In today’s fiercely competitive landscape, small manufacturing companies often find themselves grappling with a unique set of challenges that can hinder their sales growth. From managing intricate custom orders and complex supply chains to nurturing long-term customer relationships, the path to sustained profitability isn’t always straightforward. However, there’s a powerful tool emerging as a beacon of efficiency for these businesses: Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software. This isn’t just a fancy database; it’s a strategic platform designed to revolutionize how you engage with customers, manage your sales pipeline, and ultimately, drive revenue. The core promise? Streamlining sales with CRM for small manufacturing companies by bringing clarity, automation, and intelligent insights to every stage of your customer journey.
This comprehensive guide will delve deep into the transformative potential of CRM for small manufacturers. We’ll explore how this technology moves beyond simple contact management to become an indispensable asset, helping you navigate the complexities of modern manufacturing sales. By the end, you’ll understand not just what CRM is, but how to effectively leverage it to enhance efficiency, boost customer satisfaction, and secure a stronger foothold in your market. Prepare to discover how a well-implemented CRM system can be the cornerstone of your sales optimization strategy, enabling your team to focus on what they do best: building quality products and lasting customer relationships.
The Unique Sales Hurdles Small Manufacturers Face in a Digital World
Small manufacturing companies operate within an ecosystem brimming with unique complexities that often make streamlining sales with CRM for small manufacturing companies a critical endeavor. Unlike businesses selling off-the-shelf products, manufacturers frequently deal with long sales cycles, highly customized orders, and a sales process that involves intricate technical specifications, engineering approvals, and fluctuating material costs. This often translates into a reliance on manual processes, disparate spreadsheets, and a deep-seated knowledge held by a few key individuals – all of which can become bottlenecks as the company grows. The challenge isn’t just about finding new customers; it’s about efficiently managing the journey from initial inquiry to final product delivery, ensuring every detail is tracked and communicated accurately.
One of the most significant hurdles is the often-fragmented view of customer interactions. Sales teams might use one system for contact details, engineering another for project specifications, and production yet another for order tracking. This lack of a unified platform leads to information silos, where critical data gets lost, duplicated, or simply isn’t accessible to everyone who needs it. Imagine a sales rep needing to quickly check a past order’s custom specifications while on a call with a potential client, only to spend valuable minutes or even hours trying to track down the right person or document. This inefficiency doesn’t just waste time; it creates friction, delays responses, and can ultimately lead to lost opportunities. Furthermore, accurately forecasting sales and managing inventory becomes a Herculean task without a centralized system, directly impacting production schedules and profitability.
What Exactly is CRM and Why Manufacturers Need It More Than Ever?
At its heart, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a technology system designed to manage all your company’s relationships and interactions with customers and potential customers. The goal is simple: improve business relationships to grow your business. A CRM system helps companies stay connected to customers, streamline processes, and improve profitability. For small manufacturing companies, however, CRM extends beyond the typical B2C or B2B sales model. It becomes a central nervous system for sales operations, acting as a single source of truth for all customer data, from initial lead to after-sales support. It’s not just about who your customers are; it’s about understanding their specific needs, their order history, their preferences, and the entire lifecycle of your engagement with them.
In the manufacturing sector, the “relationship” aspect of CRM is particularly crucial because sales often involve complex negotiations, custom product configurations, and ongoing support for specialized equipment. A manufacturer might deal with long-term contracts, recurring orders for parts, or intricate project-based sales that span months or even years. Without a robust CRM, tracking the nuances of these interactions, managing follow-ups, and ensuring consistent communication becomes an enormous burden. This is precisely why streamlining sales with CRM for small manufacturing companies has become less of a luxury and more of a necessity, providing the infrastructure to manage these complexities and foster stronger, more profitable customer relationships over the long haul.
Beyond Basic Contact Management: CRM’s Role in Lead Generation & Qualification
Many small manufacturing companies still rely on traditional methods for lead generation, often waiting for referrals or inbound calls, and managing these leads through spreadsheets or even handwritten notes. This approach, while familiar, lacks the scalability and analytical power needed to consistently grow. A modern CRM system, however, transforms lead generation and qualification into a systematic, data-driven process. It acts as the central repository for every potential customer interaction, whether they’ve visited your website, downloaded a product catalog, or made an inquiry at a trade show. Instead of merely storing a name and number, the CRM captures comprehensive details, allowing your sales team to build a rich profile of each lead from the very first touchpoint.
