Caterpillar

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Caterpillar is the world's leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines and industrial gas turbines. The company has an extensive product line, which includes new machines and engines, used machines, rental machines and machine technology options. In partnership with their worldwide dealer network, Caterpillar is able to pursue U.S. Government sales, which comprises 10-20% of the company's North American business each year. Generating government sales leads was Caterpillar's primary government business need. Nicole Mauser-Storer, Government Sales Support for Caterpillar, says, "We needed a way to alert our dealer network to bids that were coming up."

Because Caterpillar's dealers span across the U.S., the company needed a comprehensive way to notify their dealers of all government sales opportunities that matched Caterpillar's business focus. With Onvia, Caterpillar receives their government sales leads in a customized flat file feed format, which simplifies the distribution process to their dealers. "This made it easy for us to cover each dealer in the US and provided valid sales leads to our dealer network", says Mauser-Storer. Once Caterpillar identifies a sales opportunity, they also look into finding the right decision makers and influencers. Mauser-Storer says, "Onvia helps identify who those decision makers are, otherwise it is left to the sales people at the dealerships to find the right person." In addition to decision maker information, Onvia provides access to awards so Caterpillar can quickly identify the competition.

Caterpillar attempts to seize every government sales opportunity as a way to maximize their revenue. Onvia reinforces the company's efforts by providing a safety net to ensure that they have visibility into all the government opportunities that match their business. Mauser-Storer says, "Most of the time, when the alerts come out our dealers are aware of the bids. But there are always a few that help them with awareness of additional opportunities." The flat file feed format delivered via email has helped Caterpillar easily distribute their sales leads to the appropriate dealers, according to geography. The added convenience of the flat file saves them time, and helps the company efficiently track their sales leads. Most importantly, Onvia helps Caterpillar's dealers maximize each opportunity so they are able to turn them into profitable awards.