Businesses working in today’s fast-paced environments where software is AI enabled and is working on autopilot is a must to have. For a business, where the customer is still the king, a CRM is a must, and what’s better than a CRM with AI enabled approach.

“The value of AI-powered CRM is projected to reach approximately $145.8 billion by 2029, indicating robust market confidence and investment.”

This not only proves that software like Bridge CRM software is moving in the right direction, but also working for the future tech market.

Bridge CRM provides exactly that; it is an AI-based Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system that helps merge all aspects of a company’s sales operations, field operations, and dealer networks into a single cohesive value chain.

From Data Vaults to AI Teammate: Bridge CRM

For years, CRM software operated as a type of digital filing system for both small and large companies. All you could do was enter information into the system, then hope to generate some sort of report from the output. Manufacturing and distribution companies are not like that; they are multiple businesses working together to create a complex supply chain where the dealer, distributor, field service agent, and OEM work together, through the lead time to order, create the end product.

Bridge CRM Software is created specifically for manufacturing and distribution companies to change this cycle. Engineering Bridge, specifically to address the needs of these industries, provides Bridge with the ability to be a unified software as a service (SaaS) solution. Rather than simply storing CRM data on a server, it also becomes a vital part of your business process by connecting your OEM directly to the dealer and their field service agents through their smartphones.

Bridge CRM offers a highly specialized suite of 8 powerful applications designed specifically for companies in which manufacturing and distribution-based workflows are an everyday task. Bridge CRM, however, is tailored specifically for industries and organizations that depend on their field operations.

In addition to providing all of the tools required to support an active workforce in the domain, Bridge CRM has been recognized for its extensive integration capabilities with ERP systems such as SAP Business One and Oracle NetSuite, enabling companies’ sales professionals to sell products based on real-time inventory availability, as well as through current pricing agreements negotiated with the manufacturer.

Meet Milo: You AI Teammate with Conversational Intelligence

Let’s understand Milo with a storyline. On Tuesday morning, instead of checking his dashboard, Raj asked his digital partner to provide him with a summary of his sales pipeline and revenue projections for the month. He immediately received a detailed, calm, and well-thought-out summary from Milo, the AI co-pilot powering the Bridge platform.

Milo embodies a major paradigm shift toward “conversational intelligence”. As an advanced NLP model, Milo provides a wide variety of analytic functions, including reading and interpreting business communications across multiple platforms, providing summary and trending analytics on business activity, and identifying and providing contextual information.

Rather than acting only as an assistant, Milo is more of a coach or mentor for Raj’s team in the field. By leveraging the capabilities of Milo, Raj’s team has been able to manage complex actions while on the go:

• “Plan my visit to Manesar and add a beat plan for 6 warehouse track and inventory outlay.”
• “Help me with the low-performing sales reps in the South region.”

By harnessing Milo’s capabilities, Raj’s team has reduced its reliance on databases for manual follow-up tracking by 30% while simultaneously increasing the transparency of Raj’s sales pipeline by 26%.

The 8 Suite Applications Build for Value Chain

Bridge CRM software is a specialized ecosystem of eight suite applications that are intended to cover every aspect of the manufacturing and distribution lifecycle. It is not a single tool but a power-packed suite that covers business workflows for end-to-end visibility and enhancement.

1. Bridge Sales 

Bridge Sales, CRM for sales tracking, is at the very centre of generating revenue and also at the very start of generating new customers. It records and maintains all the activities from the initial customer contact to the invoice.

• Opportunity Tracking: Provides a visual overview of your pipeline, including where opportunities sit and the current status of each deal in relation to your objectives.
• Proposal Control: Allows you to create extensive, complex multi-line quotes, and have them all contain the correct pricing in relation to your ERP.
• Forecasting Accuracy: Utilizes the history of sales from your company, along with artificial intelligence (AI), to provide very accurate projections of future revenue
• Automated Alerts: Alerts users whenever any high-value lead has shown interest.

2. Bridge FieldOps 

Bridge FieldOps was created specifically for the “Ground Force.” It gives field staff access to information to maximise their productivity, no matter where the staff are located.

Important Features:

• Geo-tagged Visits and “Check-Ins” and “Check-Outs” – Use GPS to verify the location of field activity.
• Route/Beat Planning – As a field sales crm software, it automatically generates the best route for each daily visit by using Milo to establish the most efficient routes using priority dealers.
• Offline Capability – Capture orders and perform site audits in an offline environment. The app uses a sync function to connect automatically when you are back online.
• Attendance/Performance – Allows you to know what the field staff are doing and when.

