At the recent CIO 100 conference held in Southern California, a representative of Shaw Industries, Inc., gave a presentation about the company’s successful adoption of Fujitsu Tablet PCs and sales force automation to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and profitability of its sales force. 

Shaw Industries is a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc., and produces and sells residential and commercial flooring to customers around the world. Shaw’s 1,200 US and Canadian-based sales reps sell more than 25,000 different products using the phone, on-site customer visits, and paper order forms. Previously, territory managers were couriered a seven-pound package of pricing and product information each week, while orders and price changes were faxed in by sales reps, and then keyed into the company’s order entry system by a clerk. Processes were redundant, time-consuming, and error-prone. 

The enlightening presentation was delivered by Steve Abernathy, Director of Marketing Technology at Shaw Industries, Inc. Abernathy has been overseeing technological advancements for Shaw Industries, Inc. for over 20 years. His presentation illustrates how Shaw Industries, facing rising costs of materials and shrinking profit margins, improved the efficiency and accuracy of its sales force through the implementation of Fujitsu Tablet PCs and mobile Sales Force Automation technologies, automating key sales job functions including pricing, ordering, claims processing, and online research, resulting in maintained profitability. 

To watch a video of the presentation, click here.