Salesforce has launched cloud services targeted at manufacturing and consumer product goods companies as part of its ongoing efforts to take on SAP and Oracle.

The SaaS specialist is aiming to bring ground-level teams, sales and operations, closer together for the benefit of the customer.

In order for manufacturers to provide a seamless customer experience, they need something that helps them better understand customer needs, according to Cindy Bolt, SVP and GM at Salesforce Manufacturing. What’s more, they need to do so while improving visibility across the entire business, from logistics to marketing. 

“In the manufacturing industry, changing customer and market demands can have a devastating effect on the bottom line, so being able to understand what is happening on the ground is imperative for success,” she said.

“Manufacturing Cloud bridges the gap between sales and operations teams while ensuring more predictive and transparent business, so they can build deeper and more trusted relationships with their customers.”

The aim of Manufacturing Cloud is to address challenges around predicting demand and managing warehouse costs. It does this by collating sales agreements and forecasting tools, potentially enabling sales, operations and accounts teams to generate stronger projections.

The Consumer Goods Cloud, though, is aimed at field reps working from more brick and mortar businesses. For this, it is equipped with tools intended to streamline store operations by keeping stock, pricing and promotional information aligned with the business expectations.

“Retail execution remains one of the most important pieces of a consumer goods brands strategy, but so much opportunity is wasted if the field rep doesn’t have the data and technology needed to make smart decisions,” said Salesforce retail and consumer goods GM and SVP John Strain. “Consumer Goods Cloud provides these field reps with the tools they need to be successful on the ground while helping build both business opportunities and stronger relationships with their retail partners.”