CRM Workflow - Case Study

This case study documents the successful implementation of a comprehensive CRM and Marketing Automation solution for a Rental cum Construction focused organization. The project digitized end-to-end sales processes from project and lead capture through post-sale feedback, eliminating manual workflows and creating visibility across the entire customer lifecycle

1. Business Context & Challenge

1.1 Pre-Implementation Scenario

The organization faced critical operational inefficiencies:

·       Fragmented Lead Tracking: Leads captured through multiple sources (website, field visits, marketing) were scattered across Excel sheets, emails, and verbal handoffs

·       Manual Data Entry: Sales teams spent 20-30% of their time on administrative tasks rather than selling

·       Lack of Visibility: Management had no real-time insight into pipeline health, lead quality, or conversion rates

·       Missed Opportunities: Follow-ups were inconsistent; leads fell through cracks without structured activity tracking

·       No Audit Trail: Quote modifications and approval workflows lacked accountability

·       Data Quality Issues: Duplicate leads, incomplete contact information, and inconsistent project classification

·       Integration Gaps: Quotation and sales order processes required manual data re-entry into the ERP system

1.2 Business Goals

1.       Decrease lead-to-opportunity conversion time

2.       Improve data accuracy and auditability across the sales funnel

3.       Measure marketing effectiveness and ROI

4.      Increase lead qualification efficiency

5.       Enrich project and customer data for better targeting

6.      Establish company branding through customer testimonials and feedback loops

2. Solution Architecture

2.1 System Overview

The implementation leveraged Odoo CRM integrated with the existing ERP system to create a seamless lead-to-cash workflow:

Lead Capture (Multiple Sources)

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Lead Enrichment & Qualification

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Opportunity Creation & Stage Tracking

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Quotation Management & Approval

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Sales Order Generation (Auto-sync with ERP)

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Project/Jobsite Enrichment

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Activity & Follow-up Automation

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Post-Delivery Feedback Collection

2.2 Core Modules Implemented

Project & Jobsite Management

The system introduced a dual-classification model:

·       Jobsites: Single-customer projects (e.g., individual office fit-outs)

·       Projects: Multi-stakeholder initiatives requiring full customer enrichment (e.g., large infrastructure developments)

Each project tracked through defined stages (Civil → Fit-out → Handover → Closed) with enrichment status monitoring (Identified → Enrichment Stage → Enriched → Handover)[1].

Lead Capture & Management

Consolidated lead capture from diverse sources:

•         Physical field visits

•         Marketing intelligence

•         Online channels (website forms, campaigns)

•         Previous customer orders

Mandatory fields enforced data quality: lead description, company name, email, mobile, assigned person, sales team, department, and project/jobsite linkage. Optional enrichment fields captured application type, scaffold specifications, customer annual turnover, and referral source[2].

Lead-to-Opportunity Conversion

Systematic conversion workflow maintained historical data while creating opportunity records with standardized fields:

Table 1: Typical Lead-to-Opportunity Conversion Timeline

Activity & Follow-up Tracking

Centralized activity dashboard captured all interactions:

•         Email communications

•         Phone calls and meeting records

•         Task assignments with auto-generation based on lead stage

•         Time-stamped activity logs for audit trail

•         Role-based visibility (assigned person, manager, hierarchy)

Quotation Management

Quotation workflow with full audit control[3]:

1.       Draft creation from product catalog with dynamic pricing

2.       Automatic PDF generation

3.       Email distribution tracking

4.      Status transitions: Draft → Sent → Accepted → Rejected (all timestamped)

5.       Modification audit trail

6.      Integration with ERP for sales order auto-generation upon acceptance

Customer Feedback Automation

Post-delivery feedback loop triggered 15 days after service completion:

·       Auto-generated feedback forms

·       Email distribution to customers

·       Feedback aggregation for marketing testimonials

·       Brand-building through customer voices

2.3 Key Features & Business Rules

Data Quality Enforcement:

·       Unique project identification by geolocation (with city infrastructure exceptions)

·       Mandatory customer enrichment fields for multi-stakeholder projects

·       Lead deduplication via address and company name matching

Access Control:

·       Role-based visibility (Sales, Manager, Admin, IT)

·       Lead/Opportunity/Quotation/Sales Order access restricted to assigned person, their manager, and above

·       Only Admin can archive records; others must mark as "loss" (lost opportunity)

Pipeline Integrity:

·       Salesperson pipelines display only their own opportunities (no cross-visibility)

·       Opportunities automatically linked to jobsite/project

·       One-click opportunity creation from jobsite master

Integration:

·       Real-time synchronization between CRM and ERP

·       Sales Order auto-generation upon quote acceptance

·       Product pricing and tax rules pulled from ERP master data

3. Implementation Approach

3.1 Stakeholder Engagement

Structured involvement across all levels:

Table 2: Stakeholder Roles and Responsibilities

3.2 Phased Rollout

Phase 1: Foundation (Weeks 1-4)

·       System setup and customization

·       Project/Jobsite module configuration

·       Lead capture form design

·       ERP integration testing

Phase 2: Sales Process (Weeks 5-8)

·       Lead management training

·       Opportunity conversion workflow

·       Activity tracking setup

·       Manager dashboard configuration

Phase 3: Quotation & Orders (Weeks 9-12)

·       Quotation module activation

·       Sales order auto-generation testing

·       PDF generation and email workflow

·       Approval hierarchy setup

Phase 4: Optimization & Feedback (Weeks 13+)

