How a Manufacturing and Distribution Company Modernised Reporting with Zoho Analytics

Discover how an established manufacturing and distribution business modernised its reporting environment by moving key sales and performance dashboards from Power BI into Zoho Analytics.

Overview

The company had been using Zoho for several years, but its core sales reporting remained heavily dependent on Power BI. Sales and operational data originated in the company’s ERP system and flowed through a SQL Server data warehouse before being visualised in Power BI. While the existing reporting environment provided useful insights, it sat separately from the company’s broader Zoho ecosystem.

Smartmates designed a solution using Zoho DataBridge and Zoho Analytics to bring this reporting closer to the company’s existing Zoho environment, while preserving access to the ERP and SQL Server data already supporting day-to-day decision-making.

Executive Summary

The manufacturing and distribution business relied on Power BI for visibility across overall sales performance, individual sales performance, budget tracking, customer purchasing, product performance, committed orders, and sales trends.

Smartmates implemented a reporting architecture using Zoho DataBridge to securely connect Zoho Analytics with the company’s existing SQL Server data warehouse. Zoho Analytics dashboards were then designed to replicate and enhance the reporting views the business was already familiar with in Power BI.

The solution brought together sales transaction data from the data warehouse with relevant customer information from Zoho CRM, creating a more connected reporting environment within the broader Zoho ecosystem.

Problem Statement and Key Challenges

The business had already invested significantly in Zoho, but its reporting environment remained dependent on a separate BI platform.

This created several challenges:

Sales and CRM information was spread across different systems.
Management relied on Power BI for most sales performance visibility.
Reporting needed to combine ERP transaction data with CRM customer information.
Budget performance, year-on-year comparisons, product performance, and customer trends required consistent calculations across multiple data sources.
The business wanted to make greater use of its existing Zoho investment rather than maintain disconnected reporting processes.

As the company continued to grow, it needed a reporting solution that could provide clear operational insight while integrating more closely with its existing technology stack.

Problem Evaluation

Smartmates reviewed the company’s existing reporting structure, data flow, and sales dashboards.

The assessment identified that the ERP and SQL Server data warehouse should remain important source systems, rather than attempting to rebuild or duplicate that information inside Zoho CRM.

The more effective approach was to connect the existing data warehouse directly to Zoho Analytics using Zoho DataBridge.

This allowed the business to preserve its existing data architecture while creating a new reporting layer within Zoho.

The reporting requirements were then grouped into several key areas:

Overall sales performance.
Daily sales reporting.
Sales performance against budget.
Year-on-year comparisons.
Customer purchasing behaviour.
Product performance.
Committed orders and future revenue.
Brand performance.
Customer and sales trends.

This provided the foundation for a structured reporting environment aligned with the company’s management and sales requirements.

Proposed Solutions

Smartmates designed a Zoho Analytics solution centred around a secure connection to the company’s existing SQL Server data warehouse.

The proposed solution included:

Configuring Zoho DataBridge to connect Zoho Analytics with the SQL Server environment.
Validating the flow of ERP and sales data into Zoho Analytics.
Combining relevant sales transaction data with customer information held in Zoho CRM.
Reviewing and validating data quality before dashboard development.
Configuring calculations, filters, and reporting logic required for key management metrics.
Rebuilding existing Power BI reporting views within Zoho Analytics.
Developing dashboards for total sales performance.
Creating daily sales reporting for previous-day performance.
Building budget-versus-actual reporting.
Configuring year-to-date and prior-year comparisons.
Reporting sales by customer and product.
Developing committed order reporting to support future revenue visibility.
Creating brand-level performance reporting.
Building trend dashboards to track customer activity, product line sales, and purchasing behaviour.

The new reporting environment was designed to provide management with clearer access to key sales metrics while better aligning reporting with the company’s broader Zoho ecosystem.

Implementations

The project was delivered through a structured reporting and data-integration approach:

Data Architecture Review: Smartmates reviewed the existing ERP, SQL Server, Power BI, and Zoho data flows.
Zoho DataBridge Configuration: A secure connection was configured between the SQL Server data warehouse and Zoho Analytics.
Data Flow Validation: Source data, including sales, orders, customers, and related business information, was validated before reporting development.
Dashboard Design: Existing reporting requirements were reviewed and translated into Zoho Analytics dashboard structures.
Sales Reporting Development: Dashboards were configured for monthly sales, daily sales, budget performance, customer performance, and product performance.
Forecast and Order Reporting: Committed-order dashboards were created to provide greater visibility over expected future sales.
Brand and Trend Reporting: Additional views were configured to help management monitor brand performance and change customer purchasing behaviour.
Testing and Validation: Reports, calculations, filters, and source data were tested to ensure reporting accuracy.
Training and Handover: The team received training and support to help them confidently use and manage the new reporting environment.

Related solutions:

Related solutions:

External Integrations:

External Integrations:

Business Benefits

The solution was designed to provide the manufacturing and distribution business with:

Centralised Sales Reporting: Key management dashboards available within Zoho Analytics.
Better Budget Visibility: Clear comparison of actual sales against budget targets.
Improved Performance Tracking: Easier monitoring of month-to-date, year-to-date, and prior-year performance.
Greater Customer Insight: Visibility into customer purchasing patterns and sales contribution.
Better Product Analysis: Improved understanding of top-selling products and product-line performance.
Improved Forecasting: Committed-order reporting provides clearer visibility over expected future revenue.
Stronger Trend Analysis: Management can track whether more customers are buying, how purchasing patterns are changing, and how sales volumes are moving over time.
Better Use of Existing Systems: The solution leverages the existing ERP and SQL Server architecture rather than requiring unnecessary replacement.
Closer Zoho Integration: Reporting becomes more closely connected with the company’s existing Zoho environment.

Conclusion

By partnering with Smartmates, the manufacturing and distribution company developed a more connected approach to sales and operational reporting. Rather than replacing its existing ERP and data warehouse infrastructure, Smartmates used Zoho DataBridge and Zoho Analytics to create a reporting layer that could securely leverage the data already available across the business.

The new architecture provides a stronger foundation for sales visibility, budget tracking, customer analysis, product performance, and future forecasting, while helping the company make greater use of its existing Zoho ecosystem.

Request a Callback from Smartmates

Zoe

Senior Sales Engineer

I’ll listen to your Zoho needs to understand your business challenges and goals, ensuring a tailored approach.
I’ll bring a certified Zoho engineer to our first consultation to explore solutions and clarify your requirements.
We’ll deliver your free project plan quotation, detailing the steps, timeline, and costs—up to this point, it’s completely free!

“My mission is to solve your key problems, build your trust in our capabilities and deliver exceptional value for money.”