The real power of CRM in this context lies in its ability to qualify leads efficiently. For manufacturers, not all leads are created equal; some might be tire-kickers, while others represent genuinely viable opportunities for significant custom orders. CRM systems often include features that allow sales teams to score leads based on predefined criteria, such as industry, company size, budget, specific product interest, and urgency. This intelligent qualification process ensures that your sales professionals focus their valuable time and energy on leads most likely to convert, thereby significantly streamlining sales with CRM for small manufacturing companies. By automating the initial stages of lead nurturing and providing a clear path for follow-up, CRM ensures no promising lead falls through the cracks, setting the stage for more efficient conversions down the pipeline.
Transforming the Quotation Process: From Manual to Automated Efficiency
One of the most time-consuming and error-prone aspects of sales for small manufacturing companies is the quotation process. Creating accurate quotes for custom products, often involving complex bills of materials, varying labor costs, and dynamic raw material prices, can be a monumental task. Traditionally, this might involve multiple departments – sales, engineering, purchasing – each contributing their piece, often through emails, phone calls, and manual calculations. This not only delays response times to eager customers but also significantly increases the risk of errors, which can lead to reduced profitability or even damaged customer trust. The manual quote-to-order cycle is a primary bottleneck that CRM is perfectly positioned to address, making it central to streamlining sales with CRM for small manufacturing companies.
A robust CRM system, especially one integrated with an ERP or CPQ (Configure, Price, Quote) module, can revolutionize this process. It allows sales representatives to generate accurate and professional quotes rapidly, directly from the customer’s profile. They can access up-to-date pricing, inventory levels, and production capabilities, ensuring that every quote is not only competitive but also feasible to fulfill. For complex custom orders, CRM can guide the sales rep through configuration options, ensuring that all necessary components and services are included, and even applying pre-approved discounts or special terms. This automation drastically reduces the time spent on administrative tasks, minimizes human error, and empowers your sales team to respond to customer requests with unprecedented speed and accuracy, directly contributing to higher win rates and improved customer satisfaction.
Order Management Excellence: Tracking Production from Sales to Delivery
Once a quote is accepted, the journey for a small manufacturer is far from over; in fact, a whole new set of complexities arises in managing the order through production and delivery. Traditionally, this handover from sales to operations can be a point of friction, with information getting lost, miscommunicated, or requiring manual re-entry into different systems. Sales might have specific customer requirements that don’t fully translate to the production floor, leading to delays, rework, or even incorrect products being manufactured. This disjointed process negatively impacts customer satisfaction and can erode the hard-won gains from the initial sales effort. The integration of CRM into this critical phase is therefore crucial for streamlining sales with CRM for small manufacturing companies.
A CRM system, especially when integrated with enterprise resource planning (ERP) or manufacturing execution systems (MES), provides a seamless transition from a closed deal to an active order. It ensures that all details from the sales process – custom specifications, delivery dates, special instructions, and pricing – are accurately transmitted to the relevant departments. The sales team can then track the order’s progress in real-time, offering proactive updates to customers and quickly addressing any potential issues before they escalate. This end-to-end visibility not only improves internal coordination but also significantly enhances the customer experience, as they feel informed and valued throughout the entire fulfillment process. From raw material procurement to final shipment, CRM helps orchestrate the entire order lifecycle, guaranteeing efficiency and transparency.
Enhancing Customer Relationships: Building Loyalty in a Competitive Market
For small manufacturing companies, repeat business and customer loyalty are the lifeblood of sustained growth. In a market where competitors are always vying for attention, simply delivering a quality product is often not enough. Customers expect personalized service, proactive communication, and a sense that their unique needs are understood and remembered. Without a centralized system, maintaining this level of personalized engagement can be incredibly challenging, relying heavily on individual sales reps’ memory or scattered notes. This fragmentation often means that the customer experience can vary wildly depending on who they interact with, hindering the ability to build a consistent and reliable brand image.
