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Manufacturers have perfected lean production but sales is still manual.

While manufacturers have invested heavily in automation on the factory floor, many sales processes still rely on spreadsheets, manual quoting, and disconnected systems. Our latest State of the Industry research reveals the hidden inefficiencies and the opportunity to apply lean thinking to revenue generation. 

Our 2026 research reveals how manual quoting, fragmented data, and slow sales processes are holding manufacturers back. 

> LISTEN TO THE AUDIOBOOK based on our 2026 State of the Industry Research to learn how manufacturers are taking a lean approach to revenue generation. 

Screenshot 2026-03-17 142004

 

Access the audiobook

Key research insights

We undertook state of the industry research to better understand how manufacturers are managing their sales processes and where manual systems are creating inefficiencies.

91%

of New Zealand manufacturing businesses have fewer than 20 employees*

Small teams mean efficiency matters but limited resources often result in manual processes across sales and customer management. 

→ Listen to full insights
* Source

77%

of manufacturers rely on spreadsheets for sales forecasting*

and 79% enter much of their data manually.  Without structured systems, it becomes difficult to forecast revenue, track pipeline performance, or make confident decisions. 

 → Listen to full insights 
 * Source 

86%

of manufacturers have lost deals due to slow or manual quoting*

many manufacturers still rely on complex spreadsheets to calculate pricing and configurations. 

 

 → Listen to full insights 
*Source

Want the full picture?

These insights are just the beginning.

In our short audiobook, we explore:

• Why manual quoting slows manufacturing sales
• How CRM improves sales visibility
• Where automation delivers the biggest gains
• Lessons from working with New Zealand manufacturers

Learn from real-world examples, and discover tools and solutions that will help fix the manufacturing sales process and drive towards leaner revenue.

Listen Now