Tenneco Drives Sales

CASE STUDY
TENNECO
DRIVES
SALES WITH
TABLETS
Susan Keshen says Tenneco
sales representatives using
tablets can now share
media-rich materials with
their customers and answer
questions or troubleshoot
problems on the spot.
At a Glance
COMPANY: Tenneco
HEADQUARTERS: Lake Forest, Ill.
A global auto parts supplier
taps tablets to increase
sales productivity and
profits.
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EMPLOYEES: About 26,000 worldwide
DESCRIPTION: Tenneco designs,
manufactures and distributes clean
air and ride performance products and
systems for the automotive, commercial
truck and off-highway markets and
the aftermarket. Its North American
Aftermarket business unit manufactures
and sells replacement auto parts to
distributors and retail auto parts stores.
The company’s brand names include
Monroe®, Walker®, XNOx® and Clevite®
Elastomer.
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CASE STUDY
Mechanics and car owners rely on high-quality
The unit’s sales team sells replacement auto parts, such
replacement auto parts supplied and manufactured by
as shock absorbers, struts, brakes and emissions control
Tenneco to boost their vehicles’ performance. Today, the
products, to automotive channels that include auto repair
far-reaching sales force of Tenneco’s North American
shops, retail auto parts stores and car dealerships.
Aftermarket business unit also relies on extra help in the
form of Apple iPad devices.
Sales team members typically work out of their home
offices, where they use company-issued notebook
The unit’s sales representatives rarely bring their
notebook computers on sales calls, typically because
they are too bulky and take too long to boot up in front of
busy customers who have no time to waste, says Susan
Keshen, business analyst for Tenneco’s aftermarket sales
automation group.
computers. For in-person calls, they required a different
technology.
“The more I talked to them, the more I realized tablets
would help,” Keshen says.
In the past, salespeople visited their customers or
prospective clients and provided paper brochures with
“When our salespeople walk into shops, the people
managing the counter are dealing with their own customers.
That’s their first priority. We’re fighting for their attention
information on their products. When customers had
questions, the salesperson would jot down notes on paper.
“They’d collect the tasks and, at the end of the day, go
span,” she says. “When we want to introduce new products
home, turn on their computer and take care of each, one by
and show new marketing collateral, we can’t say, ‘Let me fire
one,” Keshen says. “We wanted to help them become more
up a laptop and PowerPoint. Give me five to 10 minutes.’ ”
efficient. Why not answer the questions immediately with
Thanks to Tenneco’s recent deployment of iPad Air
an iPad while they’re right there with the customer?”
tablets, purchased and configured through CDW, sales
Over the summer, the unit’s sales team received
team members can now instantly launch presentations on
32-gigabyte iPad Air tablets with protective cases. So far,
their tablets, gaining quick access to corporate applications
the greatest benefit is improved productivity, Keshen says,
and product and customer databases. The improved access
but the tablets are also saving Tenneco on the bottom
yields immediate information and answers while boosting
line. Sales team members can use the devices to connect
Tenneco’s bottom line, Keshen says.
directly to Tenneco’s CRM tool, access a product database,
The Tenneco unit is not alone in its enthusiasm for tablets
in business. Many industries and departments rely on the
answer inventory-related questions or troubleshoot
installation issues on the spot.
devices to boost productivity, increase efficiencies and
“They no longer have to call back later with answers,”
improve customer service. Because they are light and
she says. “That’s made a huge difference. Our customers
portable, tablets represent an ideal form factor
are impressed.”
for salespeople and other more
If a customer complains that a
mobile workers, says Rob Michuda,
Wintel/messaging supervisor
for Tenneco Global Infrastructure
Operations and Service.
“The big thing is their convenience
for our sales force,” he says. “Going
from customer to customer, the iPads
are just easier to carry and use.”
Work Faster,
Save Money
Prior to Tenneco’s tablet deployment,
Keshen was tasked with updating
her unit’s custom, web-based
customer relationship management
muffler can’t be fitted or suspects
$35K
The amount
Tenneco’s
North American
Aftermarket
business unit will
save annually by
deploying iPad Air
devices to the sales
team
it may be damaged, a member of
Tenneco’s sales team can use a
tablet to take pictures or video of the
part, email the company’s technical
support department and receive a
quick response through email or the
phone. Such troubleshooting also
saves money by reducing shipping
costs, Keshen says. Previously,
Tenneco’s salespeople had to ship
the parts in question back to the
business unit’s headquarters in
Monroe, Mich., to obtain a diagnosis.
Keshen estimates that if the sales
(CRM) software. After talking it over
team can cut shipping by 25 percent,
with some sales team members,
it will save the unit $25,000 annually.
she discovered that what they truly
needed were tablets.
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“Our team at headquarters can
confirm that the product can be
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installed or conclude it’s damaged, and we can just send
back,” she says. Keshen also notes that reducing printed
Managing Tablets with MDM
sales materials by showing marketing and product
More businesses rely on mobile device management (MDM) software to
them a replacement without having to ship the old one
information on the tablets saves another $10,000 a year
on paper and printer ink.
Choices Abound
Tenneco tested five different tablets for three months
before standardizing on the full-sized iPad Air. Keshen
manage and secure their smartphones and tablets and to distribute apps
to employees.
