Bühler Eliminated Channel Conflict & Increased Partner Retention & Partner Engagement
Buhler faced channel conflict with partner visibility issues in deals. Magentrix's Deal Management resolved this, enhancing partner retention.
Table of Contents:
The Results:
Partner Engagement as a Result of Easier Data-sharing & Partner Enablement
- File-sharing capabilities + Self-service options: Document Management & Knowledge Base
- Learning Paths in the LMS: Training & Certification module
- Partner News via Carousels
- Market Development Funds (MDF)
- Partner Satisfaction & Partner Retention as a Result of Deeper Transparency & Insights
- Easier Partner Management & Engagement as a Result of Streamlined Processes & Procedures
Intro
Billions of people enjoy foods produced on Bühler equipment and travel in vehicles manufactured with parts produced with Bühler machinery. Having this global relevance, they’re in a unique position to turn today’s global challenges into sustainable and good business.
Bühler is a $3 billion, 180-year old, Swiss family-owned business with 13,200 employees across 135 countries.
Bühler has used agents and equipment representatives for many years in several different market segments and in 2018, they intensified their channel-focused efforts even further.
The Challenge
Bühler's high-touch channel partners, seeking digital access to information, training, and brochures, found it time-consuming to rely on email for their many needs.
This practice hindered their channel's competitiveness. And that's when Dianne Campbell, Channel Sales & Program Manager at Bühler began the search for PRM software.
Discovery of Magentrix
Bühler went through a rigorous portal assessment process that lasted three months and included 10 partner portal software vendors. Among those considered were: Salesforce, Allbound, Impartner, ChannelXperts, and Vanson.
Narrowed down to: Allbound, Vanson, Magentrix, their process involved thoroughly comparing all the options in a spreadsheet with details on each capability they required in a partner management portal and how each vendor fared therein.
Bühler selected Magentrix PRM as:
- Magentrix's features checked more boxes than the other vendors for a reasonable price point,
- Magentrix offers 7 - 9 additional languages out-of-the-box, at no extra cost – which they didn’t find in any other portal provider – this was important to Bühler as their business spans 135 countries, with plans to expand the portal further globally.
Bühler has been using the Magentrix Partner Management Platform for 2+ years now. Here are some of the results they’ve experienced so far:
Note: All stats, numbers and information for this case study was collected from Dianne Campbell at Bühler.
Partner Engagement as a Result of Easier Data-sharing & Partner Enablement
Features used:
- File-sharing capabilities + Self-service options: Document Management & Knowledge Base
- Learning Paths in the LMS: Training & Certification module
- Partner News via Carousels
- Market Development Funds (MDF)
1. File-sharing + Self-service options: Document Management & Knowledge Base
Old Way:
Cumbersome partner self-serve experience & lengthy processes for Partner Managers to enable partners:
- Partners would email asking for various items as they avoided logging in to the Bühler SharePoint site because it was not an easy procedure.
- Our “[Partners] had to plow through a bunch of different locations to try to find what they wanted."
- Partner managers had to send things via Sharepoint which was very time-consuming
“When we were using SharePoint as a document repository for the Partners, many of them would just say ‘I can't log in’ or ‘I don’t have time for that, I’m not in the office at my computer - please email me what I need to my phone’. About 30% of the time, what they wanted was too big to send over email. It was a video or a CAD drawing. I had to send them a link and say ‘you're going to have to log on and get it but here's where the location is.’ It took my time, it took their time, and it wasn't a good experience.” – Dianne Campbell, Channel Sales & Program Manager, Bühler
New Way:
- Simple login process with the Magentrix platform (including a Single Sign-on option)
- With Magentrix, Bühler now has a document library that's easy for partners to access, and sharing files is much easier, which can be accomplished by quickly uploading large files to the portal, then distributing shareable links to partners. They can also now track metrics on file activity such as who views them & how many times.
- Partners can now use the library for accessing:
- Quarterly partner meeting recordings
- Marketing documents
- High-resolution product images
- CAD drawings
- Battle cards
- Training videos
"So the Magentrix portal resulted in many time-saving features that enabled the partners to find what they needed, quickly. They love the document section. They don't have to wait for somebody to serve them.”
