US-based software investor, Five Elms Capital, is investing $30 million (R437 million) in Skynamo, a South African field sales app and management platform provider.
In a statement, Skynamo says it will use the investment to accelerate adoption of its field sales mobile app and cloud-based management platform, while scaling up operations to improve service to its rapidly growing customer base in the US, UK and Southern Africa.
Skynamo serves its customers from its Stellenbosch, Johannesburg, Durban and London offices and has chosen Atlanta as its US headquarters.
The company says it increases sales rep productivity and effectiveness by digitising paper-based processes, automating administrative tasks, and enabling easy access to customer and product information in the field.
It points out that GPS technology provides managers with a real-time view of sales activity and sales rep effectiveness in the field, so they can coach their reps remotely.
According to the company, field sales teams using Skynamo typically double – and in some cases triple – the number of customers they visit per week and increase revenue by up to 20% in the first year.
Skynamo integrates with enterprise resource planning and accounting software such as Sage, Acumatica, SAP, Xero and Quickbooks to provide field sales reps with the latest product and customer information and order history while on the road or onsite at a customer.
Its integration capability streamlines the ordering process and improves order accuracy, order fulfilment and time to invoice for field sales teams on the road, says the start-up.
“We’ve backed Skynamo because we are convinced it has the perfect combination of strong value proposition and a relentless culture of delighting both customers and employees to become the leader in field sales technology,” says Fred Coulson, managing partner of Five Elms.
Unlike other customer relationship management and sales automation applications, Skynamo is a mobile-first application designed to provide a better end-user experience for mobile users, says the company, adding that mobile-first design ensures data entry is easier – improving the volume and quality of data collected in the field.
It adds that offline capability enables users to continue working on their mobile devices even without Internet access.
“Field sales reps have been left out in the cold by the technology industry for far too long,” says Sam Clarke, CEO of Skynamo. “By putting all time-saving functionality and accurate information in the palm of their hands via our mobile app, Skynamo transforms sales teams from order-takers to value-adding consultants to their customers.”
“The field sales industry is in a state of disruption; both businesses and field sales professionals need to adopt new technologies to survive the digital shift,” says Stephanie Brown, partner at Five Elms.
“Skynamo is the best platform to help field sales teams become more knowledgeable by providing quick and accurate answers while onsite with customers.”
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