How a Manufacturing Company Increased CRM Adoption and Gained Real-Time Sales Visibility with HubSpot

Overview

Kydex, a leading manufacturing company, partnered with digitalJ2 to replace an underutilized legacy CRM system with a flexible, user-friendly HubSpot CRM solution for manufacturing sales teams.

Struggling with low user adoption and limited visibility into sales performance, Kydex needed a modern CRM platform to empower its sales team, improve data accuracy, and provide leadership with actionable insights.

Challenge: Low CRM Adoption and Limited Sales Visibility

Kydex was previously using Microsoft Dynamics, but the system created more friction than value, leading to poor adoption and major visibility gaps.

1. Low CRM Adoption Among Sales Reps

• Over 60 users, primarily outside sales reps
• The system was too rigid and complex, requiring excessive manual data entry
• The sales team largely avoided using the CRM

2. Lack of Visibility for Leadership

Because of low adoption:

• Leadership had no reliable view of the pipeline
• Limited insight into:
  • Open opportunities
  • Quote volume
  • Sales activity

3. Inefficient Sales Tracking and Reporting

They had no consistent way to track:

• Customer interactions
• Deal progression
• Sales performance metrics

4. Disconnected Systems

• CRM was not effectively integrated with their ERP system (IQMS)
• Resulted in fragmented data and incomplete reporting

This is a common issue in manufacturing CRM environments, where legacy systems often fail to align with how sales teams actually work.

Solution: A User-Friendly HubSpot CRM Built for Sales Adoption

digitalJ2 implemented a phased HubSpot CRM rollout focused on driving adoption, improving visibility, and laying the foundation for scalable sales operations.

1. HubSpot CRM Implementation Focused on Usability

• Replaced Microsoft Dynamics with HubSpot CRM
• Designed a simple, intuitive interface tailored to sales workflows
• Reduced friction and encouraged daily usage by reps

2. Sales Process Optimization (Phase 1: Outside Sales)

• Built a structured deal pipeline aligned to Kydex’s sales process
• Focused initially on outside sales team workflows
• Enabled reps to:
  • Easily log activities
  • Manage opportunities
  • Track deal progress

3. Sales Activity Tracking & Performance Visibility

• Implemented tracking for:
  • Meetings
  • Emails
  • Sales engagement
• Delivered dashboards for leadership to monitor:
  • Rep activity
  • Pipeline health
  • Deal progression

4. ERP Integration with IQMS

• Integrated HubSpot with Kydex’s IQMS ERP system
• Ensured alignment between:
  • Customer data
  • Sales activity
  • Operational systems

5. Foundation for Future Phases (Inside Sales Enablement)

• Established scalable infrastructure for:
  • Inside sales workflows
  • Quote management processes
• Positioned Kydex for continued CRM maturity in future phases

Results: Increased Adoption and Real-Time Sales Visibility

The shift to HubSpot immediately improved usability and visibility across the organization.

Key Outcomes

• Increased CRM adoption across 60+ users
• Established a single source of truth for sales data
• Improved visibility into:
  • Open deals
  • Sales activity
  • Pipeline performance

Operational Improvements

• Sales reps can now:
  • Easily log and track activities
  • Manage deals without friction
• Leadership can:
  • Monitor performance in real time
  • Make more informed decisions

KPIs Now Trackable

• Sales activity (calls, meetings, emails)
• Pipeline value and deal stages
• Opportunity progression and engagement

These improvements created a strong foundation for data-driven sales growth and improved forecasting.

Impact: Driving Adoption and Enabling Scalable Growth

Business Impact

• Replaced an ineffective CRM with a scalable, modern platform
• Enabled leadership with accurate, real-time insights
• Improved overall sales organization and accountability

Operational Impact

• Eliminated friction in daily CRM usage
• Increased consistency in sales data capture
• Improved alignment between systems and teams

End User Impact (Sales Team)

• Easier, faster CRM experience
• Reduced manual work and frustration
• Greater clarity on deals and priorities

Result: higher adoption, better data, and more effective sales execution

Conclusion: Building a Scalable Sales Engine for Manufacturing Growth

By replacing a rigid legacy system with a flexible, user-friendly HubSpot CRM tailored to manufacturing workflows, digitalJ2 helped Kydex significantly improve adoption, visibility, and sales execution.

With Phase 1 focused on empowering the outside sales team, Kydex has established a strong foundation for accurate data capture and real-time pipeline visibility. As they move into Phase 2, the focus will expand to optimizing inside sales processes and quote management, ensuring seamless collaboration between outside and inside sales teams.

This next phase will further streamline the quote-to-close lifecycle, improve efficiency, and unlock additional revenue opportunities, positioning Kydex with a fully aligned, scalable sales engine built for long-term growth.