From Click to Ship: How Connect-it Automated Sales and Logistics End-to-End with Zoho
From Click to Ship: How Connect-it Automated Sales and Logistics End-to-End with Zoho
From Click to Ship: How Connect-it Automated Sales and Logistics End-to-End with Zoho
From Click to Ship: How Connect-it Automated Sales and Logistics End-to-End with Zoho
Connect-it, a provider of modular connectors for DIY enthusiasts and manufacturers, faced mounting operational hurdles as it scaled—chief among them were inconsistent e-commerce order creation, scattered email-based support, and fragmented data across multiple systems.
To address these pain points, Connect-it engaged Infolytics to deploy a Zoho One–centered strategy, uniting Zoho Books, Zoho Inventory, Zoho CRM, Zoho Desk, Zoho Projects, and Zoho Mail into an integrated ecosystem. This overhaul ensured automatic sales-order generation regardless of payment method, seamless shipping data flow via Bob Go, and centralized help-desk ticketing.
Furthermore, Connect-it’s website forms now funnel leads directly into Zoho CRM for swift follow-up, while knowledge base and Service Level Agreement (SLA) tracking have been improving customer support efficiency. As a result, Connect-it has seen a marked reduction in manual re-work, faster response times, and greater visibility into overall operations—positioning the company for sustainable, scalable growth.
Article Read Time:
6 Mins
Executive Summary
Executive Summary
Established in 1999 and headquartered in South Africa, Connect-it is a specialized brand providing modular connectors (fittings and brackets) in multiple sizes. The connectors allow DIY enthusiasts, large-scale retailers, and manufacturers to assemble frames, desks, racks, and other structures with minimal tooling. As the business grew, so did the complexity of fulfilling online orders, handling shipping details, and providing ongoing support to both B2B and B2C customers.
Connect-it embarked on implementing a Zoho One-driven digital transformation strategy, integrating Zoho Books, Zoho Inventory, Zoho CRM, Zoho Desk, Zoho Projects, and Zoho Mail into a unified system.
This transformation enabled automated sales-order processing across all payment methods, seamless synchronization of shipping data with Bob Go, and a centralized help desk for streamlined customer support. Additionally, website forms now directly capture leads in Zoho CRM, ensuring timely follow-ups, while knowledge base resources and Service Level Agreement (SLA ) tracking enhance support efficiency.
As a result, Connect-it has significantly reduced manual workload, improved response times, and gained greater operational visibility, setting the foundation for long-term scalability and growth.
Key Challenges
Key Challenges
Despite a robust product offering, Connect-it faced growing pains:
- Online orders using direct bank transfer occasionally failed to create corresponding sales orders in Zoho.
- Different payment gateways (bank transfers vs. iKhokha) introduced inconsistent data flows and manual intervention.
- Certain items lacked consistent dimension/weight data, causing shipping label errors or rejected shipments in their courier portal (Bob Go).
- “Old stock” or miscellaneous connector items with non-standard dimensions complicated pick-and-ship processes.
- Email was the primary channel for customer inquiries. Without a unified help desk, messages often went to personal inboxes, risking overlooked or delayed responses.
- Website forms simply emailed customer data to sales@, without automatically capturing leads or follow-ups in a CRM system.
- Multiple mail servers and addresses (some with legacy hosts, others in personal inboxes) led to inconsistent brand presence and significant overhead in routing emails to the right person.
5. Limited Visibility and Reporting
- No centralized way to see open tickets, common support issues, or key order metrics. Staff struggled to measure resolution times or effectively share knowledge within the team.
At A Glance
Key Applications
- Zoho CRM
- Zoho Books
- Zoho Inventory
- Zoho Desk
- Zoho Mail
- Zoho Projects
Integrations
- Zoho Inventory and Bob Go
- Zoho Inventory and WooCommerce
- Zoho Books and Zoho CRM
- Zoho CRM and Zoho Desk
- Zoho CRM and Zoho Inventory
- Zoho Mail and Zoho CRM
- Zoho CRM and Zoho Projects
Tech Skills Applied
- Zoho Ecosystem Configuration
- Deluge (Zoho Scripting Language)
- Business Process Design
- Third Party Integrations
- Email Migration
- Financial Systems Management
- Customer Journey Mapping
5. Limited Visibility and Reporting
- No centralized way to see open tickets, common support issues, or key order metrics. Staff struggled to measure resolution times or effectively share knowledge within the team.
The Solution
The Solution
- Zoho Books and Zoho Inventory: Automated order-to-invoice conversion, integrated real-time stock management, and standardized dimension data.
- Zoho CRM: Website form submissions now feed leads directly into the CRM—vital for new distributor inquiries and general consumer leads.
- Zoho Mail: Infolytics migrated email hosting from legacy providers (such as Outlook) to Zoho, creating shared inboxes (sales@, support@) so team members could respond cohesively.
- Zoho Projects and Task Management: Structured tasks and milestones improved the internal ability to track custom statuses (Closed, Cancelled, etc.), owners, and completion timelines.
- Zoho Desk: Set up ticket management, SLAs for response times, and an escalation path when issues require technical input. Knowledge base articles were also planned for common queries.
- Third Party Integrations: Seamless integrations of various Zoho One applications with WooCommerce, banks, payment gateways, website forms and Bob Go to create an omni-channel setup designed to improve overall customer experience as well as collaboration within the team.
Positive Results
Positive Results
- WooCommerce–Zoho Integration: Infolytics helped to refine the logic so every online order, regardless of payment method, generated a Sales Order in Zoho. This eliminated manual re-entry and data loss.
- Shipping Data Standardization: With Zoho Inventory, Connect-it systematically assigned weights/dimensions to each connector SKU, reducing shipping errors and auto-syncing data to Bob Go.
- Unified Ticketing: All support emails go into Zoho Desk, with assigned owners, status tracking, and embedded knowledge base resources.
- Higher Responsiveness: Clear Service Level Agreements (SLAs) reduced response times, boosting customer satisfaction and trust.
- Zero Missed Sales Orders: Bank transfers and iKhokha payments now create sales transactions in Zoho every time, cutting hours of manual intervention.
- Real-Time Shipping Updates: Bob Go shipping info syncs with Zoho Inventory, letting staff and customers see accurate ship-out times.
- CRM Integration: Website queries instantly become leads, ensuring timely sales follow-up and improved marketing campaigns.
- Automated Catalog Distribution: Potential distributors/customers now receive professional, consistent email communications rather than ad-hoc manual replies.
- Shared Mailboxes and Project Views: Eliminated confusion over who handles which email or which step in the project pipeline.
- Robust Reporting: Connect-it leadership can run Zoho-based reports on order volume, top support issues, or open tasks—helping them prioritize continuous improvement.
- Less Manual Re-Work: Freed staff from chasing missing orders or dimension data, letting them focus on higher-value tasks like product innovation or partner relations.
- Fewer Support Bottlenecks: With a knowledge base in progress, staff spend less time repeatedly answering basic queries.
