Building a Complete Revenue Recognition Cycle to Spur Growth at Alcami
Customer Company Size
Mid-size Company
Region
- America
Country
- United States
Product
- Workato
- Microsoft AX
- Salesforce
Tech Stack
- ERP
- CRM
- Automation
Implementation Scale
- Enterprise-wide Deployment
Impact Metrics
- Digital Expertise
- Productivity Improvements
- Revenue Growth
Technology Category
- Functional Applications - Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP)
- Automation & Control - Automation & Process Control Systems
Applicable Industries
- Pharmaceuticals
Applicable Functions
- Business Operation
- Sales & Marketing
Use Cases
- Process Control & Optimization
- Remote Asset Management
Services
- System Integration
- Software Design & Engineering Services
About The Customer
Alcami is a US-based contract development, testing, and manufacturing organization that serves the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. With its headquarters in Durham, North Carolina, Alcami employs around 1000 people and specializes in providing a range of services that include pharma manufacturing, development, and testing. As a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), Alcami handles numerous contracts that vary in value and complexity. These contracts are crucial to its operations as they dictate the workflow and revenue streams. Alcami's business model relies heavily on the efficient management and execution of these contracts to ensure timely delivery and customer satisfaction. The company operates in a highly competitive and regulated industry, where precision and efficiency are paramount. Alcami's ability to manage its contracts effectively is critical to maintaining its reputation and achieving growth in the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors.
The Challenge
As a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), Alcami deals with a lot of contracts. At any given time, these contracts vary in value—there is the initial awarded contract value, the amount “in process,” or the percentage of work that Alcami has scheduled to complete, and the invoiced value, or the total value of all completed work that can now be counted as revenue. These varying contract values are stored across two different systems: an ERP (Microsoft AX) and a CRM (Salesforce). In order to calculate the time between an awarded contract, a scheduled contract, or an invoiced contract, Alcami had no other option but to check between the two systems. Manually cross-referencing 1000+ contracts at any given time was slow and ineffective. Of the many different types of services that Alcami provides, the team could only analyze a small subset of their contracts. This left the team in the dark when trying to answer key questions like “What type of service contract are we completing the fastest?” or “How should we orient our sales strategy to maximize revenue?” There was a clear loss of clarity in revenue and business operations—Alcami needed a better solution.
The Solution
Alcami knew exactly what needed to be done—connect its ERP and CRM. They just needed the right technology for the job. A quick Workato demo showed the team exactly how a recipe could be used to link the two platforms and, with this “seemingly out-of-the-box solution,” Alcami was sold. Now, Workato provides insights while Alcami employees sleep. Every night, a Workato recipe delivers an update as to how much of the contract opportunity has been invoiced vs. how much of it has been planned in the ERP through various networks—in other words, Workato delivers an overall revenue recognition cycle. This integration allows Alcami to track 100% of its contracts and analyze them every night, providing previously unavailable insights. The automation of this process has not only improved the efficiency of contract management but also enhanced the clarity of business operations. Alcami can now accurately evaluate its service performance and make informed decisions about resource allocation and market strategy. The success of this integration has led Alcami to expand its use of automation, consolidating sales operations information for their lab testing side of the business within its CRM. As Alcami continues to grow, the company envisions incorporating Workato into all aspects of its operations.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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