Gao Honglian   Li Fengjiang 

(Beijing CSR Times Locomotive & Rolling Stock Machinery Co., Ltd.  Beijing  102249)

Abstract: Competition among enterprises has now shifted from competition between products to competition between customers. Customer relationship management is receiving increasing attention from all types of enterprises. Based on CRM system theory and the characteristics and needs of the construction machinery industry, and combined with actual conditions, this paper designs a customer relationship management system framework and functional modules suitable for the development of construction machinery manufacturing enterprises.

Keywords: construction machinery; CRM; system; solution.

1. Introduction

The national macroeconomic regulation encountered by the construction machinery industry has turned newly added capacity into excess capacity, intensifying competition in the industry. It is already difficult for enterprises to gain competitive advantage by relying on traditional production orientation, product orientation, and technology orientation, and it is also difficult to maintain an advantageous position by controlling costs and lowering sales prices to increase profits. Therefore, it is objectively inevitable for enterprises to shift from competing for "market share" to competing for "customer share." Only by maximally satisfying customers' needs and long-term interests can construction machinery enterprises gain lasting competitiveness.

The independent salesperson system is a marketing method commonly adopted by enterprises at present. This marketing method usually makes enterprise performance overly dependent on individual salespeople, and customer resources become privatized. In the event of talent loss, the enterprise will suffer huge losses. To change this situation, in addition to improving the sales organization method, the establishment of a sales support platform is a necessary and key measure.

Against the above background, customer relationship management (CRM) theory emerged. The theoretical foundation of CRM comes from Western marketing theory. It first originated in the United States, developed rapidly with the widespread application of Internet technology, and software systems were launched. Customer relationship management theory is not merely a functional strategy of the marketing department; it is also a management philosophy and an overall business strategy formulated by enterprises from an overall perspective for long-term development. Different industries have different production operations and sales management methods, which determine that CRM solutions differ across industries. Taking construction machinery manufacturing enterprises as an example, based on customer relationship management system theory and the characteristics and needs of the construction machinery industry, and combined with actual conditions, this paper designs a CRM system framework and functional modules suitable for the development of construction machinery manufacturing enterprises.

2. Analysis of the Construction Machinery Industry

2.1 Analysis of Customer Characteristics and Needs

As an important part of China's manufacturing industry, the construction machinery manufacturing industry is widely used in engineering fields such as construction, water conservancy, electric power, roads, mining, ports, and national defense, and is an important industry in high-end equipment manufacturing. China's macroeconomy has developed at a rate of 7%-9% annually, driving sustained growth in the production and sales of construction machinery. In 2012, the total output value of China's construction machinery industry was 601.417 billion yuan, accounting for 3% of China's industrial added value, and the average annual growth rate of the industry from 2008 to 2012 reached 31%. 

At present, there is still a certain gap between China's construction machinery production level and technical level and advanced foreign levels. However, by drawing on the development trends of foreign products and combining them with the actual situation of China's construction machinery market, enterprises can still find their own market space in product quality, product development, and product innovation as long as they put customer needs first. After years of development, China's construction machinery product research and development has entered the era of "personalization." In addition to producing standard model products, enterprises must also develop multiple variant products according to different user needs to better satisfy customers' different requirements. To this end, construction machinery manufacturing enterprises must truly establish the concept of "customer first," and also require designers and producers to understand users' entire construction processes and development trends. On this basis, they should develop "base model" products and then, according to the construction requirements of various users, research and develop serialized "variant" products to meet the needs of market development.

An important criterion for measuring future famous-brand construction machinery products is "customer satisfaction." Whether a manufacturing enterprise succeeds should be reflected by customers using the production equipment and being able to create higher economic benefits. If manufacturing enterprises want to remain invincible in fierce market competition, they must closely integrate with customers, use optimal equipment, and maximize construction efficiency while reducing construction costs. On this basis, manufacturing enterprises must also systematically improve and enhance the technical performance and quality of "formed products," continuously innovate construction processes, and form a good cooperative relationship between manufacturing enterprises and the broad customer base, enabling both parties to form a joint force and achieve win-win results.

2.2 Challenges Facing the Industry

1. The growth rate of fixed asset investment is slowing. The development of the construction machinery industry is highly correlated with fixed asset investment, especially infrastructure investment. Since the second half of 2011, China's macroeconomic growth has slowed quarter by quarter, and the growth rate of real estate and infrastructure investment has continued to decline. The construction machinery industry has been affected and has fallen into a downturn. Whether the construction machinery industry can reach 900 billion yuan by 2015 and whether the average growth rate can reach 17% remain unknown.

