Use Case Document
Salesforce B2B Portal
Relationship Management
Relationship Management
A business use case for a Salesforce-based system enabling non-profit organisations to manage their partner network, record customer initiatives, track grant opportunities, and gain clear visibility of key stakeholder relationships — all in one central place.
Business Requirement — Client Brief
“To create a simple system which allows us to record Business to Business key contact information, customer initiatives, grants, and opportunities. To accommodate large and small-scale organisations — from a County Council with various departments to a small Charity — and to link businesses using a common Relationship Type field.”
Project Overview
This use case captures the business context and requirements for a B2B Portal — a structured relationship management system for a non-profit organisation in the community support and social welfare sector. The organisation works with a wide network of external bodies: local authorities, housing associations, grant-making trusts, corporate sponsors, referral agencies, and peer charities.
Prior to this project, all relationship intelligence existed in fragmented form — across spreadsheets, personal email inboxes, and individual staff knowledge. There was no central record, no consistent classification of partners, no structured way to track initiatives or grants, and no real-time visibility for leadership.
This document defines the business need. It does not prescribe a technical solution — that is the purpose of the Solution Design Document, produced as a separate deliverable once the business need has been agreed and signed off.
Business Problem Statement
Fragmented Data Across Spreadsheets and Emails
Partner information, contact records, grant notes, and initiative details are held in different places by different people. No single source of truth exists and knowledge is lost when staff leave.
Limited Visibility of Partner Relationships
No record of which contacts have been engaged, when, or what was agreed. No way to identify the most influential people in a partner organisation or see the network as a whole.
Difficulty Tracking Customer Initiatives
Partner initiatives are discovered informally and noted in personal emails. There is no programme-level view of what is planned across the network and opportunities are frequently missed.
No Central Grant and Opportunity Tracking
Grant deadlines are missed because no system flags them. There is no shared view of available grants, eligibility criteria, application status, or funding pipeline.
Time-Consuming Manual Reporting
Every report requires manually gathering data from multiple sources. No real-time view of relationship health, initiative pipeline, or funding position exists for leadership.
No Consistent Organisation Classification
No common way to classify and link partners — making it impossible to filter, compare, or segment the network by relationship type or geographic area.
Business Capability Requirements
The following describes what the business needs the system to be able to do — expressed at the business level, independent of any specific technical implementation.
1
Record B2B Key Contact Information
Structured, central records for every external partner — contacts, roles, seniority, decision-making authority, and full interaction history.
2
Record Customer Initiatives
Capture what partner organisations are planning, by timescale (1-3 months, 3-6 months, 6 months+), and whether each is politically or officer led.
3
Track Grants and Opportunities
Full grant lifecycle from identification to award — with timescales, eligibility, application status, deadlines, and linked funder contacts.
4
Accommodate Large and Small Organisations
A County Council with political layers and multiple departments sits alongside a small charity with a single contact — the system must serve both without imposing unnecessary complexity.
5
Link Organisations via Relationship Type
Classify every partner using an agreed Relationship Type — Grant Provider, Housing Organisation, Referral Agent, Local Charity, Public Sector, Sponsor, and others.
6
Map Organisational Structure
For large organisations: record political portfolio holders, responsible officers, departments, and which departments have or should have a relationship with the charity.
7
Record Geographic Intelligence
Capture which communities partner organisations are targeting for support — particularly in Housing, Community, and Waste — and align with the charity’s own areas of operation.
8
Reporting and Real-Time Visibility
Live views of relationship health, initiative pipeline, and grant status for researchers, the fundraising team, and senior leadership — without manual data gathering.
Who Will Use the System
Relationship Researcher
- Builds and maintains all partner organisation records
- Records political structures, officer contacts, and departments
- Logs planned initiatives and geographic priorities
- Keeps contact and interaction history current
Fundraising Manager
- Tracks all grant opportunities from identification to award
- Monitors application deadlines and pipeline status
- Links funder contacts directly to grant records
- Reports on funding secured and pipeline value
Relationship Manager
- Manages key external partnerships on behalf of the charity
- Prepares for meetings using full record and interaction history
- Logs interactions and follows up on agreed actions
CEO / Senior Leadership
- Strategic overview of the full partner network
- Visibility of funding pipeline and year-to-date awards
- Monitors relationship health and active initiatives
Worked Examples
The following illustrates the depth of information the system must capture across different types of partner organisation.
