RH Electrical Suppliers builds connected trade workflows with Zoho One
- INDUSTRYRetail / Electrical wholesale
- Key AppsZoho CRM, Zoho Forms, Zoho Desk, Zoho Sign, Zoho Analytics
"What we appreciate most about Zoho is the flexibility. It allows us to customise workflows around how our business operates rather than forcing us to adapt to rigid software processes."
Nadeem Hassan Managing Director, RH Electrical Suppliers
The company
RH Electrical Suppliers is a wholesaler based in Auckland, New Zealand, supplying electrical products for both residential and commercial projects. Established in 2012, the business was built with a clear focus on developing strong relationships with trade customers while ensuring reliable product availability and competitive pricing. From the beginning, the company positioned itself around trust and consistency, which helped it grow steadily in a competitive market.
Over the years, RH Electrical expanded its operations beyond a single location, including opening an additional branch in Henderson. Alongside this physical growth, the business also introduced an online ordering platform. This gave electricians the ability to check trade pricing and place orders digitally, making it easier for customers to interact with the business on their own terms. The shift toward digital was not just about convenience but also about keeping pace with how customers preferred to work.
In the early stages, the business faced the challenge of competing with larger wholesalers while building trust with electricians. Ensuring consistent stock availability and maintaining strong relationships were key priorities. As the company grew, the challenges evolved. The focus shifted from establishing the business to building systems that could support increasing complexity while still delivering the level of service customers expected.
The challenge
As RH Electrical expanded, managing customer accounts, trade pricing, and approvals became more demanding. The business relied on a combination of manual processes and multiple systems that were not fully connected. This made it difficult to maintain a clear and consistent view of customer activity across different stages of the journey.
Customer account applications, approval workflows, and ecommerce activity operated in separate environments. As a result, the team often had to rely on manual tracking to understand where a customer was in the process. This lack of visibility created inefficiencies and increased the chances of delays or missed steps.
"Our process relied heavily on manual tracking and disconnected systems, which sometimes made it difficult to see where customers were in the onboarding or approval process."
The nature of RH Electrical's business added to this complexity. Unlike standard ecommerce transactions, trade customers typically need to apply for accounts, go through approval processes, and access specific pricing before placing orders. Managing this type of workflow requires coordination across multiple steps, which becomes difficult when systems are not integrated.
At the same time, the business wanted to modernise the customer experience. With the introduction of the online ordering platform, there was a clear need to connect internal processes with the digital experience. Customers needed a smooth path from applying for a trade account to accessing pricing and placing orders, without unnecessary delays or manual intervention.
The solution
RH Electrical was introduced to Zoho through Automate.CX, a Zoho implementation Partner. The engagement began with a detailed discovery process where the Partner worked closely with the team to understand how the business operates in practice. This was not limited to high-level requirements. It involved mapping the actual customer journey, from trade account applications through to approvals and online ordering.
This approach helped ensure that the solution was built around the business rather than forcing the business to adapt to a predefined system. The focus was on identifying points where automation could reduce friction for both customers and staff, while also improving visibility across the entire process.
At the centre of the setup is Zoho CRM, which acts as the primary system for managing customer records, trade account applications, approvals, and sales activity. The CRM is integrated with the company's WooCommerce platform, allowing customers to apply for trade accounts online. Once approved, they can log in to the website, view their trade pricing, and place orders directly.
Supporting applications within the Zoho ecosystem handle different parts of the workflow. Zoho Forms is used to capture trade account applications from the website and send them directly into the CRM for processing. Zoho Sign enables customers to digitally sign agreements as part of the onboarding process, removing the need for manual paperwork. Zoho SalesIQ provides visibility into how customers interact with the website, helping the team understand browsing behaviour and identify when assistance may be needed.
On the marketing side, Zoho Marketing Automation is used to segment customers and run targeted campaigns that encourage engagement, such as prompting customers to log in and place orders. Zoho Social supports social media management, while Zoho Survey helps collect feedback on customer experience. Zoho Desk is used to manage customer support enquiries, ensuring that questions are tracked and resolved efficiently.
To support reporting and data management, RH Electrical uses Zoho Analytics to create dashboards and monitor performance, and Zoho DataPrep to clean and maintain accurate data across systems, particularly when updating supplier price lists. By connecting these applications, RH Electrical created a unified system that links customer onboarding, CRM, and ecommerce into a single workflow. This reduces manual effort and makes it easier for both customers and staff to move through each stage of the process.
"Zoho gave us the flexibility to build a system around how our trade business actually operates. That ability to connect CRM, automation, and ecommerce workflows in one platform was a key reason we chose Zoho."
Benefits and ROI
After implementing Zoho, RH Electrical gained a clearer view of its customer processes. The team can now track trade account applications, approvals, and customer activity in one place, without relying on manual updates.
This has improved how applications are managed and made it easier to stay on top of approvals. The team can also monitor key metrics such as application volumes, approval rates, and customer engagement with the online platform.
"Without Zoho we would likely be relying on multiple disconnected systems and manual tracking, which would make it much harder to maintain visibility and consistency across the business."
With information flowing through a connected system, the team spends less time on manual work and more time focusing on customers. Data stays consistent across processes, which reduces duplication and helps maintain accuracy.
Zoho now supports both sides of the business. It fits into day-to-day trade counter operations while also enabling a smoother online experience for customers who prefer to order digitally. This allows RH Electrical to serve different customer needs without adding complexity to internal workflows.
The system also gives the business room to adapt. As processes evolve, workflows can be adjusted without disrupting operations, helping the team continue improving how they work.
Looking forward
RH Electrical is continuing to build on its current setup by exploring new capabilities within the Zoho ecosystem. The business is planning to pilot advanced AI features, including Zia Agents and Zia Agent Studio, with the goal of reducing manual workload and improving the flow of the customer journey.
These capabilities are expected to help automate tasks such as following up on delayed approvals, identifying customers who show strong buying intent, and triggering the next best action without relying on manual intervention. This will support a more proactive approach to managing customer interactions.
"Zoho provides a flexible platform that allows businesses like ours to connect CRM, automation, and ecommerce workflows without needing enterprise-level systems."
As RH Electrical continues to refine its systems, the focus remains on making it easier for customers to interact with the business while maintaining the reliability and service standards that have supported its growth.