Summary

A leading multinational life sciences and technology company that develops medicines and vaccines for both people and animals, with more than 60,000 employees, faced inefficiencies in managing complex product configurations within a highly regulated industry. Each sale was effectively unique, requiring long-term delivery processes, and the lack of visibility and control over customized pricing caused profit losses and operational shortfalls.

Marlabs reviewed the client’s sales processes, introduced Salesforce Revenue Cloud, and implemented over 300 configuration rules and 200 pricing rules to standardize processes and enable self-service configuration. These changes shortened sales cycles by 24 percent, reduced reliance on sales specialists by 32 percent, increased profits on customized products by 14 percent, and improved overall supply chain automation.

Challenge

The client's sales process for custom products was slow, inconsistent, and lacked transparency, which resulted in lost profits and increased costs. Because each sale was unique and required a long-term delivery process, managing complex product configurations in a highly regulated industry was especially difficult.

The lack of standardized tools and visibility for pricing and configurations caused inefficiencies and profit losses, while manual processes and siloed product-tracking tools further complicated the management of unique configurations. Without a centralized system, there was little control over customized pricing, which eroded profitability on one-off and highly configured orders. The client needed a centralized CRM platform with configuration and pricing automation to increase transparency, reduce cycle time, and improve profitability.

Solution

Marlabs implemented an automation framework in Salesforce Revenue Cloud to standardize product configuration, improve pricing control, and enable self-service options for customers. This solution reduced cycle times, improved traceability, and supported both pre- and post-sales processes. The work was delivered across four phases.

Sales Process Review and Analysis

Marlabs analyzed sales processes across nine genome-based production lines to identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies. The team mapped the end-to-end sales process and studied user interactions to understand where delays and manual effort accumulated. This analysis established the baseline and priorities that shaped every subsequent phase of the engagement.

Self-Service Configuration Enablement

The team designed questionnaires for customers to enable automated self-service product configuration. These questionnaires were distributed to clients automatically, guiding them through configuration without requiring a sales specialist at every step. Self-service enablement shifted routine configuration work to customers, freeing specialists to focus on genuinely complex orders.

Revenue Cloud Implementation

Marlabs configured Salesforce Revenue Cloud to standardize product limits, attributes, and pricing structures for each product line. Product attribute standardization created a consistent foundation across the diverse portfolio, and pricing rule configuration brought customized pricing under central control. CRM integration tied the new configuration and pricing logic into the client’s broader sales systems.

Complex Pricing and Rule Design

The team developed over 300 configuration rules and 200 pricing rules to manage product variations and volume-based pricing. Configuration rule design captured the many valid product combinations, while pricing rule development enforced consistent, governed pricing across them. Volume-based discount integration ensured that larger orders were priced accurately and profitably within the same automated framework.

Results

The supply chain automation initiative delivered measurable improvements in sales efficiency, profitability, and customer autonomy. Standardized rules and pricing structures reduced operational complexity while enabling faster and more accurate order fulfillment.

Sales cycles for custom products were reduced by 24 percent, and the need for sales specialists on custom orders decreased by 32 percent as more products could be pre-configured or self-configured by customers without specialist involvement. Profits for customized one-off products increased by 14 percent, while the cost of sale for custom solutions decreased by 22 percent.

The system also allowed configurations to be traced throughout the product lifecycle, improving traceability and control across both pre- and post-sales processes. Together, these outcomes gave the client a transparent, efficient, and more profitable supply chain operation built on standardized configuration and pricing.

Impact

The engagement produced measurable gains across cycle time, cost, profitability, and customer autonomy:

• Reduced sales cycles for custom products by 24 percent.

• Decreased the need for sales specialists on custom orders by 32 percent.

• Increased profits for customized one-off products by 14 percent.

• Lowered the cost of sale for custom solutions by 22 percent.

• Enabled more products to be pre-configured or self-configured by customers without specialist involvement.

• Enhanced traceability by allowing configurations to be traced throughout the product lifecycle.