Savoring CRM Success: Schwan's Food Service Captures Over 100% Internal Rate Of Return
Headquartered in Marshall, Minn., The Schwan Food Company is the largest branded frozen food company in the United States. Schwan's Food Service, a core business unit of the Schwan Food Company, has built a rich history of manufacturing, marketing and distributing quality frozen food products to the commercial and noncommercial food service industry. Schwan's Food Service utilizes Business-to- Business (B2B) distribution channels, and its customer base ranges from schools and government institutions to healthcare facilities and restaurants.
A tradition of quality products is only one piece of the success puzzle, however. In 1999, Schwan's Food Service expanded the company vision and set a new course focused on meeting the needs of customers. To excel in the competitive food service industry, management concluded Customer Relationship Management (CRM) strategies and systems must be infused across functional units. "We started formulating our strategic vision for CRM a few years ago and it is our number one initiative for our operations," declares Lil Schroeder, Vice President of Operations at Schwan's Food Service.
Technology plays a critical role in bringing this vision to life. Following a 2001 current state assessment, Schwan's Food Service named SAP as the CRM vendor of choice. Long reliance on SAP's R/3 Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system and Business Warehouse solution made mySAP CRM a natural fit. In 2002, the marketing and campaign management solution was up and running. A Customer Interaction Center (CIC) pilot was launched in 2003 and will be fully rolled out in 2004. The final piece, Mobile Sales, is also on tap in the near future. The mission: utilize technology to drive integrated, cross-functional sales and marketing initiatives based on the intelligent use of customer data.
Schwan's Food Service will realize an Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of over 100% from its CRM investment. The combination of product innovation and customer intimacy will provide greater brand recognition, deepen customer loyalty and set Schwan's Food Service on the path to becoming the number one company in the food service industry.