Benefits Experienced:
- Easier information-sharing from partner managers to partners as a result of partners no longer having any hesitation, when they're asked to access the partner portal, as they no longer have to deal with a complicated login experience
- Less time spent on distributing enablement materials and resources to partners: ROI of 3 hours saved per month
- Time-savings & better PX for partners: Bühler’s partners no longer have to rely on anyone else to serve their needs, as they can now self-serve and get what they need much faster – all without any of the complications experienced with the previous system.
- Magentrix's robust search capability (enhanced with AI), stands out for delivering highly relevant search results, making it a particularly appreciated time-saving feature.
2. Partner Training (Learning Paths in the LMS)
Old way:
- “We used to have to book expensive Bühler solution experts to create a deck and go through it with each partner 1:1 which was time-consuming, inefficient, and not ideal for the partner who had to pull out their salespeople from the field to sit in front of a computer.”
New way:
- “We now have self-serve training courses that the partner can consume 24/7 on a schedule that works for them."
- "We now have the added ability to test the partner’s knowledge of the training content."
- "And certify them upon successful passing scores.”
Benefits Experienced:
- ROI of 30 hours saved per month ensuring partners undergo training.
- Increased confidence for partners when selling Bühler’s solutions.
3. Partner News (via Carousels)
Old way:
- News delivery process was too time-consuming: Bühler used to send the partner newsletters every month by email which was a hassle and required a lot of back and forth.
- They had to first get the data, then get it formatted with their marketing department.
- Consequently, partners would sometimes receive news a month later
New way:
- Now, they use Magentrix’s News Carousels to relay updates, announcements and recent developments to partners,
- Driving more partner engagement: “we try to make every single carousel image have an action button on it. So download this, view this, click here to register for that, some kind of call-to-action on each one.”
Benefits Experienced:
- ROI of 15 hours saved per month on prepping news to deliver to partners: Bühler no longer has to spend time drafting up newsletters to deliver news and announcements.
- Bühler is now able to deliver partner news in a timely manner
4. Market Development Funds (MDF)
Old way:
MDF was non-existent for Bühler’s partners:
“We didn't have a formal MDF system. Our approach was more informal – as part of our co-marketing planning sessions with partners, we would identify initiatives and then offer assistance with their expenses. However, we recognized this method wasn't as streamlined as it could be.”
New way:
- Since implementing Magentrix, Bühler has been able to launch an MDF program within the portal.
- MDF is the second most-used part of the partner management platform for Bühler.
- Having the MDF program in the portal, alongside everything else, helps Bühler be more effective in promoting resources to partners as it provides them with a cohesive view of what's available.
“We now have increased activity every month because the portal helped us create and promote a formal MDF program to partners, complete with a claims management module, that is easy to use for the partners and easy for us to administer.”
Benefits Experienced:
Higher partner engagement and improved partner experience:
“Being able to send MDF requests was also something that the partners were pleased with as a benefit of the partnership.”
Partner Satisfaction & Partner Retention as a Result of Deeper Transparency & Insights
Features used:
- Deal Management
- Dashboards & Analytics
1. Deal Management
“The most valuable part of the portal in the eyes of the partner, is the lead registration feature, even above partner enablement tools for the channel.”
Old way:
- Partners had no control or visibility into anything.
- They had to rely on Bühler to share information with them from their CRM – which was not a satisfactory partner experience.
“Up until this portal, they had no way to prove that they were in an account before other Bühler salespeople. We lost two partners over channel conflict, before the implementation of [Magentrix]. Our partners are very, very carefully vetted and chosen. We don't have 150 partners where we don't notice the loss of one. So, to lose even one is really bad. Not to mention, they go to the competition.”
New way:
- Partners can now serve themselves the information they want, as they:
- View their pipeline
- Check up on status of deals they registered
- Check opportunity status
- “So now with this lead registration in the portal, everything is time and date-stamped. Nothing can start as an opportunity. It has to go in as a lead and then it flows through a Buhler acceptance process and we make sure that no one else is working that same opportunity from our side."