This is where CRM truly shines as a tool for streamlining sales with CRM for small manufacturing companies by deepening customer relationships. By consolidating all customer interactions, purchase history, service requests, and communication preferences into a single profile, CRM empowers every member of your team to provide a consistent and informed experience. When a customer calls, your team can instantly access their entire history, understand their previous orders, and even anticipate future needs. This level of personalized service makes customers feel valued and understood, fostering trust and loyalty. Moreover, CRM can help automate follow-up communications, schedule proactive check-ins, and even identify opportunities for upselling or cross-selling relevant products or services, ensuring that your relationships remain vibrant and profitable over time.
Data-Driven Decisions: Unlocking Insights for Smarter Sales Strategies
In an increasingly data-rich business environment, relying on gut feelings or anecdotal evidence to drive sales strategy is no longer a viable option for small manufacturing companies. Understanding what works, what doesn’t, and where the best opportunities lie requires robust data analysis. However, without a centralized system, collecting and analyzing this data can be an overwhelming task, often leading to incomplete insights or decisions based on outdated information. Sales reports might be manually compiled, taking valuable time away from selling, and still fail to provide a comprehensive picture of performance, customer trends, or market shifts.
A CRM system acts as a powerful analytical engine, continuously collecting and organizing vast amounts of sales-related data. From lead source performance and conversion rates to sales cycle lengths and average deal sizes, CRM provides a wealth of metrics that can be analyzed to uncover actionable insights. For small manufacturing companies, this means being able to identify your most profitable product lines, understand which marketing channels generate the highest quality leads, and predict future sales trends with greater accuracy. This capability for data-driven decision-making is fundamental to streamlining sales with CRM for small manufacturing companies. It allows you to refine your sales processes, allocate resources more effectively, and proactively adapt your strategies to market changes, ensuring continuous improvement and sustained growth based on concrete evidence rather than speculation.
Integrating CRM with Existing Systems: ERP, CAD, and More for Holistic Views
The true power of CRM for small manufacturing companies is often unlocked not by its standalone features, but by its seamless integration with other critical business systems. While CRM excels at managing customer interactions, a manufacturer’s operations rely heavily on tools like Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) for production planning, inventory management, and financial accounting; Computer-Aided Design (CAD) for product development; and even specialized project management software. Operating these systems in silos creates data fragmentation, necessitating manual data transfers, which are notorious for introducing errors and causing delays. The ideal scenario for streamlining sales with CRM for small manufacturing companies involves creating a connected ecosystem where information flows freely between departments.
Integrating CRM with your ERP system, for example, allows sales teams to view real-time inventory levels, production schedules, and customer credit limits directly from their CRM interface. This means accurate quotes can be generated based on current availability, and sales promises can be made with confidence, knowing they align with operational realities. Similarly, integrating with CAD systems might allow sales engineers to quickly access product designs or custom configurations during customer discussions, facilitating faster and more accurate requirement gathering. This holistic view, achieved through strategic integrations, breaks down departmental barriers, enhances inter-team collaboration, and ensures that every customer touchpoint is supported by consistent and up-to-date information from across the entire organization, leading to more efficient processes and greater customer satisfaction.
Overcoming Implementation Hurdles: A Smooth Transition for Small Manufacturers
For many small manufacturing companies, the idea of adopting a new software system like CRM can be daunting. Concerns about cost, complexity, disruption to existing workflows, and user adoption are very real and can often delay or even prevent the implementation of such a crucial tool. The fear of a lengthy, expensive, and ultimately unsuccessful rollout can lead businesses to stick with outdated, inefficient manual processes, thereby missing out on the significant benefits that CRM offers for streamlining sales with CRM for small manufacturing companies. It’s important to acknowledge these concerns and approach implementation with a clear strategy to mitigate potential hurdles.
A smooth CRM implementation begins with thorough planning and realistic expectations. It’s not just about installing software; it’s about a cultural shift and process re-engineering. Key steps include clearly defining your business objectives for CRM, selecting a solution that aligns with your specific needs and budget, and dedicating sufficient resources for training and ongoing support. Starting with a pilot program or a phased rollout, focusing on core functionalities first, can help ease your team into the new system without overwhelming them. Furthermore, engaging key stakeholders from sales, marketing, and even production in the planning phase can foster a sense of ownership and increase user adoption. Choosing a CRM vendor that offers robust support and has experience with small manufacturing businesses can also be invaluable, guiding you through the process and helping to customize the solution to your unique operational requirements.
