Despite the struggles, market disruptions, and supply chain issues that have plagued the distribution sector over the last two years, it’s not all that hard for those in the industry to look towards the future with optimism. After all, many businesses in distribution have seen steady business or even positive growth since March of 2020. But the reality is, many distributors (even the ones who were successful over the past two years) may soon find themselves in a precarious position — one that places a tremendous weight onto account managers and sales reps. Challenges in fulfillment have put relationships to the test; businesses need more effective communication and inventory management strategies to keep customers happy. And, as a result, the need for effective digital tools has become more pressing than ever.

On this episode of Transformation @ Work, we look at how digital tools can help businesses navigate the market shifts brought on by the pandemic and maintain stellar relationships long after things have shifted back to “normal” — whatever that might look like.

Key Ideas

03:06: Specific challenges distributors have faced in the past two years, and how they’ve reacted to those hurdles

10:23: Why positive growth during the pandemic isn’t necessarily a sign of long-term success for distributors

12:50: How supply chain issues impacted customer relationships post-pandemic

16:55: Examples of how high-achieving distributors set themselves apart during the pandemic

23:36: The essential role digital tools play in helping businesses maintain stability and control during uncertain times

26:42: Where team leaders should focus when putting digital tools in place to support their customer relationships

Nicholas Holbik-Siu

Director of Distribution, Gerent

Nick brings a wide range of distribution experience to his current role at Gerent, including 13 years at a large plumbing and HVAC company. There, he did everything from driving a truck to working in a warehouse to managing distribution and overseeing new technology. While in that role, he saw firsthand what Salesforce could offer the business in terms of empowering employees to cut through the clutter and focus on what matters: building lasting relationships with customers.

Even in the digital age, finding promising students is a challenge. Administrators need to leverage data to manage the overwhelming number of applications coming into even middle-sized schools—but when data is used as a replacement for personal, one-on-one connections, the pursuit of an “ideal student” can leave potentially successful applicants out in the cold. Admissions teams need to factor in both hard data such as test scores and transcripts as well as soft data such as extracurriculars, background, and passions to identify the full spectrum of students that might excel within their institution. Luckily, digital tools such as Salesforce can centralize student data and automate the process, allowing admissions teams to focus on the real priority: helping students succeed.

On this episode of Transformation @ Work, we challenge the idea that there’s an “ideal student” for a given institution and instead dig into how digitalized, easily accessible data can help administrators recognize high-potential candidates.

Key Ideas

3:30 - What we mean when we say “there’s no ideal student for an institution”

05:07 - Shifting the focus in admissions from “ideal students” to “students that might excel at our institution”

07:04 - The importance of relationship-building in admissions, and using the application process to kickstart that relationship

11:09 - How digital tools such as Salesforce can allow administrators to “meet students where they are” in the relationship-building process

13:48 - The challenges in building personal relationships with students at scale

17:24 - How admissions officers can leverage data to get a clearer picture of students that might be successful in an institution

20:22 - Using data to facilitate the relationship-building process with students at scale

22:33 - Transforming student data into personalized messaging and meaningful, real relationships

25:29 - How admissions officers can use data to connect students with the resources they need to thrive

Guest Bios

Jim Crawley

Director of Global Recruitment, Hope College

Jim brings over 25 years of higher education experience to his current role at Hope College, including time spent at small and medium-sized institutions in Michigan as well as experience working as a consultant at third-party institutions. There, he plays a key role in driving international recruitment and diversifying the whole of student recruitment across the institution. He has a passion for working with schools to identify the right students and help them succeed.

Richard Carter

Director of K-12 Education, Gerent

Richard comes to Gerent with years of educational administration experience across all levels: from his primary experience as a middle school principal, to time spent in higher education institutions such as Rider and Princeton, to a year spent as an elementary school principal. His focus in his current role is helping institutions use digitalized data to give their students the resources and personal connections they need to succeed.

The last few years have put all the systems we rely on to the test, especially in manufacturing, which has had to deal with massive supply chain disruptions and sudden changes in cost. In many cases, these issues collided with technology that, while not necessarily broken, had gone several years without investment and was closing in on obsolete even before the pandemic hit. The reality is, manufacturers need to start modernizing their infrastructure to meet the needs of the current market — but where do you start, and how do you ensure your systems work together seamlessly?

