How a Lean Distribution Team Modernized Operations and Streamlined Order Management

Director of Sales & Operations and SmartSuite Implementation Partner

8+
tools and processes consolidated
Custom order system
built in SmartSuite
Integration-ready
for accounting & inventory software
"I like being able to build and adjust and modify... It is the future of how software will be."
Director of Sales & Operations, Battery Redistribution Firm in the U.S.

Problem

Disconnected Systems, Manual Order Chaos

This long-standing battery distributor had outgrown its legacy tech stack. The team relied on QuickBooks Desktop for order entry and reporting, but the platform couldn’t adapt to the company’s evolving needs. They struggled to track customer-specific pricing, unit conversions (battery vs. case), and shipping to multiple locations. On top of that, reporting across distributed customer data was virtually impossible.

Each department was operating in silos—some using HubSpot for CRM, others using Outlook and Missive for task tracking. The sales and order processing workflows were buried in emails and spreadsheets, making it hard to scale or systematize growth. For a lean team juggling distribution logistics and B2B sales, it was clear: a smarter operational foundation was needed.

Q1

Solution

SmartSuite as the Unified Operating Layer

The team partnered with a SmartSuite implementation lead to design a new, centralized system for sales, order processing, inventory coordination, and CRM.

Using SmartSuite’s Linked Records, Conditional Logic, and Calculated Fields, they rebuilt the order entry process from the ground up. Now, line items could be added dynamically with unit-based pricing logic, customer-specific rules, and real-time updates to dashboards. SmartSuite Dashboards were customized to simplify data entry, minimizing clicks and surfacing only what mattered to the user.

Although QuickBooks Desktop had been a staple for decades, the new SmartSuite setup was designed to integrate with external inventory and accounting tools via Make or SmartSuite’s open API, enabling the team to remain lean while expanding capabilities.

Q2

Result

Clarity, Control, and Confidence to Scale

office and three-person warehouse team handled orders, pricing, customer data, and reporting. Manual entry bottlenecks were eliminated, and dashboards now guide staff through order fulfillment with clarity and consistency.

The business can now:

  • Track orders with custom fields like ship-to-locations and buying group affiliations
  • Run dynamic reports on pricing structures and inventory flows
  • Extract order data from PDFs and populate it directly into SmartSuite
  • Future-proof operations with integration-ready architecture

"I like being able to build and adjust and modify... It is the future of how software will be," shared the Director of Sales & Operations”

For a business that thrives on agility and relationships, SmartSuite delivered the systematization they needed without sacrificing flexibility.

Download Customer Story PDF

Customer Name

Battery Distributor – US

Industry

Other

Team

Sales, Operations, Procurement & Supply Chain, Data & Analytics

Region

North America

Company size

SMB

Pain point

Disconnected legacy systems and manual order processing

Products replaced

QuickBooks Desktop, Outlook, Constant Contact, HubSpot, Manual Order Forms

About the company

This U.S.-based master redistributor specializes in battery products and operates with a lean team across warehouse and office roles. With over 30 years in business, the company focuses on B2B logistics and customer-specific order management. It modernized its operations by centralizing sales, CRM, and inventory workflows to support scalable growth.

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