As newcomers to the Salesforce ecosystem,
West Central Initiative sought out a partner
who could serve as an extension of their team

West Central Initiative (WCI) is a regional community foundation and an economic development organization serving the nine west central Minnesota counties of Becker, Clay, Douglas, Grant, Otter Tail, Pope, Stevens, Traverse, and Wilkin and a portion of White Earth Nation. Through philanthropy and planning, WCI fuels insight and action for the benefit of their region and our world. Since 1986, WCI has provided more than $59 million in loans and $78 million in grants to businesses and organizations. Learn more at wcif.org.   

Navigating the integration of Salesforce into their operations for the first time, West Central Initiative (WCI) encountered various challenges along the way. As newcomers to the Salesforce ecosystem, they quickly learned the number of intricacies involved in a CRM implementation and began seeking a partner who could serve as an extension of their team. With the launch of their Salesforce instance in 2022, WCI enlisted Redpath to address critical and high-priority items through Enhancement Manager.

One significant challenge WCI faced was integrating Salesforce with their accounting and business management application. Custom modifications were required to align income-related items between the two systems and ensure financial processes remained streamlined.

Additionally, WCI had unique reporting needs spanning across Opportunities, Payments, and Funding Requests within Salesforce. Crafting reporting solutions to accommodate their diverse operations was essential but posed challenges due to the intricacies of their organizational workflow and data requirements.

Furthermore, optimizing user experience on their Salesforce Experience Cloud presented another hurdle for WCI. Balancing page layouts and data-point visibility to enhance usability and accessibility required careful consideration of user preferences and organizational objectives.

Data migration complexities added to the challenges, as WCI encountered discrepancies and integrity issues during the transition from legacy systems to Salesforce. Addressing these migration challenges was crucial to maintaining data accuracy and continuity within the new CRM environment.

Drawing upon the identified challenges, Redpath collaborated closely with West Central Initiative (WCI) to implement targeted solutions within their Salesforce instance.

To streamline WCI’s accounting process and facilitate integration with their accounting software, Redpath developed Flows tailored to their specific needs. These Flows automated data population within Salesforce Payments, ensuring accurate and complete information for effortless transfer into the accounting application. By reducing manual processing and minimizing room for error, this automation enhanced operational efficiency and data accuracy for WCI’s financial workflows.

Addressing WCI’s diverse reporting requirements across Opportunities, Payments, and Funding Requests, Redpath implemented custom reporting solutions that were designed and deployed to provide actionable insights, empowering WCI’s team to make informed decisions and track key metrics effectively. Additionally, specialized report training was conducted to equip WCI personnel with the necessary skills to generate and leverage reports autonomously, allowing for self-sufficiency and maximizing the value of Salesforce.

Recognizing the importance of data quality, Redpath implemented validation rules within WCI’s Salesforce instance. These rules served as checkpoints to maintain data integrity and consistency, ensuring that WCI’s CRM data remained accurate and reliable. Leveraging Apsona’s Document Merge tool, Redpath further enhanced WCI’s operational efficiency by automating the creation of letters and documents, streamlining document generation processes, saving time and reducing administrative burden for WCI staff.

By tapping into Redpath’s support services, WCI has gained confidence in their Salesforce ecosystem. With a partner who thoroughly understands their unique needs and challenges, WCI can rely on Redpath to provide expert guidance and recommendations for changes and enhancements. This collaboration enables WCI to tailor their Salesforce instance to suit evolving requirements, leveraging Redpath’s industry experience to drive strategic decision-making and optimize system performance.

WCI now has the flexibility to build up their Salesforce environment at their own pace, without feeling constrained by technical limitations or resource constraints. This allows WCI to adapt their CRM system to align with organizational goals and priorities, fostering scalability and agility in their operations.

From a data perspective, WCI has experienced tangible improvements in data accuracy and visibility. With validation rules in place, data integrity is maintained, providing confidence in the reliability of CRM data. Additionally, enhanced visibility into key data points, such as organizational metrics and performance indicators, gives WCI the details to make informed decisions and drive operational excellence.

Overall, the collaboration between WCI and Redpath has not only addressed immediate challenges but also positioned WCI for long-term success and growth. With a trusted partner by their side, WCI can navigate the complexities of Salesforce with confidence, allowing for continuous improvement and achieving their strategic objectives.