How a Microbial Research Company Unified Sales, Marketing, and Production Forecasting With Salesforce

A rapidly expanding microbial research company needed a centralized way to manage customer data, automate lead follow-up, and gain better visibility into future production needs. With disconnected systems and no structured sales process, the organization lacked the insights required to scale both commercially and operationally. Blackmore implemented a fully connected Salesforce ecosystem that transformed how they sell, market, and plan microbial strain manufacturing.

Research

Industry: Microbial Research / Life Sciences

Products Used: Sales Cloud, Marketing Cloud Account Engagement, Custom Development, Managed Services, On-Site Training

Challenge

The company struggled with disjointed tools and no unified customer database. Website leads weren’t tracked consistently, follow-up relied on manual effort, and the sales team lacked visibility into historical activity or buying patterns. Discount approvals were ad hoc, creating inconsistent pricing and slow turnaround times.

Beyond commercial challenges, the manufacturing team lacked reliable forecasts for microbial strain production. Without accurate order data tied to sales activity, they could not anticipate demand or plan production cycles efficiently - leading to delays, reactive planning, and missed opportunities.

Solution

Blackmore implemented Sales Cloud as the centralized CRM, building structured lead management, automated workflows, and approval processes to replace spreadsheets and manual steps. Marketing Cloud Account Engagement was deployed to capture and score website leads, automate personalized follow-up, and provide the sales team with warm, engaged prospects.

Custom discount rules and an automated approval workflow were implemented to enforce pricing consistency and governance. Through Managed Services, the company received ongoing enhancements, system tuning, and admin support. On-site training ensured full adoption and confidence across sales, marketing, and leadership teams.

Critically, order and opportunity data was connected to support upstream manufacturing forecasting. Using Salesforce data models and custom reporting, production teams could now anticipate which microbial strains would be needed - weeks or months in advance - based on pipeline, won deals, and purchasing patterns.

Impact

The business now operates on a single, reliable customer database with automated lead capture, structured follow-up, and clear visibility into every opportunity. Account Engagement nurtures leads with targeted communication, improving conversion rates and reducing manual effort for the team. Discounting is now standardized and transparent, accelerating deal cycles and improving revenue consistency.

Most importantly, integrated order insights empower the manufacturing team to project microbial strain production with far greater accuracy. This shift from reactive to proactive planning improved operations, reduced production delays, and allowed leadership to make better strategic decisions. With Salesforce as its commercial and operational engine, the company is now equipped to scale with clarity, confidence, and precision.