In this episode of Transformation @ Work, we consider how manufacturers can make the leap to more modern digital technologies without disrupting their existing ecosystems.

Key Ideas

02:28 - What do we mean when we say “legacy technology?”

04:07 - Things to look out for: signs your technology, even if it isn’t broken, might be due for a replacement

06:24 - How the changes brought on by COVID-19 exacerbated the struggles of dealing with legacy technology

08:29 - The human cost of outdated systems, and the strain legacy tech puts on “exceptional employees”

13:09 - How manufacturers can add value to the business and better navigate disruptions by modernizing their infrastructure

16:45 - The role technology partners play in helping manufacturers balance their ongoing responsibilities with the deployment of new tech solutions

18:43 - Bridging the gap between legacy systems and modern solutions through software integration

21:39 - Next steps for team leaders looking to kickstart the legacy technology modernization process

Guest Bio

David Vancina

Strategic Client Architect, MuleSoft

As a leader in the integration and API space, Mulesoft makes it its mission connecting technologies to create seamless cross-platform experiences. David has been the company’s strategic client architect for the last four years, and is currently acting as the company’s field CTO in manufacturing. He brings twenty years of integration experience and almost 35 years of software experience to his role. He has a noted passion for and expertise in integration and technology, specifically within manufacturing.

Patients and providers alike are living through a historic moment in the healthcare industry. COVID-19 and the resulting shifts in telemedicine (as well as the resulting issues with practitioner burnout) have significantly changed consumer expectations around 24/7 care and, in many cases, impacted patient trust in healthcare institutions. Providers and payers need better tools for providing personalized, on-demand healthcare experiences if they hope to overcome these seismic shifts.

In this episode of Transformation @ Work, we look at how digital tools such as Salesforce, as well as qualified technology partners such as Gerent, are helping healthcare providers transform their patient experience and adapt to a rapidly changing marketplace.

Key Ideas

02:14 - Sweeping changes in the healthcare industry over the last few years

05:17 - How digitalization gives providers an opportunity to win back the trust and loyalty of their patients

06:56 - How Salesforce automation is changing the way patients interact with healthcare providers

09:04 -The first steps a team leader should take to make the most of Salesforce

15:45 - The importance of eliminating siloed data and ensuring that information flows seamlessly between teams and departments

19:07 - Building a comprehensive engagement record with Salesforce Health Cloud

20:04 - Balancing the need to implement new digital solutions with the often overwhelming workload healthcare workers bear daily

23:30 - What sets Gerent apart from other technology partners looking to help healthcare providers mobilize change

Guest Bio

Jim Rogers

Senior Vice President, Healthcare and Life Sciences, Gerent

A registered nurse by training, Jim Rogers has been in healthcare for over 27 years, with 23 years of those spent as an RN and over 15 years running healthcare operations and service lines. He also brings 12 years of experience as a Salesforce customer and partner and, prior to joining Gerent, dedicated 7 years to helping payers and providers create engaging patient experiences with Salesforce Health Cloud.

In the eyes of many team leaders, especially in manufacturing and distribution, automating sales and account management runs the risk of losing those real, genuine relationships that deliver value back to the business year after year. But the reality is, by giving your sales reps and account managers the tools to automate daily processes, you might be able to make them even more effective at building those exact same relationships.

In this episode of Transformation @ Work, we look at the ways in which automation can be used to eliminate administrative hurdles for sales reps and account managers, so they can put their focus where it matters most: building lasting, profitable relationships with customers.

Key Ideas

02:40 - The challenges account managers face when tasked with manually managing all of their relationships

05:37 - The risk of overwhelming sales reps and account managers by asking them to manage relationships manually

06:54 - How automation helps sales teams put their focus back on building relationships

10:49 - The time savings that come from automating administrative tasks for account managers

14:20 - Addressing common concerns: “How do we keep the human connection when automating sales?”

19:45 - Specific examples of how businesses can improve their sales processes by automating workflows with Manufacturing Cloud

Guest Bio

Nicholas Holbik-Siu

Director of Distribution, Gerent

Nick brings a wide range of distribution experience to his current role at Gerent, including 13 years at a large plumbing and HVAC company. There, he did everything from driving a truck to working in a warehouse to managing distribution and overseeing new technology. While in that role, he saw firsthand what Salesforce could offer the business in terms of automation opportunities — and how it empowered employees to cut through the clutter and focus on what matters.

