In the rapidly evolving world of smart home technology, Savant Systems sets the standard with a wide range of award-winning products.
Not only does Savant excel in producing innovative products that enhance consumers' lives, but it also boasts highly efficient processes that set aspirational benchmarks for the industry.
We spoke with Angela Larson, GM of Professional Solutions, and Beth LeClerc, VP of Business Systems Architecture & Web Services, to learn how their strong partnership in the business is key to delivering the data visibility, valuable analytics, collaboration, and speed needed to grow.
Let’s take a look at Savant's journey of innovation, both in terms of the products they deliver and the processes that make it happen.
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The Savant Experience: From Smart Homes to Smart Power
Savant is renowned for its leadership in smart home and smart power solutions. Their brands, including Savant, Savant Power, and GE Lighting, have garnered recognition for their ability to transform ordinary homes into intelligent, energy-efficient spaces.
At the heart of this transformation is the award-winning Savant app, putting personalized control over lighting, entertainment, and climate in the hands of homeowners.
One of Savant's standout achievements is the launch of its Savant Power business unit, which provides insights to optimize energy consumption, production, and power outage resilience, both on and off the grid.
Moreover, Savant's commitment to innovation extends from the products they offer to the intricate processes that drive their success internally.
“The world is run on software, right? We've moved into a subscription model and we are the first smart home subscription model on the market,” explains Larson. “Yes, it's a big shift, but we've been able to deliver and showcase to our customers the benefits that you get on the subscription model. Because we want your smart home to evolve with you and get better and better and better."
Navigating the Challenges of Innovation
Savant's journey to innovation has not been without obstacles.
When Savant acquired GE Lighting, they faced the intricate task of combining the strengths of a 21st-century company with a heritage brand dating back to Edison.
As Larson describes it: "People think about GE lighting as this giant in the space. And they are with what they've been able to achieve—their operational scale is impressive. But from a systems perspective—we needed to take both that spirit of innovation and the necessity of speed to market and tie that with this massive operational scale. Can we bring those two cultures together—not only from a company cultural perspective—but from a systems perspective to help bring everyone together?”
Add to that all of the complexity of operating across diverse product lines, each with unique development processes and distribution channels, including major retailers, specialty distributors, and custom installers.
Given that Savant caters to multiple buyers with varying needs from video and music to lighting and power, all of this requires meticulously tracking the training of individual buyers to continually optimize the customer service experience.
Savant’s 3-Ingredient Recipe for Innovation & Growth
To navigate these challenges, Savant relies on three key elements:
Clear Vision:
The founders' vision has been unwavering since the company's inception, driving innovation and excellence in smart home solutions.
LeClerc: "We work under a very visionary leadership team. You have to make sure that your business processes—and the people supporting the business—are as innovative and visionary as the executive leadership team from the top down to the products."
Strategic Partnerships:
A strong partnership between business and IT leaders is foundational. Larson and LeClerc represent the customer side and IT sides of the company and they wouldn’t be able to provide Savant’s high standard of customer experience without a strong collaborative partnership.
Larson: "From the sales and service side of the business, we need to know what products are being serviced and supported, and also what channels they’re in. So from the business side, there are a lot of different things at play and we rely heavily on our IT team to help us manage all of those pieces."
Technology Solutions:
Savant invested in the Salesforce platform to connect customer and product records seamlessly. By creating a master customer record on Salesforce and a master product record on Propel Software, Savant extended data, processes, and collaboration across the entire company.
LeClerc: "We all need to be on the same page. There can't be silos in the business. We all have to be in that boat, rowing at the same speed together, and our business applications have helped us get where we needed to be."
Results: Transforming Innovation into Business Success
Savant's commitment to innovation and efficiency has yielded impressive results:
35% Revenue Growth in Two Years:
Savant used detailed sales and product data to optimize customized sales programs for top-tier customers, leading to a 35% revenue increase in two years—all with minimal resource additions.
50% Reduction in Order-Entry and Account Management Labor:
Savant leveraged digital channels, reducing order-entry and account management labor by 50%. Ecommerce channels processed over 88% of all orders, enhancing the customer experience with 24/7 availability.
Over 1,000 Hours Saved in Customer Service:
By extending self-service tools, Savant reduced Customer Service calls significantly, allowing expansion into new markets and channels without increasing staff.
74% Reduction in Time-to-Market:
Savant replaced its siloed, on-premise product lifecycle management (PLM) application with a connected, cloud-native Propel solution, reducing its product time-to-market by 74%
READ THE FULL SAVANT SYSTEMS CASE STUDY
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