Even the database-aided process is extremely labor intensive, Joyce says. Pivotal Corp. Once USFilter deploys the system to all 250 acquired companies and trains employees, it will bring its partners into the fold. By late next year, USFilter plans to deploy Pivotal's PartnerHub online portal, which lets partners access internal selling, marketing, and customer information stored in Pivotal's CRM applications. Just as CRM lets companies identify their most-valuable customers, PRM helps companies figure out which partners are performing and which aren't. Hughes requires its partners to respond to a customer-service request within 24 hours.
Partners feel the pressure to perform.
Hughes' field-service apps help ATS Telecom installation manager Smith manage his staff and hold him more accountable for their performance. For the worst partners, the kind of accountability PRM systems offer will be a threat. Because the service reps update the system on their progress throughout the day, Smith says, he no longer has to try to track down his own employees via phone or radio, and he can juggle schedules more easily when dates and times change. In addition to greater customer satisfaction, companies are hoping for more sales from sharing their CRM tools with partners. American Medical Security, an insurance company in Green Bay, Wis., uses Pivotal's CRM suite and plans to deploy Pivotal's PartnerHub to its 32-state network of about 25,000 independent agents and insurance brokers in June.