Can you define your educational institution’s ideal student customer? Targeting the wrong students in your recruitment efforts can lead to lower admissions numbers, greater student churn, and a general lack of trust in the institution’s ability to help students succeed. But for administrators looking for a clearer picture of their ideal customer, digitalization can provide an invaluable starting point.

In this episode of Transformation @ Work, we look at customer mapping in education: how educators can digitalize their student data and use it to build out comprehensive maps of their prospective customers, as well as the other stakeholders in the decision, such as parents, teachers, and the institution’s own requirements.

Key Ideas

2:50 - The importance of knowing your customer, and the key stakeholders involved in the decision

05:26 - Potential pitfalls that come from not knowing your students and their unique needs

06:42 - Identifying student needs and mapping out your customer both now, and in the future

08:43 - The power of personalized educational support: Why it’s important to know your students as individuals

12:34 - How digitalizing student information helps institutions map out their ideal customer for recruitment and admissions purposes

14:21 - How administrators can use Customer 360 to better develop their customer and stakeholder maps

16:40 - How digitalization can help administrators identify funding opportunities for students

18:18 - Next steps for educators looking to develop a more comprehensive student customer map

21:32 - How knowing your customer can lead to long-term relationships with students, alumni, and families

Guest Bios

Patricia Lumy & Humberto Murakami

Owners, Get Out & About Travel

Our guests this episode are Patricia Lumy and Humberto Murakami, owners of Get Out & About Travel, a Brazilian educational travel agency focused on developing study abroad programs for students looking to broaden their horizons. Patricia & Humberto have years of experience in the Educational Travel industry (25+ years in Patricia’s case, 19+ in Humberto’s), and they each bring a passion and expertise for identifying a student’s particular wants, needs, and desires, and building travel programs that enable learners to grow and succeed.

April Bollwage

Education Practice Lead, Gerent

We’re also joined by April Bollwage, Gerent’s education practice lead, to discuss how digitalizing student information can help drive customer mapping efforts. April brings over 20 years of education experience in both the private and non-profit sectors to her role at Gerent. She’s designed processes to support over 60 domestic learning centers and 650 colleges and universities, and has seen firsthand the way organizations can use digital transformation to ensure student success.

If you’ve sought medical care, tried to fill a prescription, or just read a hospital bill lately, you probably already know the hard truth: healthcare has become dehumanized. There are valid reasons for the shift; after all, providers have long struggled with interoperability, personnel workloads, and the ever-growing problem of confidentiality. But the end result is the same: a sub-par customer experience that strains the trust between patient and provider.

Thankfully, digitalization can help right the scales and empower providers to put the focus back where it matters: on the patient. In this episode of Transformation @ Work, we’re talking about humanizing healthcare – how digital tools can help providers put the focus back on their patients and deliver the kind of care that brings real peace of mind.

Key Ideas

2:30 - Defining our terms: what do we mean when we say healthcare has become “dehumanized?”

5:36 - Why the patient experience needs to be at the heart of the healthcare industry

9:16 - Industry obstacles that providers should be aware of while trying to improve patient experience

13:15 - How digital transformation improves the experience of patients and providers alike

14:26 - How can providers leverage digitalization to put the focus back on their patients?

16:35 - Case study: What a focus on patient experience means during a family health crisis

21:46 - Providing personalized, one-on-one healthcare through digital transformation

26:16 - What a truly differentiated patient experience looks like, from a provider’s perspective

33:33 - Common roadblocks providers encounter while trying to improve customer experience, and how team leaders can avoid them

Guest Bio

Marina Jackman

Director, Health & Life Sciences (Providers), Gerent

Our guest this episode is Marina Jackman, Gerent’s Director of Health & Life Sciences for Providers. Marina has been immersed in the healthcare world for nearly a decade. From the army to veteran-related nonprofits to Gerent, she's seen firsthand the impact of how basic structure and administrative support can facilitate better patient care and transform the healthcare experience.