Choosing the Right CRM Solution: Tailoring to Your Manufacturing Needs
With a plethora of CRM solutions available on the market, selecting the right one for a small manufacturing company can feel like searching for a needle in a haystack. Generic CRM platforms might offer broad functionalities, but they often lack the specific features and integrations that are critical for manufacturers. The wrong choice can lead to underutilized software, frustration among users, and a failure to achieve the desired improvements in sales efficiency. Therefore, a careful evaluation process tailored to the unique demands of your manufacturing operations is essential for truly streamlining sales with CRM for small manufacturing companies.
When evaluating CRM options, consider factors beyond just price. Look for systems that offer robust capabilities for managing custom product configurations, complex quoting, and project-based sales. Integration capabilities with your existing ERP, CAD, or production scheduling systems are paramount to avoid data silos. Scalability is another critical consideration; choose a CRM that can grow with your business without requiring a complete overhaul in a few years. Cloud-based solutions often provide flexibility, lower upfront costs, and easier maintenance compared to on-premise deployments. Finally, prioritize user-friendliness and comprehensive training and support from the vendor. A system, no matter how powerful, is only as effective as its adoption by your sales and operations teams. Seek out demonstrations, read industry reviews, and even ask for references from other small manufacturers to ensure the chosen solution is the perfect fit for your specific needs.
The Tangible ROI: Measuring Success in Sales Efficiency and Growth
While the conceptual benefits of CRM are clear, small manufacturing companies need to see tangible returns on their investment to justify the time, effort, and financial outlay. The good news is that a well-implemented CRM system can deliver significant and measurable ROI, directly impacting the bottom line. However, to truly understand this impact, businesses must define key performance indicators (KPIs) and actively track them before and after CRM adoption. This focus on measurable outcomes is what makes streamlining sales with CRM for small manufacturing companies a strategic investment rather than just an operational expense.
One of the most immediate benefits is often a reduction in the sales cycle length. By automating administrative tasks, providing quick access to information, and enabling faster quote generation, sales teams can move prospects through the pipeline more efficiently. Increased win rates are another common outcome, as sales reps are better equipped with customer insights, more accurate pricing, and timely follow-ups. Improved lead conversion rates, stemming from better lead qualification and nurturing, directly translate to more revenue. Furthermore, CRM contributes to higher customer retention rates by facilitating personalized service and proactive engagement, ensuring a steady stream of repeat business. Beyond these direct sales metrics, businesses often see reduced operational costs due to decreased manual data entry and fewer errors, all contributing to a compelling ROI that validates the strategic importance of CRM.
Empowering Your Sales Team: Tools for Productivity and Collaboration
For small manufacturing companies, the sales team is often the direct link between the business and its customers. Their effectiveness and productivity directly influence revenue generation and market perception. Yet, without the right tools, sales representatives can spend a disproportionate amount of their time on administrative tasks, searching for information, or coordinating internally, rather than focusing on selling and building relationships. This inefficiency not only limits their output but can also lead to frustration and burnout. Empowering your sales team with a robust CRM system is therefore a critical component of streamlining sales with CRM for small manufacturing companies.
A CRM system provides a centralized hub where sales reps can manage their leads, track opportunities, schedule meetings, and record all customer interactions. This means less time spent on data entry and more time spent engaging with prospects and customers. Mobile access to CRM data allows sales professionals to be productive on the go, whether they’re visiting a client’s site or attending a trade show, ensuring they always have the latest information at their fingertips. Beyond individual productivity, CRM significantly enhances team collaboration. Sales managers can monitor pipeline progress, provide targeted coaching, and ensure consistent messaging. Cross-functional teams, such as sales and engineering, can easily share information on custom projects, reducing miscommunications and accelerating the sales process. This collaborative environment fostered by CRM not only boosts individual performance but also elevates the entire sales operation.
Future-Proofing Your Business: Adapting to Industry 4.0 with CRM
The manufacturing industry is undergoing a profound transformation, often referred to as Industry 4.0, characterized by the integration of digital technologies such as IoT, AI, cloud computing, and big data into every aspect of production and business operations. For small manufacturing companies, this digital revolution presents both immense opportunities and significant challenges. Those that fail to adapt risk being left behind by more agile, technologically advanced competitors. In this evolving landscape, a robust CRM system is not just about current efficiency; it’s a foundational element for future-proofing your business and embracing the principles of Industry 4.0. It’s about ensuring your efforts in streamlining sales with CRM for small manufacturing companies align with broader technological advancements.
