The Challenge

Fidalgo implemented Zoho a couple of years before working with Zenatta to replace Salesforce and Gmail. While Zoho CRM was easier for the team to manage day to day, the system still needed more automation and integration to support evolving distribution workflows.

They had previously worked with another Zoho partner, but response times and deliverables did not meet expectations, and communication gaps made it difficult to get key projects across the finish line. At the same time, Fidalgo needed an affordable solution for direct store delivery (grocery) operations. Off-the-shelf software options did not fit their needs at a reasonable price, and fully bespoke options were out of budget.

“We worked with another Zoho partner, but were not satisfied with their response times and final product. The biggest problem we faced was the communication between our sales manager and the other Zoho partner. We weren’t getting what we needed.” – David Evans, Owner/CFO, Fidalgo Coffee Roasters

Why It Mattered

As Fidalgo expanded into grocery distribution and recurring subscriptions, delivery operations became a core part of customer experience and cash flow. The team needed a DSD workflow that could connect inventory and order data, coordinate routes and drivers, and enable accurate invoicing at the point of delivery.

Integration between their MRP system (Fishbowl Inventory) and their delivery process was essential. Without it, the team risked slower deliveries, inconsistent order updates, and manual invoicing work that pulled time away from sales and operations.

The Zenatta Solution

Zenatta delivered a combination of CRM improvements, document automation, and a purpose-built DSD delivery application to support both office and driver workflows.

• CRM Customization & Automation: Enhanced CRM workflows around Sales Orders and communication, including improvements to email templates and adding “Print” and “Email” actions directly on Sales Order records.
• Sales Order Document Automation: Built and refined a Zoho Writer mail merge workflow to generate customer-ready documents (PDF formatting, field mapping, and merge scripting), aligning output with Fidalgo’s required invoice and sales order layouts.
• Custom Direct Store Delivery (DSD) Driver App in Zoho Creator: Designed and built a desktop + mobile Creator app that integrates with Zoho CRM. When Sales Orders are created in CRM, they sync into Creator, where the app assigns orders to routes and drivers. Drivers can:
  • Select a delivery day and route and see all required stop and order details.
  • Update orders while delivering, including adjusting quantities based on customer needs.
  • Trigger invoice creation and send invoices to customers directly from the delivery workflow.
• Operations Visibility for Admin Teams: Built tools for administrators to quickly pull up a customer profile that includes key operational history such as orders, logs, and related records in one place.
• Analytics + Data Sync Support: Supported pulling data from Fishbowl through Zoho Analytics and syncing key information back into CRM to ensure teams were working with reliable, connected data across systems.
• Custom UX and Branding: Applied custom HTML/CSS styling in Creator so the app matched Fidalgo’s desired look and feel while remaining mobile-friendly for drivers in the field.

“Using Creator, Zenatta wrote DSD software (direct store delivery) that integrates with our existing software via CRM.” – David Evans, Owner/CFO, Fidalgo Coffee Roasters

Results

With the new DSD workflow in place, Fidalgo gained a scalable delivery system connected to their CRM and supporting tools—without taking on the cost and overhead of a traditional bespoke software build.

• Mobile-friendly driver operations with route-based order visibility and in-field updates.
• Faster, more accurate invoicing driven directly from delivery activity.
• Improved operational data flow by leveraging Zoho Analytics to pull key information from Fishbowl and sync it into CRM.
• Fidalgo achieved a custom-fit solution at roughly half the cost of alternatives, with no added maintenance fees beyond their Zoho subscription (per client feedback).

“Zenatta’s customer service and highly skilled staff were able to respond to our CRM customization needs. They get the work done about 2x faster than our other Zoho partner. We were able to get bespoke software at about 1/2 the cost of all the other options with no ongoing maintenance fees beyond our Zoho One subscription.”

– David Evans, Owner/CFO, Fidalgo Coffee Roasters