Case study: Nonprofit
Quote-to-cash process improvement uncovers major back office efficiency gains
Table of contents
A national nonprofit was growing fast, but its back office processes weren’t keeping pace. Their quote-to-cash workflows had evolved over time without a holistic design and were not fully documented, resulting in manual workarounds, complex processes, unclear roles, and gaps in data.
New technology exposed and, in some cases, compounded these challenges. A recently implemented ERP system carried forward elements of legacy processes, while gaps in integration with the organization’s e-commerce website created additional rework.
The impact extended beyond the back office to the customer experience. As one stakeholder put it, customers had to “know the org chart” just to make a purchase. Customers could submit a request through multiple intake points, such as a website form or phone, and were often redirected to different teams, in part because website navigation didn’t clearly direct them to the right support point.
Leadership recognized that to improve quote-to-cash, they needed to improve the underlying processes before investing in more technology. The nonprofit selected Eagle Hill to assess its quote-to-cash processes, identify the root causes of inefficiency, and design a future-state process to support continued growth and a more seamless customer experience.
The challenge
Growth was outpacing the back office processes needed to support it
The opportunity
Simplify and standardize quote-to-cash processes to support growth
The outcome
A redesigned quote-to-cash process and prioritized roadmap to scale efficiency and strengthen customer experience
Unconventional consulting. Lasting impact.
The quote-to-cash process assessment identified opportunities to achieve:
fewer staff hand-offs
staff time reclaimed for customer service
fewer support requests per month
Visualizing back office processes
It was challenging to identify where processes were defined and where standards had to be put in place for the future state. The organization had limited documentation, leaving stakeholders to rely on manual workarounds that embedded legacy ways of working throughout the process. Rather than rely solely on leaders’ perceptions, Eagle Hill spent time with staff at all phases of the quote-to-cash lifecycle. Engaging with them directly and building relationships is at the heart of our people-first approach, enabling us to get first-hand insights into the processes from the people closest to the work.
Following the data gathering phase, the Eagle Hill team created end-to-end process visualizations that captured ownership, steps, what was manual or automated, and the systems involved. The impact was profound for an organization that had never had total visibility into its own processes. A senior leader shared that it was exciting to clearly visually see the process for the first time.
From assessment to actionable recommendations
Our team followed a rigorous approach to assess the nonprofit’s quote-to-cash processes across all revenue streams:
Engaging employees and leaders. We interviewed more than 30 employees, spanning across the quote-to-cash lifecycle, from finance and operations to customer-facing support roles, IT, and product owners. The breadth of engagement helped the team understand roles and responsibilities, pain points, and improvement opportunities across all impacted functions.
Identifying root causes. We evaluated manual effort, process handoffs and variation, system usage, customer interactions, and downstream rework and exception handling across 1,200 activities. The thorough evaluation enabled us to identify root causes, rather than simply surface-level symptoms.
Connecting recommendations to root causes. Our team identified more than 300 improvement opportunities, tracing them back to just 16 root causes. This ensured that recommendations solved systemic problems, rather than addressing only the symptoms.
Designing the future state. We developed overarching recommendations and supporting initiatives to address root causes and improve the efficiency of quote-to-cash processes. The future-state recommendations detailed specific ways to increase customer self-service features, automate routine activities, strengthen system integrations, and reduce manual coordination and staff-assisted transactions.
Prioritizing recommendations. We prioritized the initiatives according to reach, impact, implementation effort, and urgency, separating quick wins from long-term projects. The team developed a phased roadmap based on these priorities that included governance and change management considerations to support successful implementation.
Preparing leaders to drive change. The team facilitated a session to help leaders own the path ahead. The session covered issues including assigning accountability, and refining requirements. One participant shared that they went from feeling overwhelmed to excited about the upcoming changes.
Moving from manual workarounds to back office process improvements
For a nonprofit with an annual operating budget of approximately $100 million, the assessment identified a meaningful opportunity: $2 million–$5 million in efficiency savings over 3–5 years. Leaders now have a roadmap for planning efficiency improvements while making the most of back office technology investments. In addition, they have guidance for helping employees through the changes ahead. It’s a strong foundation for quote-to-cash processes that meet both employees’ and customers’ needs as the organization grows.
Ready to streamline your back office processes?
Let’s discuss how Eagle Hill can help you uncover inefficiencies, simplify workflows, and build scalable operations that support growth.
