LevelShift’s Cloud Strategy Cuts Manual Labor by 40% for Top Manufacturer

Our client is a leading U.S. manufacturer of premium commercial, residential, and architectural window and door solutions. With over 75 years of experience, they are known for engineering excellence, energy-efficient designs, commercial-grade performance, and scalable manufacturing capabilities supporting multifamily, historic renovation, mixed-use, and high-performance building projects.

 

The client wanted to improve financial planning by building a smarter forecast model for its sales team. Sales reps lacked a single, centralized location to view forecast data by account, territory, or product type, resulting in planning issues and missed opportunities. Managers also lacked a role-based view in Experience Cloud to review and approve forecasts, with no filtering by Sales Rep or clear submission status, causing approval delays. The process also lacked automated notifications with direct forecast access for faster, more transparent approvals.
To solve this, the client turned to LevelShift to create a scalable forecasting solution that works seamlessly with Manufacturing Cloud.

Key challenges:

• Advanced forecast model: The client lacked an advanced accounting forecast model for sales representatives.
• Centralized forecast visibility: Forecast data was not centralized or consistently segmented by account, territory, and product type.
• Manager access and approvals: Managers had limited visibility into submitted forecasts, with no sales rep–level filtering or automated submission notifications.
• Planning consistency: Planning was inconsistent, leading to missed opportunities and misaligned forecasts.
• Manufacturing Cloud integration: The client faced challenges ensuring seamless integration with Manufacturing Cloud.
• Complex sales cycle context: The existing process did not adequately support complex sales cycles involving dealer networks, architects, multi-territory approvals, and long lead-time commercial projects.

LevelShift implemented a scalable forecasting solution using Salesforce Manufacturing Cloud to deliver more accurate and personalized accounting forecasts for the client’s sales organization. The framework featured custom forecast models based on customer type, territory, and account data, integrated with financial and sales information to ensure accuracy and relevance.

To support sales reps and approving managers, the solution was extended into Experience Cloud, providing a centralized, role-based portal for accessing, adjusting, and submitting forecasts, with direct access to submitted forecasts, Sales Rep–level filtering, and automated approval alerts.

The solution included:

• Custom forecast models: Configured custom forecast types within Manufacturing Cloud to reflect customer type, territory (QMA), and accounts.
• Data integration and enrichment: Combined relevant financial and sales data to deliver accurate and timely forecasts aligned with real-world performance.
• Sales rep-level visibility: Enabled granular forecasting views at the individual sales rep level for personalized tracking and precise revenue projections.
• Automated forecast adjustments: Applied logic to dynamically adjust forecasts based on historical trends and market data.
• Product-line and demand alignment: Configured Manufacturing Cloud to support a complex mix of commercial, residential, and architectural product lines, ensuring forecasts reflect true demand patterns, dealer behavior, and territory-specific trends.
• External market insights: Leveraged third-party market data within the accounting forecast model to project potential sales and production impacts based on seasonal patterns and regional variations.

LevelShift strengthened the client’s residential forecasting by building a data-driven model within Salesforce Manufacturing Cloud. The solution improved forecast accuracy, accountability, and strategic insight for sales representatives across dealer territories.

To enhance usability and adoption, a streamlined interface was delivered through Experience Cloud, featuring dynamic filters and grouped views. This simplified workflows, improved forecast accuracy, and enhanced visibility across historical and future periods—empowering teams to make timely, data-driven decisions and stay aligned with strategic goals.

LevelShift also integrated historical sales data, pipeline metrics, and territory-specific trends, automated data pulls with dynamic forecast adjustments, and enabled real-time territory-level insights. Leadership teams gained earlier access to consolidated forecasts, shortening planning cycles and improving agility.

Key outcomes include:

• Forecast accuracy improved by 25–35% – Forecasts now align more closely with actual revenue outcomes.
• Manual effort reduced by 40% – Automated processes replaced spreadsheets and reconciliations, freeing reps for strategic selling.
• Territory-level visibility increased by 60% – Sales reps and managers access granular, real-time insights across dealer networks.
• Strategic planning cycle shortened by 20% – Consolidated data is available earlier, accelerating decision-making and response to market shifts.

Overall, the Salesforce Manufacturing Cloud solution modernized business’s sales forecasting process, enhanced cross-territory visibility, reduced dependence on spreadsheets, and empowered leadership with real-time planning insights to support strategic growth.