As manufacturers begin to gather more data from smart factories, connected equipment, and automated processes, the need for a system to intelligently interpret and act on this data becomes paramount. CRM, especially when integrated with these advanced technologies, can leverage insights from production data to inform sales strategies, predict customer needs for spare parts or upgrades, and even offer predictive maintenance as a service. It enables a shift from reactive selling to proactive, value-added engagement. Furthermore, CRM platforms are increasingly incorporating AI and machine learning capabilities to automate routine tasks, provide intelligent sales recommendations, and personalize customer experiences at scale. By adopting and continually evolving their CRM strategy, small manufacturers can position themselves at the forefront of this digital transformation, ensuring their sales operations remain agile, intelligent, and competitive in the decades to come.
Common Misconceptions About CRM for Small Businesses: Separating Fact from Fiction
Despite the clear advantages, many small manufacturing companies harbor misconceptions about CRM that prevent them from exploring its potential. These myths often stem from outdated ideas about software, cost anxieties, or a lack of understanding of modern CRM capabilities. Overcoming these preconceived notions is crucial for any small business considering streamlining sales with CRM for small manufacturing companies. Let’s debunk some of the most common myths to reveal the true value of CRM in today’s landscape.
One prevalent myth is that CRM is only for large enterprises with massive sales teams. In reality, modern CRM solutions are highly scalable and offer packages specifically designed for small businesses, providing essential functionalities without the overwhelming complexity or prohibitive cost of enterprise-level systems. Another misconception is that CRM is just a glorified contact list. While contact management is a core feature, CRM today is a comprehensive platform that covers lead nurturing, sales pipeline management, customer service, marketing automation, and advanced analytics, far exceeding a simple database. Some also believe that implementing CRM is too difficult and disruptive. While any new system requires adjustment, many cloud-based CRM solutions are designed for intuitive use and offer extensive support, making implementation smoother than ever. Finally, the idea that CRM removes the “human touch” from sales is unfounded; instead, it empowers sales professionals by giving them more time to focus on meaningful customer interactions and providing them with the intelligence to make those interactions more personalized and impactful.
Real-World Scenarios: How Manufacturers Are Benefiting Today
To truly appreciate the power of streamlining sales with CRM for small manufacturing companies, it’s helpful to consider how real businesses are leveraging this technology to achieve tangible results. While specific company names may not be mentioned, the scenarios illustrate common improvements experienced across the sector. Imagine a small specialty parts manufacturer, let’s call them “Precision Gears Inc.,” that used to rely on a complex network of spreadsheets and email threads to manage inquiries and custom orders. Their sales team spent hours each day chasing down technical specifications, checking inventory, and compiling quotes, leading to slow response times and missed opportunities.
After implementing a tailored CRM solution, Precision Gears Inc. experienced a dramatic shift. Their sales team now logs every inquiry directly into the CRM, which automatically assigns leads and schedules follow-up tasks. When a customer requests a custom gear, the sales rep can access a product configurator within the CRM, integrated with their ERP, to generate an accurate quote in minutes, factoring in current material costs and production lead times. This accelerated quoting process led to a 25% increase in their quote-to-order conversion rate within the first year. Furthermore, customer service representatives can now view a complete history of every customer interaction and order, allowing them to provide prompt and informed support, which in turn has boosted customer satisfaction ratings and fostered stronger relationships, leading to more repeat business and referrals. This kind of systematic improvement is a direct result of effective CRM adoption.
Step-by-Step: Implementing CRM in Your Manufacturing Plant
Successfully implementing CRM in a small manufacturing company requires a structured approach to ensure a smooth transition and maximize its benefits for streamlining sales with CRM for small manufacturing companies. It’s not a one-time event but a strategic project that needs careful planning and execution. The first step is to clearly define your business goals and current pain points. What specific sales challenges are you trying to solve? Is it slow quoting, poor lead management, or inadequate customer follow-up? Having clear objectives will help you choose the right CRM features and measure success.
