Resin Products – CRM, Business Automation, Integrations and Business Intelligence
Solution: Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sale Enterprise, Power Automate, Sage 50 Integration, e-Commerce Integration and Power BI
Resin Products, a wholesale supplier of water treatment products, relied on manual processes, spreadsheets, and whiteboards to manage customer relationships, sales, and order tracking. As the company grew, these outdated methods became inefficient, holding their growing company back.
We spoke with Raj Mahay, Director at Resin Products, who said “As our business grew, we struggled with outdated manual processes, inefficiencies, and scattered data. Partnering with Avrion to implement Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales Enterprise transformed how we operate – streamlining order tracking, improving internal communication, and saving us valuable time.
Read on to discover more about Raj’s first-hand experience of how Avrion helped drive digital efficiency and future-proofed his business.
What were the challenges in your business?
At Resin Products, we had long relied on manual processes – whiteboards, spreadsheets, and emails – to track orders, manage customer relationships, and handle sales. This approach worked initially, but as our business expanded, it became unsustainable. Our key challenges included:
- Tracking orders was inefficient: We frequently had to cross-check spreadsheets and emails, leading to delays and mistakes.
- Customer data was scattered: We lacked a centralised system, making it difficult to quickly access important customer and supplier information.
- Internal communication was slow: Sales, finance, and warehouse teams often had to interrupt each other and wait for updates, slowing down operations.
- Customer response times suffered: Without real-time access to data, answering customer queries about stock availability and shipping took far longer than it should have.
We knew we needed a scalable, centralised solution that would improve efficiency, enhance collaboration, and integrate seamlessly with our existing processes – all with the aim of exceeding our customers’ expectations.
What we needed
We needed a CRM system that would:
- Consolidate customer and supplier data into a single, accessible platform, ensuring accurate and up-to-date information.
- Automate sales processes including lead management, quotes, orders, and follow-ups to enhance efficiency and reduce manual workloads.
- Integrate with Sage 50 to automate financial processes such as invoicing, reducing errors and improving cash flow management.
- Enhance internal communication by providing real-time visibility into sales pipelines, order statuses, and customer interactions.
- Support future e-commerce integration to streamline online order management and improve customer experience.
How Avrion and Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales Enterprise delivered
Having previously researched Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales Enterprise, we selected Avrion as our digital transformation partner to tailor Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales Enterprise to our needs. They suggested implementing our solution in a phased approach as the solution included:
- A centralised CRM system: Consolidating all customer and supplier data, making information readily available to all relevant departments.
- Microsoft 365 integration: Allowing seamless collaboration between teams using familiar tools such as Outlook, Teams, and SharePoint.
- Improved order tracking and reporting: Providing a clear, real-time view of the order pipeline, reducing the need for status enquiries and manual updates.
- Planned Sage 50 integration: Enabling automatic transfer of financial data, eliminating manual input errors and saving significant time.
- Future e-commerce integration: Preparing the business for online sales growth by streamlining order processing and inventory tracking.
What benefits have you experienced?
Since implementing Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales Enterprise, Resin Products has experienced significant improvements in efficiency and productivity:
- 90% reduction in order-tracking time: What previously took 30 minutes now takes just 2 minutes per order, allowing staff to focus on higher-value tasks.
- 2-3 hours saved per week: Accounting staff, previously burdened with manual data entry, can now allocate time to more strategic activities.
- Faster international shipping: Automated documentation processes ensure that necessary paperwork is readily available, reducing delays caused by missing or misplaced documents.
- Improved internal communication: Real-time data sharing has reduced unnecessary meetings and internal emails, leading to smoother operations and further time savings.
- Scalability for future growth: With a structured CRM foundation, Resin Products is well-equipped to handle increased sales volume and integrate with new digital tools.
Now that Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales Enterprise is implemented, what phases do you have planned?
Sage 50 Integration
Our goal was always to have Sage 50 integrated into a CRM system and it wasn’t until the initial discussions with Avion that we all agreed upon a phased integration to keep disruption to the business a minimum. So, the next phase is the Sage 50 integration.
We’ve been guilty of trying to use Sage 50 as a clunky CRM system rather than keeping it as our accounting software. Integrating Dynamics 365 Sales Enterprise and Sage 50 means we can keep leads and opportunities in Dynamics 365 Sales Enterprise and our extensive product list in Sage 50.
After the custom connector has been completed, our sales team will have accurate product pricing, availability, weights, dimensions and more, while the business eliminates human error by automating data transfer to Sage 50 when an opportunity is won. The benefits will also help our warehouse supervisor, reducing the time involved with the monthly stock take as well as streamlining packing and shipping.
e-Commerce Integration
In addition to our B2B business (Resin Products), we also have a B2C business (RP Aquatics) so phase 3 will be to integrate our Dynamics 365 Sales Enterprise and Sage 50 solution with our e-Commerce site.
Similar to the B2B business, the need for internal communications will reduce substantially as all the information will be at everyone’s fingertips, which will be a significant improvement, especially when making sales calls.
The same benefits as mentioned above will be gained by both the accounting and warehouse departments. Then from a management point of view, again the advantages are there to be seen but we anticipate it will make it easier to find out:
- Our best-selling products
- Products with increased sales a month
- Products most quoted a month
- Products to re-order
Power BI
As each system is integrated, we will be looking to Avrion to create Power BI dashboards to help us analyse our data interactively. Being part of the Microsoft stack, Power BI can be added seamlessly.
Final Thoughts
“Looking back, partnering with Avrion to implement Microsoft Dynamics 365 was one of the best decisions we made. Our operations are now efficient, our team collaborates seamlessly, and we’re equipped to scale our business with confidence. If your company is struggling with inefficiencies like we were, I highly recommend working with Avrion – they’ll make sure you get a solution that truly works for you.”