Large Organisation
District or Borough Council
- Political portfolio holders for Housing, Community, Waste
- Responsible officers and their reporting lines
- Which departments engage — and which should
- Named contacts with roles and decision-making authority
- Planned initiatives by timescale and lead type
- Available grants with eligibility and deadlines
- Geographic communities targeted for investment
Small Organisation
Local Charity or Referral Agent
- Organisation name and Relationship Type
- Single key contact with name and contact details
- Brief note on the nature of the referral relationship
- Grants or initiatives added only as they become relevant
- Record stays simple — grows with the relationship
- Same system, same structure, appropriate detail level
Key Information the System Must Capture
| Information Area | What Must Be Captured |
|---|---|
| Organisation Details | Name, relationship type, size, geographic scope, and overall description of the relationship with the charity. |
| Political Structure | Elected members holding portfolio responsibility for relevant areas (Housing, Community, Waste), their contact details, and current priorities. |
| Officer Structure | Responsible officers, their departments, reporting lines, seniority level, and decision-making authority. |
| Departments | Which departments have an active relationship with the charity and which should be targeted for engagement. |
| Contacts | Name, job title, department, responsibility, contact details, seniority, and whether they are a decision-maker. |
| Interaction History | Date, type, and summary of every interaction — calls, meetings, emails — and any follow-up actions agreed. |
| Customer Initiatives | What partner organisations are planning, by timescale (1-3 months, 3-6 months, 6 months+) and lead type (political or officer). |
| Grant Opportunities | Grant name, offering organisation, linked contact, value, eligibility criteria, timescale, application status, and deadline. |
| Other Opportunities | Commercial, referral, or partnership opportunities — nature, linked contact, timescale, and current status. |
| Geographic Locations | Communities and locations the partner is targeting for support, particularly in Housing, Community, and Waste. |
| Relationship Links | Connections between organisations — for example, a grant provider linked to a project it funds. |
Reporting and Visibility Requirements
Relationship Researchers
- All organisations by type and last reviewed date
- Records not updated within a defined period
- Contacts by organisation with last interaction date
- Departments flagged for engagement
Fundraising Manager
- Full grant pipeline by stage and timescale
- Grants with deadlines in next 30 / 60 / 90 days
- Pipeline value vs. awarded funding
- Funder contacts not recently engaged
Senior Leadership
- Network overview by type and geographic area
- Active initiatives by timescale and relevance
- Grant pipeline and year-to-date funding secured
- Relationship health across the partner network
Scope Boundaries
✓ In Scope — This Use Case
- Business problems and stakeholder needs
- Business capability requirements
- User personas and their information needs
- Key information the system must capture
- Reporting and visibility needs by user group
- Worked examples for large and small organisations
✗ Out of Scope — Solution Design Document
- Technical data model and object configuration
- Automation logic and Flow specifications
- Page layouts, record types, and field design
- Security model, profiles, and permissions
- Salesforce edition and licence recommendations
- Data migration from legacy spreadsheets
Recommended Next Steps
1
Stakeholder Validation
Circulate this use case to key stakeholders across relationship management, fundraising, and leadership for review and sign-off.
2
Relationship Type Workshop
Agree the initial Relationship Type picklist values with the team — this is a high-priority input to the Solution Design and must reflect how the organisation thinks about its partner network.
3
Discovery Workshop
Conduct a structured session to validate and prioritise requirements, focusing on the distinctions between large and small organisation records and the grant tracking lifecycle.
4
Solution Design Document
Commission a Solution Design Document translating these business requirements into a detailed technical specification covering data model, automation, page layouts, security, and reporting.
5
Data Assessment and Migration Plan
Review existing relationship data across spreadsheets and email to determine what must be migrated, consolidated, or rebuilt before go-live.
6
Phased Delivery Roadmap
Define a phased plan — starting with core organisation and contact management, then adding initiative and grant tracking, then deploying dashboards and automation.
Full Use Case Document
The complete use case covers the business context, company background, full problem statement, capability requirements, worked examples, reporting needs, scope boundaries, and recommended next steps in full detail.
Download Full Use Case Document