About the Client
We partnered with a multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and distributes advanced materials and solutions for the construction, mobility, healthcare, and industrial sectors.
Founded in 1665, the company stands as one of the world’s oldest and most respected industrial enterprises. With over 350 years of continuous innovation, it has played a central role in shaping modern infrastructure and material science.
From its origins in 17th-century France to its leadership in sustainable building solutions today, the organization embodies a rare blend of heritage, craftsmanship, and forward-thinking leadership.
Its core business revolves around sustainable building materials such as glass, insulation, gypsum, ceramics, and mortars – serving both residential and commercial needs.
With a strong focus on energy efficiency, environmental responsibility, and continuous innovation, the company also plays a pivotal role in the automotive sector, supplying high-performance glazing and advanced composites.
With operations spanning manufacturing, distribution, and customer engagement, the organization had long relied on Salesforce to manage critical business processes across accounting, marketing, and finance.
However, as it scaled, leadership identified a growing disconnect between Salesforce’s high licensing costs and the platform’s limited value realization.
This prompted a strategic pivot toward building a custom digital ecosystem – designed to deliver greater process ownership, easier customization, and significantly lower total cost of ownership, without compromising on functionality or user experience.
Challenges
Despite its global brand and robust digital practices, the enterprise faced several constraints rooted in its reliance on Salesforce:
Underutilized Licensing Model
The client paid for high-tier Salesforce licenses, but used only a fraction of the available features – resulting in inflated operational costs.
Customization Bottlenecks
Salesforce’s rigid module architecture made it difficult to modify workflows or introduce new features without complex workarounds or expensive professional services.
Manual Testing Fatigue
Their QA process lacked automation, leading to slower deployment cycles and increased risk of human error across releases.
Delegated Execution Model
Project ownership and accountability were often fragmented across internal and external teams, diluting responsiveness and agility.
The Solution
TVS Next deployed a dedicated full-time team under a staff augmentation model, offering both development and QA specialists across two regions. Over a span of 8–10 months, we engaged in deep discovery, mapped existing Salesforce usage, and identified areas ripe for optimization and internalization.
Custom Web Application
Developed to mirror and enhance Salesforce capabilities – tailored for internal users in accounting, finance, and marketing.
Agile Delivery Model
Executed in iterative sprints, with Phase 1 delivered and deployed in just 6–8 months.
QA Automation Framework
Introduced automated test suites to supplement manual testing, improving release confidence and coverage.
Process Ownership
The client retained project management control while delegating sprint-level execution to our team – creating a hybrid delivery model that ensured flexibility without overhead.
Scalable Engineering Talent
Offering access to niche technical skills such as CRM re-platforming, test automation, and UI/UX without inflating overhead.
Outcomes & Business Impact
The new application ecosystem unlocked tangible business value, reducing operational costs while increasing system adaptability and user satisfaction.
| Performance Metric | Salesforce (Before) | TVS Next Solution (After) |
|---|---|---|
| Licensing Spend | High recurring cost | ~50% reduction in license fees |
| Customization Flexibility | Constrained by platform | Full control over feature roadmap |
| QA Throughput | Manual-heavy, slower cycles | Faster regression cycles with automation |
| Time to Deploy Phase 1 | N/A | 6–8 months from kickoff to go-live |
| Operational Efficiency | Fragmented, vendor-driven | Streamlined ownership and delivery |
Qualitative Benefits
- Business-Driven Design: Custom app aligned tightly with actual business processes – no more fitting workflows into rigid CRM modules.
- Cost Efficiency: Significant savings in licensing and maintenance – freeing budget for innovation.
- Modular Scalability: Built with extensibility in mind – ready for integration with analytics, mobile, and AI tools.
- User Confidence: Positive feedback from key users and leadership; appreciation received for delivery speed and product fit.
- Audit-Ready Architecture: Clear traceability of actions and improved compliance with digital logs.
Future Scope
Following a successful Phase 1, planning is underway for the next phase. Planned initiatives:
Budget-Approved Phase 2 Expansion
Introducing new modules to support procurement and customer lifecycle processes.
AI-Led Enhancements
Automated field-level validations and intelligent recommendations for business inputs.
Conversational Interfaces
Chatbot-powered navigation and support for high-frequency tasks.
