Overview
Alpha Cognition tasked SAZ Tech Inc. with customizing and implementing Zoho CRM to replace their legacy Account Relationship Management (ARM) spreadsheet system. The result was a complex yet user-friendly application capable of tracking contacts, accounts, and SRF pipelines for a scalable system and in-depth reporting.
This case study highlights the journey through an ever-changing and turbulent set of requirements, testing cycles, and a change management process that brought spreadsheet-dependent users through initial resistance to ultimately embracing and praising the effectiveness of the new CRM implementation.
| Replaced fragmented ARM spreadsheet with centralized Zoho CRM | Built custom many-to-many Contact–Account relationship not native to Zoho CRM | Migrated legacy data & launched fully operational and organizational standard CRM in under a month for a medium sized company | Delivered SRF pipeline visibility & automated field rep reporting |
"The SAZ team was great to work with. Some of your strengths, I would say, are your flexibility and your ability to deliver on the requirements and in a very timely and budget friendly manner, which was key for us.” - Rommel Fernandez VP, Commercial Operations and Analytics at Alpha Cognition."
Executive Summary
Alpha Cognition Inc. is a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to developing treatments for patients suffering from neurodegenerative diseases.As Alpha Cognition scaled its commercial operations, its reliance on a manual ARM spreadsheet to manage accounts, contacts, and Serum Response Factor (SRF) tracking became a critical operational bottleneck. With field reps engaging nursing homes, pharmacies, and healthcare providers (HCPs) across multiple regions, the spreadsheet infrastructure could no longer support the complexity of real-world facility-provider relationships, consistent rep-level reporting, or scalable case
To support its growing commercial footprint, Alpha Cognition partnered with SAZ Tech Inc. to implement a tailored Zoho CRM solution, replacing the ARM spreadsheet entirely and building a scalable foundation for all future SRF cases.
Problem Statement & Key Challenges
As Alpha Cognition scaled its commercial operations, the limitations of its legacy ARM spreadsheet became increasingly apparent. What once served as a functional tracking tool could no longer keep pace with the complexity of managing a growing network of nursing homes, pharmacies, and healthcare providers across multiple regions.
The absence of a centralized, structured system created significant operational friction — impacting the field team’s ability to manage accounts effectively and leadership’s ability to maintain visibility and accountability at scale.
“So for me, this is another really important aspect of it is I want to be able to go in on a daily basis and see these 27 things have been assigned by the day for, for the day by all of us, And these are the various people that are doing them and then how did we do at doing them? Did get moved to the next day? Did we complete it like just sort of that basic project management stuff I think is really important.”
- Fractured Data: Account, contact, and facility information was scattered across multiple spreadsheet tabs with no single source of truth, making it difficult to maintain accurate records across nursing homes, pharmacies, and HCP contacts.Fractured Data: Account, contact, and facility information was scattered across multiple spreadsheet tabs with no single source of truth, making it difficult to maintain accurate records across nursing homes, pharmacies, and HCP contacts.
- No Centralized Database: There was no structured repository for managing the growing network of pharmacies, nursing homes, and associated contacts, making it nearly impossible to track facility-provider relationships at scale.No Centralized Database: There was no structured repository for managing the growing network of pharmacies, nursing homes, and associated contacts, making it nearly impossible to track facility-provider relationships at scale.
- SRF Stage Tracking: The SRF pipeline could not be reliably tracked or validated within a spreadsheet. There were no stage gates, required field enforcement, or pipeline visibility to ensure cases were progressing correctly.SRF Stage Tracking: The SRF pipeline could not be reliably tracked or validated within a spreadsheet. There were no stage gates, required field enforcement, or pipeline visibility to ensure cases were progressing correctly.
- Time & Task Tracking Gaps: Without an integrated system, there was no reliable way to log time spent on accounts or assign and follow up on tasks tied to specific cases, leading to missed follow-ups and inconsistent customer engagement.Time & Task Tracking Gaps: Without an integrated system, there was no reliable way to log time spent on accounts or assign and follow up on tasks tied to specific cases, leading to missed follow-ups and inconsistent customer engagement.
- Accountability Gaps: With data spread across uncontrolled spreadsheets, there was no clear ownership or audit trail, making it difficult to hold team members accountable for outcomes and progress.Accountability Gaps: With data spread across uncontrolled spreadsheets, there was no clear ownership or audit trail, making it difficult to hold team members accountable for outcomes and progress.
- Reporting Inconsistencies: When rep assignments changed, the ARM spreadsheet had no mechanism to automatically update related fields, resulting in mismatched records and unreliable regional and territory-level reporting. Reporting Inconsistencies: When rep assignments changed, the ARM spreadsheet had no mechanism to automatically update related fields, resulting in mismatched records and unreliable regional and territory-level reporting.
