DPSciences Uses VSI Technologies to Triple Manufacturer Maintenance Revenues
Reselling computer products is a tough business with razor-slim margins and endless competition. DPSciences Corp. (DPS), a Cincinnati, OH-based value-added reseller, found that better managing its manufacturer maintenance program provided a competitive edge. Its use of Vertical Solutions, Inc.’s (VSI) CRM software has helped it more than triple its top-line revenue in the market.
DPS specializes in building, deploying, and supporting network and communications solutions from major manufacturers. Many of its customers are Fortune 500 businesses, a lucrative but price-savvy market. Seeking new ways to connect with clients and build extended relationships, DPS reviewed its “pass-through”, or manufacturer maintenance program. This service enables customers to purchase order maintenance on critical components directly from DPS, including same-day/next-day repairs and break-fix service. While the DPS sales team successfully sold the maintenance service, the company realized it was leaving money on the table by not better managing the renewal process. “We realized there was a huge opportunity by following up with customers to renew,” says Tim Shelton, Treasurer of DPS.
DPS hired a team to pull information from company databases and develop spreadsheets that would help track the process. While renewals, along with revenues and profits, rose, the company realized it needed a sophisticated software application to capture the true potential.
DPS found that solution in VSI’s CRM suite of customer-experience management software solutions. These robust, modular applications offer in-depth functionality for customer support, field service, sales and marketing automation, and mobile environments. Companies in a variety of industries and throughout the world use VSI’s CRM applications to improve service response and resolution times, reduce the costs of delivering service, capture actionable customer data, seamlessly integrate with external partners, and broaden their portfolio of service offerings.
DPS worked with VSI technicians to architect the workflow to meet DPS’s contract management needs, and went live within three months. DPS cites the VSI system’s speed to deploy as one of its advantages over other systems. “We had the application up and running within months, when we knew that would not be the case with software from other developers,” notes Shelton.
This rapid deployment meant DPS was soon reaping the benefits of the system: “We have so much more visibility into our customers,” says Shelton. “We can look into each area of our business – TAC, sales, contracts – and get the accurate and timely data we need to work with our customers.” Better visibility into expiring contracts has enabled DPS to be more proactive in selling maintenance renewals, which significantly raised customer retention. “We can notify customers in advance of their contract expiration, and offer multi-year support, an option that customers like,” says Shelton. “We have so much better data than we had with our old spreadsheet system, we have improved our quoting capabilities substantially.”
Because VSI’s CRM application is cloud-based and designed with open architecture, data is securely available to a vast group of people, including DPS’s sales team, management, support, and the clients themselves. Customers can view their contracts as well as history and coverage on individual products, including detail as specific as a serial number. “Our customers now have 24/7 access to their account history, and that has not only improved our relationships with them, it has helped to slow down some of the margin erosion that we were experiencing,” says Shelton. “Our VSI database and customer portal have given us value-added and competitive edge. “
VSI has helped DPS grow its manufacturer maintenance revenue substantially: it has experienced a more than 300-percent increase in top-line revenue in its first four years of deployment. “The ROI was tremendous,” says Shelton.
DPS has expanded the program beyond hardware to include its customers’ software assets as well. VSI’s CRM software helps DPS track software licenses for its customers, reminding them of renewals and maintenance, and is first in line to get that business.
VSI develops its software programs with a modular strategy that enables companies to deploy solutions in specific areas to achieve benefits quickly. This approach works for DPS, which is in the process of deploying Project Management for its professional consulting group, and anticipates a go-live date within months. “The software is open and visible to our entire enterprise, which helps our whole company,” says Shelton.
In addition to the impact of the software solutions, DPS also values its relationship with VSI. “I was used to participating in user group activities for other large software developers, where you provided your ideas, but you rarely saw any action on them,” says Shelton. “With VSI, we work closely with their consultants and professional services people, and our ideas are used in future releases. VSI is flexible and accommodating.”
About Vertical Solutions, Inc. (VSI)
Vertical Solutions, Inc. develops, implements, and supports best-in-class CRM Contact Center and Service Management solutions, including PowerHelp® and its new generation technology solutions, VContactCenter™, for internal, external, and hybrid contact centers, and VServiceManagement™, for customer support, field service, and mobile environments. It also develops, implements, and supports patient services technology solution VHealthTracker™. These application systems are built on a SOAcompliant, cloud-based technology platform and are delivered as a service or onpremise in a private or public cloud environment. VSI's applications are flexible, integrate easily with legacy systems, and offer rapid deployment times, driving down TCO and delivering high ROI. VSI is headquartered in Cincinnati, OH, with offices and partners worldwide. For more information, visit www.VertSol.com or call 1.800.466.0238.
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