Tenneco standardized on cloud-based Fiberlink’s Maas360 MDM
software because of its ease of use, says Rob Michuda, Wintel/
messaging supervisor for Tenneco’s Global Infrastructure Operations
and Service.
created a matrix to compare each device’s cost, quality
“We didn’t want to bring in any on-premises infrastructure and have to
and features, including weight, size and screen resolution,
manage upgrades,” he says.
camera quality, available memory, security controls and the
The MDM solution allows Tenneco IT to set policies that require company-
ease with which each device could be powered on and off.
owned tablet and smartphone users to enter passwords to protect the
“The device had to be intuitive and user friendly for
devices. Should an employee lose a device, or if one is stolen, IT can wipe
the salespeople to turn on and easily tap through and
the device’s memory remotely, he says.
find information. It became clear that the iPad met those
Tenneco recently deployed iPad Air tablets to members of its North
requirements,” she says.
American Aftermarket sales force, but has also equipped executives with
Keshen launched a second beta test to help build the
iPad tablets and will soon implement a bring-your-own-device (BYOD)
business case for purchasing the devices. For four months,
initiative to allow employees to use their personal mobile devices for
sales team members regularly filled out detailed reports,
work. The MDM software will protect Tenneco’s data on the employees’
noting how the device improved their productivity and how
devices, he says.
much was saved on shipping or printing costs.
“We described all of the savings, and the senior
management said, ‘You know what? You do have a business
case. We get it.’ And they funded the purchase,” she says.
CDW Gets the Assist
At Tenneco, about 10 to 15 people worked on the iPad
project from start to finish, from the IT, sales automation,
purchasing and supply chain management departments,
Keshen says.
To ensure that the devices would be ready to connect to
the corporate network and crucial applications right out of
the box, Tenneco turned to CDW to purchase and configure
each iPad Air distributed to the aftermarket unit’s U.S.
salespeople.
Michuda and a handful of Tenneco IT staffers visited
helped reduce our manpower needs,” Michuda says. “The people we
CDW’s Configuration Center in Vernon Hills, Ill., to discuss
met at CDW were very knowledgeable. They understood the space
their needs. They asked the CDW team to create Apple IDs
and were very beneficial.”
for each user, download several business apps onto each
CDW team members comprehend the many shortcuts and
device, activate Verizon cellular data plans and tether the
nuances of quick and efficient device configuration, says Christopher
devices to Tenneco’s Fiberlink MaaS360 mobile device
Brooks, an engineer within the CDW configuration center. CDW
management (MDM) software.
worked directly with Apple to have fraud restrictions lifted, allowing
Tenneco’s IT department had purchased the MDM
software previously to manage and secure new iPhones
issued to employees. Once the iPad tablet project was
CDW’s certified technicians to create Apple IDs for Tenneco en
masse over the same IP address.
Moreover, rather than purchasing apps individually, Tenneco
funded, Tenneco’s IT team was able to use the same
took advantage of Apple’s Volume Purchasing Program through
software to manage and secure the new devices.
the advice of CDW. The program allows Tenneco to purchase apps
“There is a lot involved with configuration, and CDW
in bulk, integrate them easily into the MDM environment and better
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CASE STUDY
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“When our users approach customers with tablets, they are
perceived as more knowledgeable and professional.”
— Susan Keshen, Tenneco
manage it all, Brooks says. Tenneco purchased an app
Now that each sales team member has an iPad, Tenneco
to make PowerPoint presentations and another to allow
can roll out more apps, and plans are in the works for
sales teams to view and edit Microsoft Office files.
a new, more feature-rich, cloud-based CRM tool in 2015,
During the configuration process, CDW also worked
Keshen says.
with the Tenneco IT staff and several vendors to iron out
To further increase productivity, Tenneco also
minor glitches to ensure the apps, MDM security policies
purchased iPads for tech support, allowing them to
and network access also functioned bug-free, says Avi
communicate quickly — even videoconference — with
Nutkis, a configuration technician at CDW’s Configuration
the sales staff to diagnose and troubleshoot parts
Center.
problems, she says.
“We have contacts not just at Apple, but also with MDM
Carl Tellier, a Tenneco area sales manager based in
vendors and communications service providers. That
southeast Michigan, says he can now accomplish about
way, if there are questions, we can make a direct call for
95 percent of everything he does on a given day using his
immediate help. That saves a lot of time,” Nutkis says.
iPad, including check email, show sales presentations and
When one particular app failed to download correctly
type notes following each sales meeting.
using the MDM software, the CDW team quickly got on the
Tellier says he makes 10 to 15 sales visits daily, but no
phone with Tenneco and Fiberlink to resolve the problem,
longer needs to carry marketing brochures. Now that he
says Senior Account Manager Kevin McGrane.
shows product information to his customers using his
“Our engineers worked with Tenneco’s IT staff to make
sure everything went smoothly from start to finish,” he says.
McGrane recommended two cases to protect Tenneco’s
tablet, he can also email copies to them to review later.
“The iPad has definitely made me more efficient, and it’s
been a tremendous time saver in all aspects of what I do
tablets: Griffin Technology’s rugged Survivor case, with a
daily,” he says.
built-in screen protector that can safeguard iPad devices
Keshen says she’s received similar feedback from the
when they are dropped; and a Logitech Folio case and a
rest of the sales force. As the company expected, the
3M screen protector, which are especially suitable for
business unit is seeing increased productivity and cost
sales managers in meetings or office settings.
savings: “The sales team members call me up and say,
About half the staff chose the Griffin Survivor, the other
‘This thing is awesome. I’m doing things on the fly now
half chose the Logitech Folio cases, and a few chose other
that I didn’t think I’d ever be able to do.’ And that’s exactly
options, McGrane says.
the response we were hoping for.”
Nothing but Benefits
Keshen says Tenneco could not have rolled out the tablets
successfully without CDW’s expertise: “The technicians
Ready to learn more about deploying tablets to your employees? Check
who were responsible for the configuration were in
out the Total Mobility Management ebook, available through CDW’s Tech
contact with us constantly.”
Insights app: CDW.com/TImobility.
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