Evaluation of the Problem
SAZ Tech Inc. evaluated Alpha Cognition’s current limitations and desire to scale by breaking down the information stored in the ARM spreadsheet into three core modules that would serve as the foundation of the CRM database.
| Models | Description |
|---|---|
| Accounts Module | Stores all pharmacy and nursing home facility data. |
| Contacts Module | Stores the people associated with those facilities — including providers, pharmacies, and HCPs. |
| SRF (Deals) Module | Stores and manages all Serum Response Factor cases. |
A critical discovery during evaluation was the many-to-many relationship between Contacts and Accounts. In the real world, the same provider or pharmacy rep may be associated with multiple nursing homes within the same zip code or territory and vice versa. This relationship is not natively supported in Zoho CRM.
SAZ Tech Inc. designed a robust workaround: a custom Facility Contact Affiliation module using a synchronized hidden related list, enabling multiple contacts to associate with multiple accounts without compromising data integrity or usability.
Proposed Solution
SAZ Tech Inc. designed and implemented a tailored Zoho CRM environment built around Alpha Cognition’s existing ARM structure, ensuring a smooth transition while introducing the scalability and automation the team needed.
| Component | Details |
|---|---|
| Core Data Model | Established the CRM foundation with Accounts, Contacts, the custom Facility Contact Affiliation module, and a Deals module configured to function as SRF Cases. |
| Accounts Module | Configured to store all facility data with fields properly mapped and validated to mirror the ARM spreadsheet structure. |
| Contacts Module | Set up to represent Providers, Pharmacies, and HCPs with all required fields for accurate field team engagement tracking. |
| Facility Contact Affiliation | Custom-built module enabling many-to-many relationships between providers/pharmacies and nursing homes, with related lists on both Accounts and Contacts. |
| SRF (Deals) Module | Designed as Cases with trio lookups linking Nursing Home, Pharmacy, and HCP. Includes case-specific notes and auto case numbering. |
| Blueprint & Stage Pipeline | Validated SRF pipeline with Blueprint rules enforcing required fields during stage transitions for compliance and data integrity. |
| Reporting Logic & Workflows | Automated field population when Case Status is set; workflow updates relevant fields when Rep Name changes for consistent cross-region reporting. |
| Users, Profiles & Permissions | Internal Zoho CRM users configured for the ARM core team with appropriate profiles and sharing permissions for Phase One. |
| Reporting Framework | Standard Zoho CRM reports implemented by region, classification, territory, and rep — with filtering for leadership visibility and accountability. |
Implementation
The implementation presented notable challenges beyond the technical build. In February 2026, during the data migration phase, users on the Alpha Cognition side struggled to accept the transition away from the legacy spreadsheet and dedicated significant time to fine-tuning the CRM down to the most minute details, reflecting both the team’s high standards and the cultural weight of moving away from a long-standing tool.
- To assist their transition, SAZ conducted multiple training webinars throughout the month with Alpha Cognition team members and provided a library of tutorial videos and training documentation.
Data formatting for the mass import required careful preparation on the customer side. SAZ Tech Inc. provided hands-on guidance throughout this process, ensuring the legacy data across all modules was structured correctly before being brought into the CRM environment. Despite these challenges, the project remained on track, launching on schedule in April 2026.
- Throughout this import process, micro-operational concerns were raised to SAZ Tech Inc. During this import process SAZ optimized Alpha Cognition workflow for tracking SRF cases by adding customized fields and automations.
| Phase | Period |
|---|---|
| Project Outlining & Planning | November 2025 |
| Core Implementation | December 2025 |
| Testing & QA | January 2026 |
| Legacy Data Import | February 2026 |
| Data Cleaning & Refinement | March 2026 |
| Official Organization-wide Launch | April 2026 |
| Reporting Capabilities Rollout | May 2026 |
Results
The result of the engagement was a highly scalable, efficient, and user-friendly Zoho CRM application purpose-built for Alpha Cognition’s commercial operations. The platform now serves as the central system of record for all SRF case tracking, facility-provider relationship management, and field rep reporting.
- Fully validated SRF pipeline with stage enforcement and Blueprint compliance
- Centralized database of pharmacies, nursing homes, and contacts replacing fragmented spreadsheets
- Automated reporting by region, territory, classification, and rep
- Custom many-to-many Account-Contact relationship built and delivered — not available natively in Zoho CRM
- Successful migration of legacy ARM data into a clean, structured CRM environment