- "Then the lead is approved in the portal, and once that happens, it becomes an opportunity with a time and date-stamp. And from then on, that belongs exclusively to that partner for 60 days contingent on an updated opportunity status which buys them another 60 more days of exclusivity. But they have to keep the heartbeat alive for it. They can't just put it in there and forget it for a year."
- "We now have data to prove first contact if there are conflicts. So I can say to the direct sales person, ‘when I approved this opportunity for my partner, it wasn't in the CRM, you hadn't documented it anywhere. So it's theirs as of this date and this time.’ So that's probably been the most useful thing for everybody.”
Benefits Experienced:
- Alignment with partners via a shared and unified view in the PRM, of the business they’re doing with Bühler (e.g. reviewing opportunities).
- Resolving channel conflict: “When it was first launched, several of the partners said, 'thank you so much for doing this. I feel like our business is protected with you now.'”
- Higher partner satisfaction: “In addition, it significantly increased partner satisfaction”.
- ROI of 30 hours per month saved on tracking opportunities and attempting to prevent channel conflict: “Lead registration reduced the time spent on channel conflict and increased accuracy of revenue forecasts.”
- Ultimately, higher partner retention: “This ROI was set up to measure hours spent or saved. But it was not so much, a matter of hours saved on the pipeline..."
"...when we talk about ROI for lead registration and deal exclusivity, it's a matter of partner retention.”
2. Dashboard & Analytics
Old way:
- Bühler didn’t have much visibility into their partners’ activities.
- Partner activity was harder to track and had to be done manually by noting down information from emails, calls and meetings.
New way:
Now, Bühler can track the partner metrics that are important to them, with Magentrix:
- Frequency of partner logins
- Frequency of document downloads
- Rate of training consumption
Benefits Experienced:
- The vendor gained more timely insight into the status of different partners across various activities and initiatives. Gives Bühler clarity into the course of action to take with partners based on activity levels
- Transparency of partner engagement in their PRM system: Vendor is equipped with the knowledge to be proactive, sooner, with partners that appear to be less engaged before it’s too late.
Easier Partner Management & Engagement as a Result of Streamlined Processes & Procedures
Features used:
- Events
- Partner Support Options
- Deal Management (see section above)
- MDF (see section above)
1. Partner Events Management
Old way:
- Cumbersome & required constant collaboration with marketing: “We would put our events in our email newsletter to partners. We used to have to ask Marketing to create event graphics and invitations, pull together email invitation lists, create registration links, send out the invitations, ask other people to pull registration reports for us during the weeks leading up to the event (which were never updated as often as we wanted), send out reminders, etc.”
- Repetitive inquiries: “Other than that, if they didn't read the newsletter and one of the partners wanted to know where we were exhibiting, they had to call someone in marketing or email them. And marketing would have to answer these questions from many partners all the time.”
New way:
- Now they use the event registration in Magentrix.
- “We're using the Events part of the portal a lot. That's where we put our quarterly partner meetings for them and the 20 trade shows we do every year. Registration links are included and we can easily check on the event count any time we want.”
Benefits Experienced:
- ROI of 17 hours saved per month on event registration management and repetitive updates to partners.
- Easier event promotion process for partner managers and a more convenient experience for partners: Bühler’s partners now have an easier way to plan their own event schedule – because they plan what events they are going to attend around whichever shows Bühler happens to be attending.
2. Partner Support Options
Old way:
- Partners didn’t have a clear path to support
- Partners had to go through a difficult process to log in to a legacy system and they could never find what they were looking for, including how to access support
New way:
- Magentrix is now the one-stop shop for the partners for all things Bühler.
- They now know where to get the product information, quoting forms, and any other resources.
- And what’s more they can access it on their own schedule, 24/7.
Benefits Experienced:
- ROI for Partners - Support & information at-the-ready: “The biggest benefit to us is on-demand service to our partners. They can go on at midnight and get a wealth of information … without having to wait for a person.”
- ROI for Partner Managers - 8 hours saved per month on not having to provide ad hoc support to partners, and repeating similar tasks for various partners.
