Protective Industrial Products, Inc. Embraces Business Technology

PIP is a global leader in hand protection and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the industrial and retail channels. The company is a wholesaler and manufacturer with over 30 locations across the globe, selling and training distributors that stock and sell to multiple industries, including many manufactures and construction companies that are listed on the Fortune 500.  PIP’s West Chester division supplies PPE to wholesalers and large retailers in the consumer market space.

Altogether, PIP is a billion-dollar organization with over 1700 employees and supplies more than 20,000 products to industrial MRO and construction distributors as well as major retailers and e-tailers around the world.

PIP is proud to have deployed new digital commerce technology to help automate customer order processing before the COVID-19 pandemic unleashed unprecedented demand for safety products and changed the landscape of business. Today PIP makes use of multiple digital order entry tools and also offers a convenient online ordering system through the “My PIP Portal,” where PIP distributors can place orders and also check order status 24/7.

Over the years, PIP has grown organically as well as through several acquisitions. Since these acquired companies have had different systems for managing accounts, PIP has leveraged its Business Intelligence (BI) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems as the cornerstones of convergence to unite the organization and sales and marketing efforts.

The company has also successfully embraced digital transformation, blending eCommerce, ERP, CRM, business intelligence, product information management, marketing automation, and other technology applications to support next-gen sales strategies and better understand customer needs.

PIP uses Tour de Force CRM from White Cup, an integrated CRM that works seamlessly with existing ERP platforms. TDF CRM empowers sales teams to identify opportunities within existing customer accounts, provide key sales data, and support a better customer experience. The 360-degree view of customer buying trends and history allows for more meaningful, customized sales conversations providing exceptional customer service.

“We wanted to continue to modernize the sales representatives’ notebook by adding a digital account management approach that puts all information at their fingertips,” said Sheila Schalk, PIP’s Vice President of Sales.

The CRM solution is integrated with Hubspot for marketing automation. Sales leads are scored and, at certain levels, fed downstream into TDF for sales rep follow-up.

PIP’s CRM application is integrated with the White Cup BI business intelligence tool from White Cup. The solution enables companies to gain easier access to revenue intelligence information that drives growth and business differentiation and increases revenue and employee engagement.

PIP views TDF and White Cup BI as indispensable account management tools, helping its sales reps gain insights and uncover opportunities to sell faster. “Empowered with this technology, PIP’s salesforce is no longer”just selling products”; they are now purveyors of valuable insights to enable its distributor customers to sell more,” said Schalk.

“The White Cup BI tool has given us unique insights into our business, which allows us to ask better questions, make better decisions, and work faster for our customers – and in many cases, tell them things about their business they didn’t know. That helps us be a strategic partner to our distributors.”

“Using White Cup BI and TDF, PIP is making better decisions and experiencing faster deal flow, with better sales revenue results. With Tour de Force CRM and White Cup BI, PIP sales reps are up to 2x more effective in converting customer meetings into opportunities and are now closing deals 75% faster,” she added.

White Cup makes it easier for businesses to use their data to make better decisions toward profitable growth. Our Revenue Intelligence platform gives customers easy access to information and tools that drive revenue growth, increase profitability and differentiate their business. With decades of industry experience, White Cup is trusted by over 1,000 customers.