Brookfield, Wis.—March 7, 2012— Managing installed sales programs can quickly become overwhelming, time-consuming and expensive. Cilio Technologies LLC, a specialist in automated order distribution and management of installed sales for the building materials industry, now provides their Cilio Partners Portal, a Web-based platform for retail home improvement stores and manufacturers. The platform transforms the way manufacturers and retailers distribute and manage their orders for installed sales among complex trading partner networks. The software as a service (SaaS) solution gives all trading partners real-time visibility and insight into orders and the sales channel.
Installed sales programs account for nearly 20 percent of the $155 billion home improvement retail business. These programs offer attractive sales margins and added revenue from installation fees but also include a multi-faceted network of vendors and a complex ordering process.
"Today, most orders for counter tops, cabinets, windows, doors, flooring and other installed products are managed by a manual, paper-based system,” explained Randy Olejnik, President of Cilio Technologies. “A customer goes to a retailer or dealer and places an order where it is kicked out to a complex network of manufacturers, distributors, fabricators and installers with little or no ability to know where an order is in the process. Hours are wasted manually tracking order status and critical information is easily lost.”
In addition to the information and employee time lost through the manual process, retailers and manufacturers also miss opportunities to view and track orders electronically and capture the whole trading partner network in a single environment. With better network visibility, they can gain control over pricing, leverage national relationships and quickly open new sales channels.
“Customers on the Cilio Partners Portal are saving money and building multi-million dollar sales channels by bringing together orders and trading partners in a single environment,” continued Olejnik. “Considering the $31 billion installed sales market for home improvement retailers and manufacturers, first movers who better manage their orders and trading partner networks stand at a great competitive and financial advantage.”
The Cilio Partners Portal order logging and tracking system processed nearly $1 billion in installed sales and related purchase orders in 2011. The portal captures orders electronically via a single, consistent process and distributes those orders automatically to the proper partners within the channel making the order available for viewing any time, from any computer or mobile device. Additionally, the platform can be up and running within 30 days to allow companies to avoid expensive investments in hardware, software or custom development.
Additional benefits include:
- Simplified order distribution and management process
- Improved management of partner networks
- Standard and custom reporting on a complete history of orders
- Ability to monitor and measure performance of partners, products, campaigns and incentive programs
The portal also includes a new mobile app which provides access to all of its features from users’ mobile devices. For example, when a fabricator is bidding materials for a job, the portal automatically routes product questions or requests through the chain of command to give that partner instant access to negotiating manufacturer pricing and quantities.