3. Bridge Partner X (DMS)

Bridge Partner X is a platform designed to provide dealers with self-service capabilities and to strengthen relationships with their channel partners. The key features of Bridge Partner X include:

• Live Stock Visibility – Allowing dealers to see what stock is available before placing an order
• Credit & Payment Track results – Real-time access to credit limits, outstanding balances, payment history, etc.
• Scheme Management – Supporting dealers in their ability to launch and track regional incentive and/or seasonal promotions via the dealer portal
• One-click Orders – Orders placed by dealers will automatically trigger the internal approval processes within an organisation.

4. Bridge Serve

Bridge Serve is essential for ensuring that the manufacturing process will continue after the sale of a product. This will be achieved by managing all aspects of a product’s lifecycle after it has left the warehouse. The key features of Bridge Serve include:

• AMC/CMC Tracking – Supporting dealers in managing their annual maintenance contracts (AMC) and comprehensive maintenance contracts (CMC)
• Warranty Management – a quick and easy solution for dealers to track warranty status and claim validation.
• Spare Parts Inventory – To ensure dealers have the correct spare parts for the service team and avoid stockouts
• Mobility for Service Technicians – Enabling service technicians to accept service tickets assigned to them and provide updates to the service management process through their mobile device

5. Bridge CX 

Bridge CX is an extensive application created to work on customer interactions through centralized and simplified processes that enhance customer satisfaction and ultimately increase company growth. 

• Customer Interaction handling: Manages all forms of communication with customers from one easy-to-use interface.
• Personalized Engagement: Enables users to create and maintain detailed customer profiles, resulting in customized experiences for their customers.
  
• Real-Time Insight: Provides customers with the analytical tools necessary to enhance service quality and retain customers.
• Automated Follow-Up: Encourages repeat buying by ensuring consistent and timely follow-ups for all customers.
• Seamless Integration: Allows users to easily connect with other business software and tools for seamless and unified operations within their company.

6. Bridge Drive

Bridge Drive works as a link in the logistics chain, providing the logistics for all aspects of delivery from warehouse to consumer.

• Optimized Delivery Routes: Drive allows logistics companies to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to optimize delivery routes based on driver behavior patterns, reducing the amount of fuel and time required to deliver goods.
• Live Tracking and Updates: Drive provides live updates for the location of the shipment.
• Digital Delivery Initials: Drive provides the ability to digitally capture signatures or pictures as proof of delivery.
• Complete Product Delivery Cycle: Drive manages the process of returning any products that were damaged or incorrect at delivery.

 7. Bridge Nexus:

Bridge Nexus is a unique solution for professional networking that combines both digital business cards and advanced Customer Relationship Management (CRM). It provides an intuitive experience for professional connections, management of leads, and building a person’s professional image, making it the best professional networking tool available today. With the ability to simplify and speed up the processes involved with building professional relationships and growing your business, it is an essential component of your business growth strategy.

• Scan Business Cards:

You can scan your business card using advanced OCR technology and have the information instantly sent to Bridge Nexus.

• OCR Technology
• QR Scanning
• Bulk Scan Capability
• Seamless Customer and Lead Contacts:

By extracting every detail accurately and adding additional details to convert your prospective leads to actual customers with ease.

• Contact Information
• Notes and Tags
• Priority and Social Tags

• Successful Lead Close:

By seamlessly syncing with Bridge Sales and other applications in the Bridge Suite, you can manage your business opportunity leads into business partners.

8. Bridge Analytics:

Bridge Analytics helps to identify and understand how to leverage the intersection of Data and Decision-making. Through the use of our robust dashboards, we transform the information that our customers collect about their sales, purchases, and expenditures into usable intelligence that allows them to grow their business with confidence and make informed decisions about their future.

Mobile-enabled Sales and Purchase Overview: You’ll be able to see all of your pipeline and all accounts receivable, regardless of location, on your mobile device, at any time. You can log new customer payments and manage ongoing customer payments due from previous sales.

Manage Accounts: manage all overdue receivables, as well as track and record pending orders and monitor the payment status for collections that are due at any given time. 

Purchase Element: The Purchase element features a module for tracking all of your purchases and provides you with a complete overview of every incoming payment. 

Payment Module: The payments module allows you to view and manage every outgoing payment in one convenient place. 

In addition, you will have control over your payments to suppliers, vendors, and creditors through the Payable Module.

Conclusion:

 If you recently bought an “AI-Enabled CRM” for your business, thinking of it as a future tool, you are wrong. You just got yourself a legacy system painted and coated into fresh AI. In the world of manufacturing, a bolt-on AI is a bottleneck.