2. Industry concentration is becoming increasingly high. At present, the construction machinery industry has basically formed monopolistic competition, with major enterprises occupying industry leadership positions, and small and medium-sized enterprises finding it increasingly difficult to survive. In 2012, Sany Heavy Industry, Zoomlion, and XCMG occupied more than 50% of the market share in the rotary drilling rig, crawler crane, and concrete machinery industries, and the industry oligopoly pattern has basically taken shape.

3. The overall competitiveness of China's manufacturing industry is not strong. As the world's factory, China's manufacturing industry, in the process of advancing from "Made in China" to "Created in China," is still generally at the middle and low end of the global value chain. The global high-end market is still monopolized by enterprises from the United States, Germany, South Korea, and Japan, and high profits continue to flow to these enterprises.

2.3 Introduction to Enterprises That Have Implemented CRM

China introduced CRM management systems in the late 1990s. Domestic CRM was first applied in fields such as telecommunications, insurance, and finance. At present, China's CRM demand is mainly concentrated in the service and manufacturing industries. In the manufacturing industry, the automotive industry took the lead in introducing customer relationship management systems. In the construction machinery industry, enterprises such as XCMG Group, WesTrac China, and Hitachi Construction Machinery have already applied CRM systems. Through CRM platforms, they have strengthened care for value customers, thereby improving customer loyalty and laying a solid foundation for business development to reach a higher level. XCMG Group launched its CRM jointly with Microsoft in 2010. The system was first integrated with traditional applications such as ERP, MES, and GPS, and later connected with salespeople's mobile phones, service vehicles, spare parts, etc., truly realizing the concept of the Internet of Things.

3. CRM Solution Design for Small and Medium-Sized Construction Machinery Enterprises

Small and medium-sized construction machinery enterprises usually lack advanced scientific and technological means to effectively manage and analyze customer information, and their data are relatively rough. System configuration is incomplete, there is a lack of records on competitors and their bid evaluation scores, and technical personnel are not managed uniformly in the CRM system. However, successful cases of enterprises implementing CRM show that if enterprises want to grow and develop and gain a core competitive position, it is imperative to launch a CRM system. Therefore, this paper designs a CRM solution for small and medium-sized enterprises. The overall project overview is as follows.

3.1 CRM Business Processes

Because small and medium-sized enterprises have relatively weak foundations, they can implement CRM in stages according to their own current situation and gradually connect the management chain. In the first phase, the company can first choose to launch market management and sales management, and later expand to service modules according to the application situation and implementation results of the first phase. The market management module includes market plans, marketing activities, and sales leads; the sales management module includes sales opportunities, sales activities, sales quotations, sales bidding, sales contracts, and sales targets. The specific business processes are as follows.

3.2 Connection with ERP Processes

After the company launches the CRM system, through the connection between CRM and the ERP system, streamlined operations of production, supply, and sales can be realized. After the marketing department transmits demand orders to the production department, the production department needs to provide timely feedback on these demands so that salespeople can understand the fulfillment status of the demands. At the same time, salespeople can query delivery and invoicing information associated with sales contracts through demand orders. The specific process is as follows.

4. Conclusion

The customer relationship management system of construction machinery enterprises is a systematic and complex task that needs to be applied and implemented in multiple construction machinery enterprises and continuously revised before it can approach perfection. Taking construction machinery manufacturing enterprises as an example, this paper analyzes a customer relationship management (CRM) solution for construction machinery manufacturing enterprises, providing a reference for similar enterprises to implement CRM. In addition, the ERP system "pushes forward," while the CRM system "drives forward." CRM is a type of corporate strategy. In the process of promoting CRM implementation, it is necessary to fully leverage the internal strength of the enterprise and integrate corporate culture into the customer relationship management system, continuously creating benefits for the enterprise and winning the market through business process improvement.

References:

[1] Qin Weiguo. Research on the Implementation of Customer Relationship Management in Construction Machinery Manufacturing Enterprises [D]. Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 2004.

[2] Jiang Dongqing, Wang Shi. Customer Relationship Management and Its Application in Construction Machinery Enterprises [J]. Machine Tool & Hydraulics, 2005, (12): 202-204.

[3] Nie Min. Design and Application of CRM Information System in Machinery Manufacturing Enterprises [D]. Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, 2008.