Before Salesforce, Bedrock Detroit managed vendor contracts through shared inboxes and sprawling spreadsheets. On the surface, it worked. Behind the scenes, there was no clear way to track progress.
In a conversation with Bedrock CIO Amanda Gibb, she shared how their first Salesforce project, centralizing vendor contract management, became more than a technology fix.
It became a shift in how teams collaborate, track work, and move faster together.
Below are highlights from that webinar.
THE PROBLEM
The Magical Shared Inbox & Blame Game
Before Salesforce, Bedrock managed vendor contracts through shared inboxes and sprawling Excel files. On the surface it seemed manageable — but underneath, there was no clear way to track progress.
- Was a contract waiting for approval?
- When had it last been touched?
- Who was responsible for moving it forward?
The legal team bore the brunt of this. Low-risk, high-volume contracts ate up their time, while higher-value agreements piled up. Spreadsheets became a single point of failure, with version control issues, file corruption, and no reliable audit trail. And when no one could point to the data, speculation took over: operations blamed legal, legal blamed the process, and everyone lost time.
Amanda’s take:
“I remember a time when the file got corrupted, and I thought our legal team was going to have a breakdown.”
“When processes aren’t clear, everyone speculates — ‘Legal takes too long,’ ‘They didn’t send it to the vendor.’ It all turns into a blame game with no data behind it.”
Takeaway: Recognizing spreadsheets as a single point of failure unlocked the urgency to centralize.
The Solution
A CRM for Sanity & User's Favorite Tools
Instead of adding yet another point solution, Bedrock chose Salesforce as the backbone. The decision wasn’t just about contracts — it was about laying a foundation for future processes too.
Amanda stressed the importance of making Salesforce feel seamless for users. By integrating with systems like Yardi, Box, and NTX, employees could keep using the tools they were familiar with — but now everything flowed into Salesforce for visibility and tracking. That meant users didn’t feel forced into a new environment, and leadership gained a single source of truth.
Amanda’s take:
“It feels like one system. We try to hide the fact that we have many systems under the hood.”
“Salesforce wasn’t just about contracts — it was about creating a platform we could use everywhere, instead of stacking on point solutions.”
“The integrations with Yardi and Box were key — people didn’t have to jump around, and that was huge for adoption.”
Takeaway: The solution worked because it combined consolidation with familiarity. Salesforce centralized everything, while integrations preserved the tools users already trusted.
Adoption and Buy-In
If the Boss Still Uses Excel, Why Can't I?
Technology alone doesn’t drive change. Adoption required involving every business unit, especially legal and property management, who had carried the biggest burdens under the old system. Listening sessions gave those teams a chance to voice frustrations and see their feedback reflected in the solution.
But Amanda was clear: nothing mattered more than executive sponsorship. When leadership actually used Salesforce data for decisions — instead of defaulting to spreadsheets — it sent the message that the system wasn’t optional. Bedrock embraced a cultural mantra: “If it’s not in Salesforce, it doesn’t exist.”
Amanda’s take:
“Users want to be heard. They want to know their issues are actually going to be addressed.”
“I’ve rolled out other systems where executives still looked at Excel. From a user perspective, that makes you think — why even bother?”
“There’s always this saying: if it’s not in Salesforce, it doesn’t exist. That has to come from the executive’s mouth.”
Takeaway: Adoption happened because employees felt included, and executives modeled the behavior they wanted to see.
Migrating Without the Mayhem
New Systems Are Scary… Until They’re Not
Data migration was another potential sticking point. Bedrock took a strategic approach:
Historical contracts were left out to avoid bogging down the process.
In-process contracts were migrated into Salesforce so workflows could continue without interruption.
Early-stage requests were re-entered manually by users, doubling as a hands-on training exercise.
Amanda acknowledged that people naturally resist new systems — they worry about breaking something or slowing down their own work. But by breaking migration into logical categories and easing users into re-entry, fear turned into confidence.
Amanda’s take:
“People don’t like new systems. They’re scared they’re going to break it.”
“If you’ve done it once, it’s new. By the twentieth time, it feels solid.”
“Having people re-enter early contracts gave them practice — it was part training, part adoption exercise.”
Takeaway: Migration wasn’t just about moving data — it was about moving people. The process built confidence and gave users a sense of ownership.
Lessons Learned & Next Steps
Beyond the First Win
Amanda’s story captures just one chapter of our work with Bedrock. Since that first Salesforce project, our partnership has expanded into:
Vendor Contract Management — Digitized, auditable, faster.
Property & Job Data Integration — Visibility between Salesforce and Yardi.
Technology Culture Shift — Restoring trust in IT.
Platform Expansion Planning — Planning for a Commercial Leasing CRM.
Each step has built on the last, showing what’s possible when technology and people move forward together.
We’re thankful for the trust Bedrock and our broader commercial real estate partners place in us. Their journey proves that transformation doesn’t come from a single go-live — it comes from steady progress, cultural shifts, and a willingness to tackle tough challenges head-on.
