Pathful, an education technology company, operates in a segment called Career and Technical Education (CTE). The focus is on career discovery, “what you want to be when you grow up,” and connecting students with working industry professionals so they can better understand their career options and define their career goals.
Pathful is the result of merging two businesses — Virtual Job Shadow and Nepris — acquired by private equity firm PSG at the end of 2021. Over the past 18 months, the merged company’s strategic and tactical focus has been rationalizing operations.
The newly created organization benefited from the pooled resources and expertise of the two companies but also faced a complex environment with two platforms, two sets of data and data processes, and diverse operating methodologies. To navigate this environment and streamline systems effectively, Pathful sought assistance from Boomi partner Plative — a top-tier Salesforce and NetSuite consultancy. In this blog, we’ll dig into some of the challenges Pathful overcame with the help of Plative.
Merging Systems Carefully — On an Aggressive Deadline
Navy SEALs often say, “Slow is smooth; smooth is fast.” This could easily have been applied to managing the Pathful merger, which propelled Pathful into rapid growth. The company needed to integrate systems and data quickly. In fact, the board had levied a 12-month deadline. But everything also had to work from Day One.
CFO Ed Rayner and Mark Fry, SVP of Operations, focused on integrating systems, ensuring operational coherence, and launching a new brand and go-to-market (GTM) strategy. Streamlining data and harmonizing sales and revenue operations were top of the list.
What Systems Would Best Support the Merger?
It was clear from the start that some systems would be retired and others upgraded with different software platforms. This required careful planning to solve the complexities of merging account systems and standardizing processes that had differed across the separate organizations
Past experience with Salesforce and Oracle NetSuite led Pathful to select these platforms for their CRM, ERP, and cost, price, and quote (CPQ) needs. Salesforce CPQ and Sales Cloud optimized lead-to-cash processes, while Oracle NetSuite facilitated advanced financial and revenue management.
The Boomi Enterprise Platform Ensures Synchronization Across Operations
The Boomi Enterprise Platform made sure Salesforce and NetSuite were synchronized across operations, creating a holistic view of customer engagements. Boomi was also a future-focused choice for Pathful because of its flexibility and ability to easily accommodate other systems as they were added to the digital ecosystem.
“With Boomi, we don’t need to get “under the hood” to code things,” explains Rayner. “That makes it easier on our team to make adjustments and keep things rolling.”
And Pathful could handle simple tasks like adding a product in Salesforce and mapping it to NetSuite on its own in 5 or 10 minutes.
Leveraging the Power of Data
With Salesforce and NetSuite working together, finance and operations teams have shifted from manual reporting to making strategic decisions based on accurate data insights.
“What we’ve achieved allows us to focus on exploring growth opportunities, not just fixing issues,” notes Fry.
Pathful’s use of innovative technology and strategic partnerships with a focus on data-driven insights has fueled its business operations, ultimately helping the organization enhance educational offerings and widen its impact on students’ futures.
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