The challenge
Zest’s existing systems and processes made it difficult to manage sales, orders and customer interactions consistently across the business. The organisation relied heavily on manual processes, with limited visibility across sales activity, order status and customer engagement. As the business grew, this made it harder to operate efficiently and respond quickly to customer needs.
Supporting both established B2B relationships and a new direct-to-consumer model introduced additional complexity, requiring better coordination across systems, teams and channels. At the same time, a lack of integration between key platforms such as CRM and ERP limited the ability to generate meaningful insight and manage operations end-to-end.
This is a familiar challenge for growing manufacturers and distributors. As new channels are introduced and customer expectations increase, fragmented systems and manual processes begin to limit scalability, efficiency and customer experience. Zest needed a more connected and automated platform to support its next phase of growth.
What Mavents was asked to do
Mavents led an initial discovery and digital strategy, defining a clear technology blueprint aligned to Zest’s growth objectives.
This evolved into a multi-phase programme covering CRM implementation, integration, process automation and operational improvements. Mavents led the design and delivery of Salesforce Sales and Service Cloud, supported integration with SAP, and introduced automation across sales, service and fulfilment processes.
In parallel, Mavents advised on the introduction of a direct-to-consumer model, supporting the design of the broader digital ecosystem including eCommerce, marketing and fulfilment capabilities.
Our approach
The focus was on simplifying how the business operated, improving visibility and reducing manual effort across sales, service and fulfilment.
The starting point was to define a clear and practical target operating model, rather than focusing purely on individual systems. This included understanding how sales, service, order management and customer interactions needed to work together to support both B2B and D2C channels.
Salesforce was implemented as the central CRM platform, supporting end-to-end sales processes from lead and opportunity management through to quoting and order visibility. This provided account managers with a more structured and transparent way to manage customer relationships and sales activity.
Service Cloud was enhanced to support customer service teams with structured workflows, case management and automation. This reduced manual effort and improved consistency in how customer queries and issues were handled.
Integration played a key role. A major integration between Salesforce and SAP enabled improved visibility of orders, stock and customer data, helping teams make better decisions and respond more quickly to customers. Additional solutions were introduced to automate shipping processes, linking orders from SAP to courier booking and label generation systems.
The overall approach was to create a connected platform that improved visibility, reduced manual work and enabled the business to operate more efficiently across multiple channels.
Where AI and automation fit
Automation was a core part of the solution, creating the foundation for future AI-driven optimisation.
Within Salesforce, structured workflows and automation were introduced to guide users through key processes, reduce manual input and improve data consistency. This included automation of service processes, approvals and case handling, helping teams work more efficiently and deliver a more consistent customer experience.
Beyond CRM, automation was extended into operational areas such as shipping, where order data flows automatically from ERP into courier booking systems, reducing manual intervention and improving accuracy.
Alongside delivered capabilities, further opportunities were identified for AI and advanced automation. These included delivery optimisation, packing efficiency and routing improvements, as well as broader opportunities to introduce AI-driven optimisation across logistics, planning and decision-making.
The key principle was to deliver practical automation first, then introduce AI in a targeted way where it can add measurable value.
Outcomes / progress so far
The work has delivered significant improvements across sales, service and operations:
- Clearer visibility across sales, orders and customer interactions
- More structured and efficient sales processes, supporting account management and growth
- Enhanced customer service capability through workflow automation and case management
- Reduced manual effort across key operational processes such as shipping and order handling
- Stronger integration between CRM and ERP, enabling better decision-making
- A more scalable and connected platform to support both B2B and D2C channels
- A roadmap for further optimisation using automation and AI
Why this matters
Many growing businesses implement new systems but fail to connect them effectively. This can lead to fragmented processes, limited visibility and missed opportunities to improve efficiency and customer experience.
This work shows a more practical approach. By starting with a clear operating model and building a connected platform across CRM, ERP and customer channels, it is possible to improve both day-to-day operations and long-term scalability. Automation reduces manual effort and creates consistency, while AI can be introduced progressively to enhance performance over time.
