How HGEM Scaled Globally with Zoho One
How HGEM Scaled Globally with Zoho One
Since 2003, Bath-based HGEM has served as a premier guest experience platform for the hospitality sector, providing actionable data to top-tier brands like Pret a Manger, Wagamama, and Pizza Express. Through their proprietary tech - including 'The Hub' dashboard, 'Halo' AI, and their 'Mystery Dining' portal - they help hospitality venues turn customer feedback into operational success.
However, behind the scenes of their data-driven solutions, HGEM was experiencing internal operational friction.
The Challenge: Overcoming Tool Sprawl
By 2017, HGEM’s internal infrastructure had fractured into disconnected, siloed applications. They relied on Capsule CRM for sales, KashFlow for accountancy, shared inboxes for customer support, and various in-house administration systems.This fragmented setup created massive inefficiencies, manual work, and duplicate records. Managing Director Steven Pike noted that they frequently ended up with conflicting client information split between their CRM and financial records. Seeking a highly configurable database that could unify their data without the exorbitant costs of platforms like Salesforce, Steven turned to Zoho CRM in October 2017.
The Journey: Evolution with an Expert Zoho Partner
As HGEM’s needs evolved, they partnered with 1 Cloud Consultants to unlock deeper ecosystem harmony. As a dedicated Zoho Partner, we guided them step-by-step through their digital transformation roadmap:- 2017 (The Foundation): Implemented Zoho CRM to establish a single source of truth, alongside Zoho Books and Zoho Desk.
- 2019 (The Marketing Boost): Migrated to the Zoho CRM Plus bundle to seamlessly incorporate advanced marketing automation.
- 2025 (The Complete Operating System): Upgraded to Zoho One, rolling out its 45+ business suite to all 50 employees to future-proof company growth and unify their billing.
"The value of a software business like ours lies in being deeply embedded in our clients' workflows - which heavily drove our decision to adopt Zoho One." — Steven Pike, Managing Director at HGEM.
Unpacking the Impact: Departmental Success
Centralised Account Management (Zoho CRM)
Zoho CRM acts as the core engine for HGEM’s everyday operations. Tied directly to their proprietary internal systems, it ensures client records match perfectly across the board. HGEM utilizes custom modules like Success Plans to track quarterly goals for client success managers, and Commission Pools to monitor sales metrics and attrition.Cutting Support Delays in Half (Zoho Desk & SalesIQ)
Transitioning from shared mailboxes to Zoho Desk revolutionized both customer and internal tech support. Backed by Zoho's AI assistant (Zia) and ready-to-use knowledge bases, HGEM halved their ticket resolution times. Furthermore, by embedding a Zoho SalesIQ chatbot on their site, 30% of incoming inquiries are now answered autonomously on the spot.Seamless Financial Reporting & Marketing (Zoho Books & Campaigns)
With Zoho Campaigns linked directly to CRM records, segmenting prospective diners, existing venues, and mystery shoppers is effortless. On the financial side, Zoho Books pushes finalised sales orders directly to billing. Because HGEM belongs to a larger parent group listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, Books provides the rigorous, automated tracking required for high-level compliance reporting.Cutting Edge Innovation (Zoho MCP)
Always eager to innovate, Steven leveraged early access via 1 Cloud Consultants to test Zoho MCP (Model Context Protocol). By pairing it with the Claude Cowork LLM, he built a custom AI agent in minutes to generate complex attrition analysis without writing a single line of code.Looking to the Future
Today, HGEM reports a staggering 50% increase in overall productivity, allowing their teams to refocus on providing world-class hospitality support. Onboarding new hires has become an efficient, one-click process.As an ongoing Zoho Partner, 1 Cloud Consultants continues to work closely with HGEM as they explore unified external portals and self-service billing features.
See the Full Transformation
Want to dive deeper into the metrics, custom modules, and technical setup that drove a 50% productivity boost for HGEM? Read the complete, unabridged story of how we unified their operations from top to bottom.Download the Full Zoho One HGEM Case Study.