Next, involve key stakeholders from sales, marketing, and even production early in the process. Their input is invaluable for selecting a system that meets their needs and for fostering buy-in. Once a CRM solution is chosen, the implementation phase involves data migration (importing existing customer contacts, sales history, etc.), system configuration to match your specific sales processes, and integration with other critical systems like your ERP. This is often followed by comprehensive training for all users. Don’t underestimate the importance of training; it’s crucial for user adoption and for ensuring your team can fully leverage the system’s capabilities. Finally, plan for ongoing support and continuous optimization, as your business needs and the CRM itself will evolve over time. A phased rollout, starting with a core group or department, can help identify and address issues before a full company-wide deployment.
Continuous Improvement: Evolving Your CRM Strategy Over Time
Implementing a CRM system is not a set-it-and-forget-it endeavor; rather, it’s the beginning of an ongoing journey of continuous improvement. For small manufacturing companies, the sales landscape is constantly shifting, customer expectations evolve, and new technologies emerge. To truly capitalize on streamlining sales with CRM for small manufacturing companies, businesses must be prepared to regularly review, adapt, and enhance their CRM strategy to ensure it remains a powerful engine for growth and efficiency. This proactive approach ensures that your initial investment continues to yield maximum returns in the long run.
Regularly gather feedback from your sales team, customer service, and even production staff on their experiences with the CRM. Are there bottlenecks in the workflow? Are new features needed? Is the data being captured sufficient and accurate? Use this feedback to identify areas for improvement, whether it’s refining sales process automation, customizing dashboards for better insights, or integrating new tools. Furthermore, monitor your key performance indicators (KPIs) diligently. Are you still seeing improvements in sales cycle length, conversion rates, and customer satisfaction? If not, investigate why and adjust your strategy accordingly. Many CRM platforms release regular updates and new functionalities; staying informed about these advancements and selectively adopting those that align with your business goals can keep your CRM system cutting-edge and ensure it continues to support your evolving sales objectives.
The Competitive Edge: Why Your Competitors Are Already Doing This
In today’s highly competitive manufacturing sector, standing still is akin to moving backward. While many small manufacturing companies might be hesitant to invest in new technologies like CRM, the reality is that many of their more agile and forward-thinking competitors have already embraced these tools. The businesses that are successfully streamlining sales with CRM for small manufacturing companies are gaining a significant competitive edge, one that is increasingly difficult to match without similar technological capabilities. Ignoring this trend isn’t just a missed opportunity; it’s a risk to your long-term viability.
Competitors leveraging CRM are likely responding to customer inquiries faster, providing more accurate quotes, delivering personalized service, and making data-driven decisions that optimize their sales strategies. They are building stronger customer relationships, retaining more business, and efficiently converting leads into loyal clients. This means they are growing their market share and improving their profitability, often at the expense of businesses that rely on manual, fragmented processes. The ability to forecast sales with greater accuracy allows them to optimize production schedules and inventory, leading to better operational efficiency and reduced costs – advantages that can be passed on to customers or reinvested in innovation. Therefore, adopting a CRM isn’t just about improving your internal processes; it’s about leveling the playing field and ensuring your business can compete effectively, today and in the future.
Conclusion: Unleashing Growth by Streamlining Sales with CRM for Small Manufacturing Companies
The journey of a small manufacturing company is filled with unique challenges, from managing complex custom orders to fostering long-term customer relationships. In an era where efficiency, precision, and customer centricity are paramount, relying on outdated manual processes or fragmented systems is no longer sustainable. The clear path forward for sustained growth and enhanced competitiveness lies in embracing modern technological solutions. As we’ve thoroughly explored, a well-implemented Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system stands out as a transformative tool for streamlining sales with CRM for small manufacturing companies, offering benefits that ripple across the entire organization.
From intelligently generating and qualifying leads to automating the intricate quotation process, providing unparalleled visibility into order fulfillment, and deepening customer relationships through personalized service, CRM empowers manufacturers to operate with unprecedented efficiency. It transforms disparate data into actionable insights, enabling smarter sales strategies and fostering a culture of continuous improvement. By breaking down departmental silos and empowering sales teams with the right tools, CRM not only boosts productivity but also ensures that every customer interaction is consistent, informed, and impactful. For any small manufacturing company looking to secure its future, gain a decisive competitive advantage, and truly unlock its growth potential, the time to invest in a robust CRM solution is now. It’s an investment not just in software, but in the future success and resilience of your entire enterprise.