stages. As a result of the launch of Salesforce CRM, Acco Brands management now has increased visibility into the sales pipeline and performance of the direct sales group, comprised of inside sales, field sales and strategic accounts. Each of the three teams within the direct sales group follows consistent functional processes yet has its own customized unit-specific processes, and salesforce.com is customized to provide fields and data to fit the specific needs of each team. All the information rolls into a single, central dashboard where senior management can keep a detailed watch over performance and make strategic business decisions based upon real-time knowledge. Model Metrics also integrated Salesforce CRM with Acco Brands' existing Oracle financial system, giving management a more comprehensive view of each customer and incorporating the respective histories and profiles, providing a better window into forecasting and selling decisions. As Model Metrics managed the rollout process for Acco Brands, it focused on three fundamentals of CRM success: -- Change management, ensuring that users were aware of the business case for the project so they understood how it would affect them, and providing them the opportunity to share feedback both before the project was finalized and after it went live; -- Keeping it simple during the initial stages of the project, not overwhelming users and management with minutiae and details that could impede success; and -- Monitoring and support throughout the launch period, making adjustments and customizations in real time. "Model Metrics demonstrated the highest level of expertise in implementing salesforce.com," said Tom Brown, Manager, U.S. Direct Sales for Acco Brands. "It showed patience and skill in getting us where we needed to be with our sales force automation implementation. The project was completed in just 10-weeks, our users embrace the new system, and the entire experience surpassed our expectations." "Our strategic and best practice insights had a major impact on the overall success of this project," said Adam Caplan, Chief Executive Officer of Model Metrics. "Sales force automation projects like this are at the heart of our business, the kind of projects on which we built our success. We're delighted to see Acco Brands embrace technology so effectively and gain new insights and efficiencies with Salesforce CRM." About Acco Brands Corporation ACCO Brands Corporation is a world leader in select categories of branded office products. Its industry-leading brands include Day-Timer(R), Swingline(R), Kensington(R), Quartet(R), GBC(R), Rexel, NOBO, and Wilson Jones(R), among others. Under the GBC brand, the company is also a leader in the professional print finishing market. About the Force.com Platform and AppExchange Force.com is the only proven enterprise platform for building and running business applications in the cloud. The Force.com platform powers the Salesforce CRM applications with more than 800 ISV partner applications like those from CODA and Fujitsu, and more than 120,000 custom applications used by salesforce.com's 63,200 customers such as Japan Post, Kaiser Permanente, KONE and Sprint Nextel. Applications built on the Force.com platform can be easily distributed to the entire cloud computing community through the salesforce.com AppExchange marketplace at http://www.salesforce.com/appexchange/. About Model Metrics Model Metrics delivers applications and services at the cutting edge of the cloud computing industry. Since its founding in 2003, Model Metrics has become one of salesforce.com's most diversified and respected partners. Headquartered in Chicago with offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Detroit, Minneapolis and Dallas, Model Metrics' customer base spans all industries and includes enterprises such as Abbott, Allstate, Aon, Cars.com, CME Group, Honeywell, InfoUSA, MasterCard, Medtronic, and Orbitz. With a focus on mobile and call center technology, business process and change management innovation, and custom development, Model Metrics has completed hundreds of engagements for mid-sized and Fortune 1000 companies. Its world-class application development skills using Force.com, Adobe Flex and AIR, Amazon Web Services, Google and the Apple iPhone enable the creation of custom applications featuring multimedia-rich user experiences. To learn more, visit www.modelmetrics.com or email [email protected] or call 877.542.2885. Also follow us on Twitter @modelmetricsinc. SOURCE Model Metrics http://www.modelmetrics.com [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]