Over the years, Reliance Solutions providers and individual members of its staff has assisted small and medium-sized business improve its processes through the use of better procedures and tools. Here are some stories you might relate to:

Independent Sales Reps Turn Into a Business: Over a period of time, four independent sales reps pooled their talents and quadrupled their business. Unfortunately, while business was booming, there was little control over the increased staff needed to manage the business, from office personnel to new brokers brought in to handle accounts. Business solutions included installing a company-wide contact management, a custom order entry system and better telemarketing procedures.
.
Manufacturer Reduces Order Entry Costs: A successful manufacturer became concerned when the budget for order entry tripled within a year. Upon examination, the manufacturer discovered that orders were being brought to the company in a chaotic number of formats: email, fax, EDP, phone call, website, etc. After discussing the situation with sales brokers and customers alike, a custom system was developed that unified order-entry forms with online systems, made use of order-form barcode readers and better integrated computerized processes with general manufacturing data.

Small Technical Consulting Firm Grows: A small technical consulting firm was highly profitable for its two original principles, but the partners found that adding additional consultants did not improve profit levels, while instead added management stress. Analysis revealed that the original partners did not know how to leverage employees' ability to market services, consequently writing off all costs to unrecoverable overhead. Solutions included installing a better contact-management system and simple sales-force tracking system. With these tools, the partners could better monitor daily progress and forecast growth thus demonstrating their need for additional consultants before actually hiring.

Small company that outgrew its internal systems: over a ten-year period, a family-owned business grew tremendously, Unfortunately, as it grew, no one automated its internal processes, preferring to manage by intuition than by numbers. We introduced new accounting and sales management software to the firm, supporting them by installing and configuring the systems and training staff. This gave them the leverage they needed to further develop their businesses, while we continued to monitor progress with the goal of continuously improving daily routines.

Process management in an accounting firm: Although a medium-sized accounting firm provided accurate financial records for itself and its clients, it could not control its own overhead. Cost reduction programs that didn't succeed included buying software that no one in the firm understood. We evaluated their overall operations, and based on what we learned, installed a time and billing application, plus a better contact management program. With training, the partners can now oversee what their staff is doing, bill for all hours worked and follow-up on client concerns that used to be lost.