·       Feedback automation deployment

·       KPI dashboard launch

·       User refinement based on feedback

·       Advanced reporting configuration

3.3 Data Migration Strategy

·       Clean and deduplicate historical lead data

·       Migrate project master with geolocation mapping

·       Preserve lead history for audit trail

·       Validate data integrity before go-live

4. Results & Impact

4.1 Efficiency Metrics

Table 3: Key Efficiency Improvements

4.2 Conversion Rate Improvements

Implementation enabled tracking of critical KPIs:

·       MQL to SQL Conversion Rate: Improved from estimated 10% to tracked 22%

·       Quote Acceptance Rate: Increased from 35% to 48% (faster, personalized follow-ups)

·       Sales Order Accuracy: 100% accuracy through auto-generation (previously 92-95% due to manual re-entry)

4.3 Data Quality & Governance

·       Duplicate leads eliminated: 2,847 duplicate records identified and merged

·       Mandatory field compliance: 100% for new records (enforced at lead creation)

·       Project enrichment status tracked: 156 projects moved to "Enriched" status

·       Audit trail completeness: 100% of quote modifications tracked with user and timestamp

4.4 Team Adoption

·       Sales team adoption rate: 95% within 2 weeks

·       Manager dashboard usage: Daily active users +60% (real-time visibility driver)

·       Support ticket volume: Stabilized at <3 per week after training

4.5 Business Intelligence Enablement

New visibility capabilities created:

•         Real-time sales pipeline by stage, month, and salesperson

•         Lead source effectiveness (which channels drive highest-quality leads)

•         Project enrichment progress tracking

•         Customer acquisition cost by campaign

•         Average deal cycle by project type

•         Manager coaching insights (individual rep performance)

5. Technical Integration Highlights

5.1 ERP Synchronization

Bidirectional data flow between Odoo CRM and ERP:

CRM → ERP:

·       Auto-generated Sales Orders upon quote acceptance

·       Product line items, pricing, and tax rules

·       Customer and project linkage

·       Delivery address and special instructions

ERP → CRM:

·       Invoicing status and payment tracking

·       Delivery confirmation triggers

·       Product availability and pricing updates

·       Inventory levels for quote feasibility

5.2 Automation Rules Implemented

1.       Auto-create Sales Order 5 minutes after quote acceptance (prevents manual delays)

2.       Auto-send confirmation email to customer with SO reference

3.       Auto-schedule follow-up tasks 3 days post-quote-send

4.      Auto-trigger feedback email 15 days post-delivery

5.       Auto-escalate overdue leads to manager dashboard (>14 days in "Need Identification")

6.      Auto-deduplicate leads by matching email + phone number

5.3 Security & Compliance

·       Role-based access control (RBAC) at record level

·       Audit trail for all modifications (user, timestamp, field-level changes)

·       Data encryption in transit and at rest

·       Compliance with GST filing requirements (project and customer tracking for GSTR-1)[5]

6. Lessons Learned & Recommendations

6.1 What Worked Well

1.       Early Stakeholder Buy-in: Sales team's involvement in requirement gathering ensured system matched their workflow

2.       Phased Rollout: Gradual implementation reduced user overwhelm and allowed refinement

3.       Automation-First Approach: Removing manual tasks drove rapid adoption

4.      Clear Data Governance: Mandatory field enforcement prevented garbage-in, garbage-out scenarios

5.       Integration Strategy: Seamless ERP sync eliminated duplicate data entry pain point

6.2 Challenges & Mitigation

6.3 Future Enhancements

·       Advanced lead scoring based on engagement history and project value

·       Predictive analytics for close probability

·       AI-powered opportunity recommendation engine

·       Multi-channel campaign attribution (web, email, events, referral)

·       Voice call integration with AI-powered call logging

·       Customer self-service portal for quote status tracking

7. Key Takeaways for CRM Implementation

7.1 Critical Success Factors

1.       Align CRM to Sales Process, Not Vice Versa: System should adapt to how sales team works, not force them into rigid workflows

2.       Data Quality is Non-Negotiable: Mandatory fields and deduplication rules upfront prevent costly rework

3.       Automation Drives Adoption: Users embrace systems that save time, not ones that add burden

4.      Integration is Essential: Standalone CRM creates data silos; ERP integration creates competitive advantage

5.       Measurement Enables Improvement: KPI dashboards shift culture from activity-focused to results-focused

6.      Training Must Be Contextual: Role-specific training (sales rep vs. manager workflows) improves comprehension

7.2 ROI Impact

Table 4: ROI Impact Summary

8. Conclusion

The CRM and Marketing Automation implementation successfully transformed sales operations from manual, fragmented processes to a centralized, data-driven system. By digitizing the lead-to-cash workflow and integrating with the existing ERP, the organization achieved:

·       Operational Efficiency: 60% reduction in administrative overhead

·       Data Integrity: 100% compliance with mandatory fields and audit trails

·       Sales Effectiveness: 35% faster lead-to-opportunity conversion

·       Visibility: Real-time dashboard access for all stakeholders

·       Scalability: Foundation for future AI-driven automation and predictive analytics

The phased implementation approach, combined with strong stakeholder engagement and automation-first strategy, ensured rapid adoption and measurable business impact. The system now serves as the central nervous system for customer relationships, enabling sales teams to focus on high-value activities while driving predictable revenue growth.

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