This Fortune 500 international HVAC manufacturer could not keep up with numerous,
non‑compliant vendors. They reached out to Mira to see if we could help reduce redundancy,
costs, and material lead time. Spoiler alert: We did.
The Customer
Holding company with multiple prominent HVAC brands under its umbrella
Complex distribution channel: 200+ distributors with 10,000+ dealers all over the world
At Stake
Ability to scale
Ability to keep their channel satisfied i.e. channel retention
Brand integrity
Quality standards
The Solution
Brand resource management, through:
A centralized storefront
Production (print, promotional, apparel)
Fulfillment & distribution
Customized billing
The Challenge
Where to begin? An extremely complex distribution channel combined with an outdated intranet was taxing the marketing team heavily. In addition, severe vendor non‑compliance was causing a negative domino effect:
Collateral was constantly on back-order, negatively affecting the selling process.
Freight costs were through the roof, as multiple vendors were shipping on different accounts all over the country.
No way for the channel to track order status, so the marketing team was constantly fielding status check phone calls. This resulted in a frustrated channel and marketing team.
A variety of vendors was causing confusion and redundancies resulting in errors.
As you can see, the marketing team was drowning in troubleshooting and day-to-day fulfillment requests. There was no way they could complete their high-level team initiatives.
Enter Mira
Mira’s full-service approach to brand resource management provided a single-source solution
for this behemoth of a brand, resulting in corporate brand, budget, and inventory control with local flexibility.
The Results
Customized Storefront
Approved, branded sales & marketing support materials were selected by the marketing team. All of these items were loaded to a single, secure platform ensuring integrity, quality, and consistency across the board, regardless of production method. User access for their 10,000+ dealers was rigorously vetted and tested to ensure proper access and payment methods. Finally, order status was now trackable 24/7, at the click of a button.
No Interruption of Service
Especially in this industry, lack of access to sales collateral and marketing materials directly negatively impacts the sales cycle. As a result, it was imperative that this transition happen without the channel losing access to materials. Mission accomplished.
Vendor Consolidation
Partnering with Mira reduced the number of vendors the marketing team worked with by half, therefore reducing the error rate.
Channel Satisfaction
As stated, the channel was very frustrated with lack of access to materials and a convoluted process of checking order status. After partnering with Mira, the channel was surveyed.
75% rated the new process Excellent
25% rated the new process Good
Cost Reduction
At the beginning of the project, 12% cost savings were guaranteed. Upon completion, 25% savings was delivered and 18%+ every year after that (this solution is still in effect).
On top of that, the marketing team saved 2,000 man hours annually.
In Summary:
25% savings delivered (13% more than requested)
100% Good or Excellent ratings from the previously frustrated channel
Removed 2,000 hours from marketing team each year
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