One of the biggest challenges team leaders face when advocating for digital transformation isn’t the technology itself, or even regulatory issues — it’s making digitalization seem like a viable option. This is especially true in Financial Services, where regulation, legacy hardware, and interwoven processes create cultures that are resistant, or even outright hostile, to change.

On this episode of Transformation @ Work, we discuss what happens when business culture blocks digital transformation and how team leaders can address concerns, overcome resistance, and move the needle on their innovation efforts.

Key Ideas:

02:25 - Common objections to digital transformation

04:05 - How leaders can proactively address those objections before proposing digitalization to their team

07:13 - The role of system integrators and technology partners in digital transformation

08:38 - How team leaders can best utilize their technology partners to help change the company culture

11:49 - Bringing the C-suite onboard: How to work with executives to make digitalization a reality

14:05 - Respecting employee investment while encouraging digital solution adoption

16:52 - How does the process change when an organization has shot down transformation efforts in the past?

18:49 - The role a qualified technology partner such as Gerent might have in driving excitement for a digital solution among hesitant employees

Guest Bio

Angela Colsten

Senior Director, Financial Services, Gerent

Angela has been in the Salesforce ecosystem for close to 18 years, and has extensive experience with how teams react to digital transformation efforts – the good, the bad, and the ugly. She has a passion for building teams and solutions that move the needle on digitalization, and empowering leaders to transform their company cultures for the better.

An institution's job is to keep students on-track to academic success. But the reality is, there are plenty of factors — from mental health degradations, to overworking, poor program fit, and more — that can cause learners to stumble along the way. How can administrators proactively address these pitfalls, and keep students moving forward?

Digitalized journey mapping might just provide an answer. In this episode of Transformation @ Work, we look at how having a detailed journey map and easy access to student data can help institutions eliminate potential hurdles before they appear.

Key Ideas:

02:32 - Specific factors that can lead to students falling off-track: What administrators should be on the lookout for

06:08 - What sources of data should administrators be studying to spot potential student issues before they happen?

10:26 - The importance of making student data readily available and accessible to employees

15:03 - How administrators can use centralized data to deepen relationships with students

20:09 - The employee experience: Helping administrators do their best work by eliminating administrative hurdles

23:16 - Digital transformation in action: How are administrators leveraging Salesforce to improve the student experience and help them succeed?

Guest Bio

April Bollwage

Education Practice Lead, Gerent

April brings over 20 years of education experience in both the private and non-profit sectors to her role at Gerent. She’s designed processes to support over 60 domestic learning centers and 650 colleges and universities, and has seen firsthand the way organizations can use digital transformation to ensure student success.

Hyperautomation is one of the biggest talking points in manufacturing — but often when we talk about it, we have a fairly limited scope of what it can mean. We might consider how to bring hyperautomation to the shop floor through robotics and machine learning, or discuss new ways to automate assembly. However, we all too often overlook more immediately pragmatic opportunities to streamline processes and workflows in the back office.

In this episode of Transformation @ Work, we explore how to bring hyperautomation to the back office and empower manufacturers to unlock employees’ full potential and get them back to doing the jobs they’re passionate about.

Key Ideas

01:51 - How does hyperautomation relate to back office processes?

04:23 - Identifying unnecessary workflows and opportunities for automation through Salesforce

07:58 - Specific challenges faced by Manufacturers that can be addressed through Salesforce automation

09:45 - Case study: How supply chain disruption impacted pricing agreements, and how digitalization can help businesses regain control of profitability

16:16 - How digital transformation and automation drives value back to the business

19:29 - Tips on developing a digitalization plan with your team while keeping adoption in mind

21:33 - Deciding when to unplug: When is your team ready to fully make the switch to Salesforce?

30:07 - Common stumbling blocks in digital transformation, and how teams can avoid them

Guest Bio

Anandhi Narayanan

Senior Vice President of Strategy and Business Transformation in Manufacturing, Gerent

Anandhi brings over 17 years of experience in manufacturing, not just with technology, but with the people and processes that can lead to meaningful change. During her tenure in IT, she led digital transformations for finance, supply chain, operations and sales operations. For the past 4 years as a consultant, she has directed cross-cloud implementations, driving strategy and thought leadership for supply chain organizations across the Salesforce ecosystem.