K-12 & Higher Ed – Systems TransformationK-12 & Higher Ed

Newsela is an educational technology company that provides content and tools to improve reading comprehension and literacy among students. Their platform offers a vast library of articles and texts from various sources, which are curated and adjusted to different reading levels. Newsela’s adaptive technology allows teachers to assign articles that match students’ reading abilities, fostering personalized learning experiences. The company’s mission is to make learning engaging and accessible for all students by delivering current, relevant, and diverse content that supports classroom instruction across subjects.

Newark, NJ
500-1000 employees
Education

Project Overview

Newsela partnered with StreamForce in order to develop solutions to streamline discount applications, enhance data entry, improve account visibility, and automate campaign association in Salesforce in order to improve the effectiveness of their operations processes. They also had needs to increase APEX code visibility as they had historically had a lack of code coverage, increasing the risk to deployments in their production environment.

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  • SalesForce Sales Cloud
  • SalesForce Revenue Cloud (CPQ)
  • Salesforce Development (APEX / LWC)

The Challenge

Newsela faced a series of challenges that threatened the efficiency and effectiveness of their operations. The company was well-known for selling a diverse range of products in a single transaction, but this complexity required a more streamlined approach to manage discounts across multiple line items. Each
sale involved a myriad of products, and applying discounts efficiently was becoming a daunting task.

Compounding their difficulties, the Salesforce instance Newsela relied on was found to have a significant shortfall in test coverage for its APEX code. This meant that deploying updates to production was burdened with risk, as there were insufficient test cases to ensure that the code would perform as expected. Special methods had to be employed to mitigate these risks, creating an additional layer of complexity in their development process.

The selling process itself was another area of concern. Newsela’s sales team needed to collect and manage data at various stages of the sales cycle, but the existing methods were cumbersome and disjointed. Newsela faced challenges in visualizing the products associated with each account. They needed the capability to see which products had been sold to an account, whether directly or through its hierarchy. This visibility was crucial for making informed decisions about which products would best suit each customer’s needs.

The Solution

In the heart of Newsela’s sales operations, a series of transformative solutions were set into motion to address the company’s growing challenges. The first breakthrough came with the development of a cutting-edge Lightning Web Component designed to handle the complexity of applying discounts. This new tool was crafted with precision, operating based on specific criteria and allowing discounts to be applied efficiently across multiple line items, but only to the selected items that met the set conditions. This innovation streamlined the discount process, making it both flexible and precise.

Recognizing the importance of robust testing in their Salesforce environment, Newsela undertook a comprehensive review of their existing APEX classes. The review revealed gaps in code coverage, prompting the creation of new test classes.  These tests were designed to enhance the reliability of the APEX code, ensuring that future deployments would be smoother and more reliable. With this enhancement, Newsela could proceed with updates and improvements with greater confidence.

Finally, an automated solution was introduced to track the impact of sales campaigns. This solution was designed to identify which customers were affected by various campaigns and to link these customers to the corresponding campaign
using a new custom object. This automation allowed Newsela to assess the effectiveness of their campaigns with greater precision, linking customer responses directly to campaign performance.

With these advancements, Newsela transformed their sales operations, turning complex challenges into streamlined solutions and setting the stage for a more efficient and informed sales process.

The Outcome

The final piece of the puzzle was the detailed analysis of campaign impacts. With insights into the effectiveness of their marketing strategies, Newsela could pinpoint gaps and refine their targeting. The data revealed which campaigns were most successful and how they translated into sales opportunities.

This clarity allowed Newsela to optimize their marketing efforts, ensuring that each campaign was as impactful as possible. Together, these innovations marked a new era for Newsela. The streamlined processes, improved data accuracy, and enhanced marketing strategies not only boosted efficiency but also positioned the company for continued success in a competitive market.

Services Provided

  • Salesforce Enterprise Development Partner
  • Managed Services

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