Case study · Equipment manufacturing
A dealer network that sells as one
Manufacturers that sell through dealers often can't see the leads they pass on or the deals dealers close. This is how we gave dealers a portal on Dynamics 365 for leads, opportunities and warranty claims, and give the manufacturer a view of the whole network.
Project overview
Partner relationship management on Dynamics 365.
- Industry
- Equipment manufacturing
- Client
- Confidential
- Solution
- Dealer network management
- Platform
- Dynamics 365 + Power Pages
- Timeline
- 12–18 weeks
- Team
- 4 people
- Portal users
- Dealer staff
- Warranty
- Claims and approvals
- Integration
- ERP for parts and orders
Expected business outcomes
What the client set out to achieve
Visibility of what happens to leads is the first and biggest change.
-
Full
Visibility of distributed leads
Every lead sent to a dealer has a status and outcome.
Where dealers update leads in the portal
-
20–40%
Faster warranty claim handling
Claims submitted with photos and parts, approved in a workflow.
Target range; depends on claim complexity
-
Monthly
Dealer performance reviews
Sales, lead conversion and claims per dealer in one dashboard.
From portal and ERP data
Business challenges
How dealer networks ran before
Leads go out by email and disappear.
Leads
Website leads forwarded to dealers by email with no follow-up.
Pipeline
Dealers' forecasts arrive as spreadsheets, if at all.
Warranty
Claims by email with photos attached, tracked in a spreadsheet.
Onboarding
New dealers get a PDF pack and a login to nothing.
Performance
Dealer reviews based on orders only, not on the leads they were given.
Proposed solution
What the Dynamics 365 build covers
CRM for the manufacturer, a portal for dealers, both on the same data.
-
Dealer records
Dealers with territories, certifications, contacts and performance.
-
Lead distribution
Leads routed to dealers by territory and product, with acceptance deadlines.
-
Joint pipeline
Dealers update opportunities in the portal; the manufacturer sees the network.
-
Warranty claims
Claims with photos, serials and parts, approved and credited in a workflow.
-
Dealer portal
Leads, opportunities, claims, marketing assets and training in one place.
-
Network dashboards
Lead conversion, pipeline and claims by dealer and region.
Project requirements
What the client asked us for
The request was to see what dealers do with leads. The portal has to be worth dealers' time, so it includes things they want: marketing assets, warranty status and faster claim payments.
Lead acceptance deadlines keep leads moving: a lead not accepted in time goes to another dealer.
What the project had to deliver
- 01Every lead tracked to an outcome
- 02A shared pipeline with dealers
- 03Faster warranty claims
- 04Dealer performance that can be discussed
Key challenges & considerations
What made it harder, and what we did
-
Dealers with their own CRMs
What we did
Dealers used a light portal alongside their own CRMs, and were not asked to replace them.
-
Territory overlaps and disputes
What we did
Territory rules were agreed and configured up front, with a clear route for disputes.
-
Warranty rules that vary by product
What we did
Warranty rules were configured per product line and applied automatically to claims.
-
Dealers reluctant to share pipeline
What we did
Dealers received qualified leads and faster warranty decisions first, before being asked to share pipeline.
What we watched for
- Give dealers value before asking for data
- Set lead acceptance deadlines
- Keep portal tasks short
- Review dealers with shared data
Development process
Give dealers a reason to log in
Warranty and marketing assets come early, because they bring dealers into the portal.
-
Network design
Dealer tiers, territories and lead rules agreed with sales.
-
Portal and warranty
Portal launched with warranty claims and marketing assets.
-
Lead distribution
Leads routed through the portal with acceptance deadlines.
-
Joint pipeline
Opportunity sharing introduced with the most engaged dealers.
-
Dashboards
Network reporting and quarterly dealer reviews.
Technology stack
Dynamics 365 with a partner portal
One Dataverse for manufacturer and dealers, with portal security per dealer.
CRM
- Dynamics 365 Sales
- Dataverse
- Lead routing
Portal
- Power Pages
- Per-dealer security
Integration
- ERP for parts and credits
- Power Automate
Reporting
- Power BI
- Dealer scorecards
Quality assurance & deployment
Tested by the people who use it every day
A CRM succeeds when people choose to use it. Every process was tested with real users on real scenarios, and data migration was rehearsed until the record counts agreed.
- Scenario testing with users from each role
- Migration rehearsals, with record counts reconciled
- Integration tests for every connected system
- Security roles checked against real job roles
- Solutions moved between environments as managed releases
Deployment
- 01Joint pipelineOpportunity sharing introduced with the most engaged dealers.
- 02DashboardsNetwork reporting and quarterly dealer reviews.
- 03Phased go-liveOne team or region first, then the rest, each wave with training by role.
- 04Hypercare and warrantyDaily support through the first weeks, and six months of free bug fixing.
Final deliverables
One network, one pipeline
Leads reach the right dealer quickly and don't disappear, dealers submit claims and update deals in the portal, and the manufacturer sees the whole network.
Dealer reviews become conversations about data both sides can see.
- Tracked lead distribution
- Shared pipeline
- Workflow warranty claims
- Dealer scorecards
Handed over to the client
- 01Configured Dynamics 365Production and test environments
- 02Solutions and integrationsAs managed, documented releases
- 03Migrated dataWith record counts reconciled
- 04Training by roleWith short guides
- 05Six-month warrantyFree bug fixing after delivery
Success metrics
How success is measured
| Measure | Outcome | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|
| Visibility of distributed leads | Full | Where dealers update leads in the portal |
| Faster warranty claim handling | 20–40% | Target range; depends on claim complexity |
| Dealer performance reviews | Monthly | From portal and ERP data |
Verified reviews
What clients say about our Dynamics work
Verified reviews from our clients on the same kind of work, published on Clutch.
-
Custom Software Development
Web-Based Coupon App Development
The work produced by the team was of exceptional quality.
Jon Thies
CTO, Model Rocket Feb 2022 – Mar 2023
-
Custom Software Development
Mobile & Web Platform Development & Design
Silver Scintilla was responsive, respectful, and enjoyable to work with, quickly addressing any questions or requests.
DeShawn Brown
CEO & Founder, Lithios Jun 2021 – Nov 2022
-
Custom Software Development
Web-Based HRM System Development
Silver Scintilla provided the best solution with scalable functionality, personalized features, and robust security.
Suheb Khan
Director, Collaborative Insight Technologies Jul 2020 – Jun 2022
Free discovery call
Have an idea? Let's turn it into AI-powered software.
Book a free discovery call with our experts. Share your idea and we will help you shape the scope, timeline and budget, under NDA.
- Free consultation
- NDA before we talk
- Transparent estimate