Due to the NDA with the client, the case study explains the problems solved by DevriX and our process breaking the business requirements into technical components and software architecture without sharing brand names and URLs.
Our client was an international agency providing training services to large corporations and organizations in the US, Europe, and the Gulf Stream. They have a large database of trainers and consultants providing on-demand training services in different technical and business management fields.
Their business was thriving, and they were looking for ways to automate their processes, increasing the efficiency of their staff and the accountability of the sales department.
Our Business Process
While discussing the business targets and challenges, we agreed on several points:
- lead generation should be streamlined
- inquiries should be handled automatically by an automated system tracking different levels of requests
- subcontractors and training providers should be classified and categorized within the system
- account executives should be able to handle leads and take the process from there
- a bidding platform was required for finding a cost-effective and qualified contractor
- advanced reporting system should be in place for tracking account executive accomplishments, as well as revenue and profit statistics for different time intervals
Technical Implementation
Our engineering department was took on developing the entire platform from scratch on top of WordPress. We could leverage the role management system that WordPress provided, and given the business details, we were in charge of developing the other features in the backend – accessible by different types of contractors.
Lead Generation
Training course inquiries were split into several different categories. The frontend had several sections linking to the various categories, where each category included a request form.
Submitting a form was storing it as an Inquiry post type entry in the database with a status of “Pending”. Pending entries are handled by account executives who take it from there and manage the rest of the process internally.
Inquiry Management
The Inquiry dashboard includes all of the inquiries with different statuses – from Pending to Completed. Pending inquiries are assigned to different account executives who are in charge of connecting the customer to a reliable training platform.
Account executives have access to the complete database of training agencies and consultants, divided by several different categories. A dashboard with numerous filters allows for mass emailing agencies fitting the requirements of the customers. These include:
- location
- skills
- experience
- rates
For example, a Dubai company requests a Java training for their JSF team. Account executive targets experienced agencies and trainers with Java background and JSF experience, possibly located near Dubai. If there aren’t enough agencies with this background, the search is being expanded to different locations or level of experience in order to find the best possible fit.
Subcontractor/Agency Management
There are two levels of contractor access: Consultant and Agency. Consultants could operate independently, but they could also be a part of an agency. This way an a training company with several experts can bid multiple times, with experts from different countries and different set of skills.
Agency owners have access to the agency dashboard and all of their Inquiries (invitations and bids), posted by them and their consultants.
Customer Progress Status
Customers are also split in two roles: Company and Employer. Companies such as IBM can register a group account and then sign up different representatives in charge of different inquiries. Large corporations often require multiple training courses handled by different training managers which makes it easier to follow the process and distribute the work, scheduling and internal operations.
Customers can see their inquiries and their status – from Pending to Completed.
Sales Representative Tracking
Sales representatives are assigned Inquiries, and they are in charge of the entire process from then on. The project owner has access to their leads and status, and can reassign leads in case of staff changes.
For example, a low-performing sales representative who delays some deals or doesn’t sell with a good commission fee can be tracked through the main dashboard, and the project owner can reassign some deals to other available employees.
Bidding Platform Management
Training agencies receive their inquiries via email (including all of the details) and in their dashboard. Once they log in, they have access to the bidding system.
They can fill in a form with their quote and details, including additional information (whether they have training materials available or what is their availability based on the inquiry). Based on different criteria, our account executives pick the right contractor and accept the deal, add the commission fee on top of that and assign the proposal to the customer.
Customers receive an email and proposal notification in their dashboard, and they could close the deal if the terms are acceptable.
Reporting
There are different reports available in the training management system, such as:
- number of leads
- number of successful inquiries
- upcoming training courses
- training courses with no trainer assigned within a week or two of the final review date
- revenue per month or year
- profit per month of year
Additional details are also provided in order to improve the accountability and internal planning for the team.
Business Results
The platform has successfully optimized the process of the project owner. Account executives are more productive and they could handle more leads in less time. The communication is streamlined, and the details and status is available to everyone in charge of an inquiry: the project owner, customer representative and training agency.
All of the details are stored in the dashboard for future reference and additional tracking over time.