Zoho One and Zoho FSM Implementation for a Mechanical Engineering Firm for Water Infrastructure

17/06/25 19:49

A Mechanical Engineering Firm specialising in water and wastewater treatment solutions expressed a critical need to modernise operations and automate repetitive tasks, particularly to enhance communication and efficiency within the rapidly growing Purification Department.

To address these challenges, the Firm opted to test a targeted subset of Zoho applications within the Purification Department as a controlled pilot. This department was selected  to serve as a focused test case, enabling the business to evaluate adoption, usability, and operational impact before considering a broader roll-out across other departments.

As part of the pilot, Zoho CRM was positioned as the central platform for managing client data and interactions. This centralisation enabled automated data integration across the Zoho suite, including Zoho Projects and Zoho FSM, supporting a more connected approach to service delivery and project tracking. 

Key processes were streamlined to support operational efficiency. Deals initiated in Zoho CRM progressed through a customised pipeline that automated several downstream actions. From within the CRM Deals pipeline, users could generate a project using a pre-defined template, ensuring consistency and saving time. Simultaneously, a corresponding work order could be created in Zoho FSM, which could be managed either through FSM or from the CRM interface, offering flexibility in day-to-day operations.

The integration of Zoho applications introduced greater structure and visibility into the Firm’s operations. Key workflows, such as customer documentation, service tracking, and project progression, were centralised, supporting smoother coordination across teams. This more connected approach contributed to a clearer customer journey, from initial contact through to service fulfilment. These early improvements enhanced day-to-day operations and provided a more reliable and scalable foundation for client servicing.

Problem Statement & Key Challenges

The Firm was facing growing operational pressures within its Purifications Department. Without a standardised system for managing projects or tracking client information, the team struggled with inconsistent processes that led to frequent communication breakdowns, forgotten client details, and untracked leads. Critical operational data, such as new client requests, project status updates, and service activities, was not reliably captured or shared across the team, hindering collaboration and reducing overall efficiency.

While operational challenges extended beyond this department, the client chose to begin with a focused proof of concept. At the time, the business relied heavily on traditional tools like Microsoft Project and had no immediate plans to evaluate alternative platforms for wider use. The aim was to test Zoho’s capabilities within a contained environment, addressing the specific needs of the rapidly growing department and assessing whether it could offer a viable replacement for existing legacy systems.


The key challenges faced by their team included: 

  • No formal CRM application: Client interactions and data were not recorded in a centralised CRM system, but instead relied heavily on individual memory and informal methods. This lack of structured documentation hindered the company’s ability to maintain a unified and current view of customer information. Consequently, tracking client progress throughout the sales and service lifecycle became challenging, leading to diminished operational transparency, inconsistent service delivery, and slower response times. They had no way to track lead data or have a single view of a customer.
  • No formally defined project layouts : As the Purification Department expanded rapidly from a single individual to a fully staffed team, the need for a more formalised and refined process became increasingly important. Project layouts had not been formally standardised and continued to rely heavily on the knowledge and input of key individuals, creating operational bottlenecks and limiting scalability.
  • Maintenance tracking: There was no digital system in place to track maintenance activities performed on specific components. As a result, no data was collected to identify the causes of unscheduled maintenance, allowing recurring faults to go undetected. The absence of structured data made it difficult to recognise maintenance patterns, and work order scheduling, as well as tracking of distribution staff, relied entirely on manual processes, further limiting operational visibility and efficiency.
  • Change management: The client was deeply accustomed to their existing MS Project environment, making the transition to Zoho Projects a significant challenge. Resistance to change was notable, particularly due to differences in functionality and user experience. 

Addressing these challenges was essential for the Firm to enhance its operational effectiveness, improve customer satisfaction, and develop a scalable, future-ready infrastructure. This initiative aligns with the company’s broader proof of concept, serving as a foundational step toward the future digitalisation of additional departments. It reflects a strategic commitment to enhancing operational efficiency and scalability in support of long-term organisational growth.

Proposed Solution

Within the Purification Department, all the selected Zoho applications were implemented in their native form to allow the client to fully benefit from the out-of-the-box features each solution provides. This ensured maximum functionality with minimal customisation, supporting a streamlined and efficient deployment.


1. Zoho CRM as the Central Hub:

Zoho CRM was configured to serve as a single, streamlined source of client information, making it easy to locate a Client, Account, or Deal, along with its current stage in the pipeline. A custom deal pipeline was configured to ensure all Deal stages were recorded. The Lead Wizard feature was utilised to simplify and standardise the lead capture process. Leveraging Zoho CRM’s native capabilities, it now functions as the central hub of information, enabling the creation of projects in Zoho Projects or generation of work orders in Zoho FSM directly from within Zoho CRM. This centralisation has significantly improved efficiency, clarity, and consistency across the Purification Department’s operations.


2. Zoho FSM for Service Management:

As the client was initially unfamiliar with Zoho FSM and its capabilities, the application was implemented using its native functionality to ensure ease of use and a straightforward adoption process. It was integrated with Zoho CRM, enabling all Accounts and Clients associated with work orders to be properly documented and easily accessible.


Zoho FSM was configured to manage service bookings and work orders, supporting the coordination of field service activities, inventory management, and real-time tracking of service status. Most importantly, it addressed the client’s critical requirement of documenting both scheduled and unscheduled maintenance activities. This provided visibility into potential equipment faults and inefficiencies in the maintenance process, laying the foundation for improved operational planning and reliability.


3. Zoho Projects for Project Management:

Zoho Projects was integrated with Zoho CRM to enable project creation directly from Zoho CRM's interface using a predefined project template. This template was specifically configured to align with the Purification Department’s unique project execution process. The integration allowed the team to track the status and progress of each project efficiently, while also maintaining a documented history of previous projects. This visibility enhanced project oversight, improved client service continuity, and supported more informed decision-making across the department.


4. Zoho Analytics: 

Zoho Analytics was activated to leverage its native data tracking capabilities and was connected with both Zoho CRM and Zoho Projects. This integration enabled real-time visibility into key performance metrics, project progress, and client engagement, across the Purification Department.

Result

The transition from Microsoft Project to Zoho Projects required a significant change in familiar ways of working. Initially, there was some hesitation in adopting the new platform, with limited time available to invest in learning the system. Nonetheless, the client supported a proof-of-concept phase by trialling the Zoho suite, which provided an opportunity to explore its capabilities in a low-risk setting.

As the team engaged more actively with the platform, they began to see its potential benefits. This hands-on exposure ultimately led to the decision to license Zoho One and Zoho FSM for the full Purification Department team.


At project inception, the client was not familiar with Zoho FSM. However, once introduced as part of the proposed solution, they engaged with the application with increasing confidence. Zoho FSM is now routinely used to manage service operations and monitor unscheduled maintenance activity. The team has reported strong satisfaction with the tool and are considering its broader rollout across the organisation.


With the implementation of Zoho CRM, the client has moved away from a reliance on personal recollection for managing customer interactions. This shift has reduced the risk of information gaps and created a more consistent, reliable client management process. While the company has historically followed a more traditional operational approach, there has been a steady and deliberate move towards embracing digital tools. This is now translating into measurable gains in data accuracy, visibility, and operational efficiency.