James M. Pleasants Company is an employee-owned manufacturer's representative serving HVAC, plumbing and hydronic building-system markets across the Southeastern United States.
To replace inconsistent spreadsheet-driven sales and order processes with a more data-centric operating model, JMP implemented Experlogix CPQ as part of a broader Microsoft Dynamics 365 transformation.
- Standardize quoting and order handoffs across regions and sales teams.
- Increase quote capacity while reducing errors.
- Improve visibility into what is being quoted and where opportunities sit in the sales cycle.
- Give manufacturers and internal teams better forecasting information.
- Support more inside-sales activity without requiring proportional staffing growth.
- Connect CPQ with sales, field service, finance and Power Platform technologies.
- Improve order-to-cash consistency and efficiency.
- Build a data-centric platform capable of supporting additional products and territories.
Challenge
JMP's handoff of project orders from sales to operations had developed around different processes and individual preferences. The primary controlling document was an Excel-based Job Control Sheet, or JCS, whose use varied across regions and salespeople.
Managing the information associated with large project orders was both time- and resource-intensive. The organization also had limited visibility into the data behind what it was quoting.
Manufacturers were increasingly asking JMP for more accurate forecasting information, which required knowing exactly what was being quoted and understanding the status of each order throughout the sales cycle.
Sales and operations handoffs depended on individual workflows rather than a standardized company-wide process.
The Job Control Sheet was an uncontrolled spreadsheet whose use differed between regions and salespeople.
JMP lacked a consistent data view of what was being quoted across the organization.
The organization needed better visibility into quote status and future workload to meet its manufacturers' forecasting expectations.
Individual salespeople followed their own established processes for managing project information.
A JCS spreadsheet acted as the controlling document for moving a project order toward operations.
The way the spreadsheet was applied varied by salesperson and location.
The fragmented process made it harder to understand quote activity and sales-cycle status across the organization.
JMP wanted to become a more data-centric organization that could respond to customers more quickly and continue growing through additional products, territories and sales opportunities.
Solution
JMP initially approached its technology modernization as an ERP project. Its legacy on-premises Microsoft Dynamics ERP environment was nearing the end of support, and replacing it was becoming necessary.
During evaluation, JMP recognized that simply replacing ERP would leave a much larger opportunity untouched. The organization expanded the initiative to include a complete CRM and sales transformation.
Quoting quickly emerged as one of the most important components of that new enterprise environment. JMP completed an Experlogix proof of concept and selected Experlogix CPQ as a tightly integrated element of the Microsoft Dynamics platform.
Experlogix became the quoting component of the broader Dynamics-based enterprise solution.
The new environment gives JMP a more consistent view of quote activity and opportunity status.
The transformation extends beyond sales into JMP's finance and operational systems.
Power Automate, Power Apps and Power BI support automation, applications and reporting across the broader business platform.
Supports the sales and customer-facing side of JMP's transformation.
Extends the Microsoft environment into JMP's field-service operations.
Connects the transformation with financial and operational business processes.
Power Automate, Power Apps and Power BI support workflow, applications and reporting.
- Help outside salespeople sell more effectively and at higher margins throughout their territories.
- Support more inside-sales activity without having to add the same level of additional staffing.
- Digitally leverage more channels for sales opportunities.
- Improve effectiveness and efficiency throughout the order-to-cash cycle.
Learn more about Experlogix CPQ für Microsoft Dynamics 365 Sales und CPQ for Dynamics 365 Finance & Supply Chain Management.
Result
JMP reports that the increased efficiency created by its new processes has enabled the organization to produce more quotes with fewer errors.
The impact extends across both inside and outside sales. Technical sales engineers who fully adopted CPQ within the Dynamics Customer Engagement environment became efficient enough to handle quotes for multiple offices.
The new workflow also began encouraging greater centralization. In two of JMP's four regions, some quoting work was already moving toward a more centralized model.
JMP reports greater sales efficiency and improved consistency after standardizing the quoting process.
Technical sales engineers became capable of supporting quotes for more than one office.
A connected enterprise solution replaces the individually driven processes surrounding the former JCS workflow.
JMP gains greater insight into what is being quoted and where orders sit within the sales cycle.
Two of the company's four regions began moving some work toward centralized quote support.
JMP designed its data-centric platform to support future growth through additional products, territories and digital sales channels.
JMP's stated goal was to increase each salesperson's annual sales revenue by more than $200,000. The customer reported that, with Experlogix CPQ in place, the organization was making progress toward that objective.
The $200,000 figure represents JMP's target rather than a completed, independently measured revenue increase.
“Our increased efficiency has led to more quotes with less errors. Our goal is to increase each salesperson's annual sales revenue by over $200,000. Now, with Experlogix CPQ in place, we are well on our way to achieving that goal.”
JMP's transformation demonstrates how CPQ can become part of a wider sales-to-operations technology strategy rather than operating as an isolated quoting application.
See how James M. Pleasants connected Experlogix CPQ with Dynamics 365, Finance & Operations and Microsoft Power Platform to create a more consistent, data-driven quoting and order process.
