Overhood Case: from disconnected tools to a unified management system based on Zoho

Fast-growing companies often face a paradox: the more actively a business develops, the more difficult it becomes to manage operational processes.

The international merchandise agency Overhood faced the same problem. Working with large European companies in the gaming, IT, and fintech industries, the agency was actively scaling, expanding its team, and increasing the number of projects. However, the management system stopped matching the pace of growth and the level of operational complexity of the business.

Realizing the need for systemic changes, the company’s owners turned to us at Business Lab. Together we began working on creating a management architecture capable of supporting further growth and restoring process transparency.

Overhood is a full-cycle international merchandise agency: from concept development and design to production, customs clearance, and international logistics. Each project represents a complex operational chain where dozens of product positions, suppliers, approvals, and production stages are managed simultaneously.

Additional complexity comes from a distributed team working from different countries and time zones. In such a structure, a transparent management system and precise coordination of processes are especially important.

While the number of projects was relatively small, manual control helped the company maintain order. But as the business grew, it became clear that the previous management model no longer matched the level of complexity.

At the early stages, the company used a familiar set of disconnected tools: messengers for communication, spreadsheets for calculations, separate services for documentation, and a CRM for sales. Each tool solved its own task, but there was no connection between them.

Data was transferred manually, projects existed outside a unified system, and management analytics were limited. During periods of high workload, the number of manual operations increased sharply, and processes began to fail.

As a result, the company’s management did not have a complete picture: it was difficult to assess the real workload of the team, identify bottlenecks, and forecast performance indicators.

When Overhood approached Business Lab, the task was much broader than simply implementing a CRM. It was necessary to create a unified management system that would combine sales, project work, and operational processes.

The key objective was to eliminate data duplication and build a transparent logic of information flow between departments. Sales were planned to be directly connected with project execution, while company management needed access to up-to-date analytics on team workload, deadlines, and financial indicators.

The work began with a diagnosis of the company’s processes. The Business Lab team carefully analyzed the project path from the appearance of a lead to the shipment of finished products.

This analysis made it possible to identify points of information loss, data duplication, and inefficient transitions between work stages. The main goal was not simply to digitize the existing model, but to build a data flow architecture that would become the foundation for further automation.

Based on the analysis, a new management architecture was designed using the Zoho ecosystem.Zoho CRM is responsible for sales management, while Zoho Projects manages project execution. After a deal is closed, the system automatically creates a project and transfers all necessary data into it: order parameters, product positions, and key tasks. This approach eliminates manual copying of information between departments and reduces the risk of errors. Within projects, a transparent structure of tasks and stages is built, and managers can track the status of work in real time. Automation and team adaptation The system included automatic project creation, data transfer between services, statuses and control points for work stages, as well as role and access management for team members. An important part of the implementation was team adaptation. Training sessions were conducted for the Overhood team, instructions were prepared, and employees were supported during the first weeks of work. The launch of changes in business processes was scheduled for a low workload period, which made it possible to calmly configure the system before the peak season began. Implementation results After the launch of the new business process management system, Overhood received an integrated model for managing sales and projects. Manual operations were significantly reduced, and the team was able to focus on working with clients and delivering projects. Management gained a transparent view of team workload, project statuses, and key performance indicators. It became possible to analyze deadlines, process efficiency, and business profitability. The system successfully handled the peak season, when the number of orders increased sharply. Later, the company expanded the ecosystem by connecting Zoho People for personnel management. This made it possible to structure HR processes, systematize employee data, and simplify the management of vacations and working time. The role of Business Lab In this project, Business Lab acted not only as a technical integrator but also as an architect of the management system. We connected sales, projects, and operational processes into a unified digital management environment. As a result, the Overhood team was able to move from a manual operational mode to a systematic model capable of supporting the company’s further growth. As businesses become more complex, the ability to build sustainable management architectures for business processes becomes a competitive advantage—systems in which data, processes, and analytics work as a single whole.

Zoho CRM is responsible for sales management, while Zoho Projects manages project execution. After a deal is closed, the system automatically creates a project and transfers all necessary data into it: order parameters, product positions, and key tasks.

This approach eliminates manual copying of information between departments and reduces the risk of errors. Within projects, a transparent structure of tasks and stages is built, and managers can track the status of work in real time.

The system included automatic project creation, data transfer between services, statuses and control points for work stages, as well as role and access management for team members.

An important part of the implementation was team adaptation. Training sessions were conducted for the Overhood team, instructions were prepared, and employees were supported during the first weeks of work. The launch of changes in business processes was scheduled for a low workload period, which made it possible to calmly configure the system before the peak season began.

After the launch of the new business process management system, Overhood received an integrated model for managing sales and projects. Manual operations were significantly reduced, and the team was able to focus on working with clients and delivering projects.

Management gained a transparent view of team workload, project statuses, and key performance indicators. It became possible to analyze deadlines, process efficiency, and business profitability.

The system successfully handled the peak season, when the number of orders increased sharply.

Later, the company expanded the ecosystem by connecting Zoho People for personnel management. This made it possible to structure HR processes, systematize employee data, and simplify the management of vacations and working time.

In this project, Business Lab acted not only as a technical integrator but also as an architect of the management system.

We connected sales, projects, and operational processes into a unified digital management environment. As a result, the Overhood team was able to move from a manual operational mode to a systematic model capable of supporting the company’s further growth.

As businesses become more complex, the ability to build sustainable management architectures for business processes becomes a competitive advantage—systems in which data, processes, and analytics work as a single whole.