Grocery chain in northern California and southern Oregon boosts customer relationships with custom app

Customer-first priority

One of the highest priorities for North State Grocery is keeping customers happy at both of its chains. When a popular customer service program became a bottleneck for responding to customer requests for new products, the customer service team worked with SkyLite Systems to replace it.

The new solution unlocks customer data from Microsoft SharePoint Online a familiar tool for the staff making it possible for all stakeholder departments to access and update the database from any connected device.

It also helps keep data and alerts moving smoothly, preventing requests from falling through the cracks  all while increasing the value of Office 365 and the company’s Microsoft investment.

“This tool makes managing the customer relationship much easier.
Now we know that nothing is going to fall through the cracks.”
- Lynn Martinusen, Customer Service Manager, North State Grocery

Competitive industry needs

Holiday Market and SAV•MOR Foods, the two formats that comprise the North State Grocery regional grocery retail organization, operate in an extremely margin-sensitive, competitive industry.

With limited square footage and big competitors in the northern California market, it’s critical for these operations to be highly customer focused. That’s why the stores rely heavily on strong customer service to attract and retain loyal customers  in-store, at the point of purchase, via email, and on social media.

One way the stores cater to their customers is by using shelf signage to solicit suggestions for new products.

“You can call us, and we’ll do our best to bring in any item that’s available and feasible for us to carry.
We’ve always received great reviews from customers for working with them to stock products that are important to them.”
- Lynn Martinusen

Growing complexity of customer needs

• Natural and organic products expanding exponentially made it harder to keep up.
• Many new and niche products were emerging, making buyer/vendor selection challenging.
• Small store footprints meant limited shelf space.

“We rely on our customers to tell us what they want to see in our stores.”
-Martinusen

• Customer request program existed for 28 years.
• Managed by a small team of four.
• Used Microsoft Access database.
• Became difficult to:
  1. Respond to requests
  2. Manage follow-ups
  3. Keep buyers, customers, and managers in sync
  4. Prevent requests from being lost

Martinusen:
“It was a huge responsibility… the old system just wasn’t conducive to having everyone work with the program.
Instead, it was a bottleneck.”

Building the new solution

North State worked with SkyLite Systems (Microsoft Partner Network) to design a modern platform.

How it started:

• Began with a simple sketch on paper of requirements.
• Built a custom Microsoft SharePoint Online list form using Power Apps.
• Integrated with an existing customer database in SharePoint.
• Leveraged Microsoft Flow (11 automated flows) for alerts and lifecycle tracking.

Benefits:

• No training needed familiar SharePoint UI.
• Nontechnical staff could build reports and metrics with 20+ list views.
• More than 50 users now collaborate across departments (vs. 4 in old system).

How it works

• All requests stored in SharePoint lists.
• Stakeholders use Power Apps forms to view request details.
• Automated email alerts go to buyers, managers, and customer service.
• SharePoint Quick Edit list view feels like a spreadsheet for updates.
• Deep integration with Outlook and Flow ensures tasks are completed.

Chennault:
“This spreads the workflow and decision making to staff who are directly responsible… eliminating the bottleneck.”

Rollout and adoption

• Built in 10 days → tested by customer service → rolled out to buyers.
• Added quick edit functionality for ease of use.
• Training delivered via manual + video uploaded to SharePoint.
• Now managing nearly 300,000 customer records and 1,200 items, with 50+ new requests weekly.

Results and impact

• Time savings: 15 minutes saved per customer contact.
• No middleman: Store managers can instantly check status or trigger actions.
• Positive customer reviews: Yelp, Facebook, and hotline praise follow-up.
• Better employee adoption: Buyers and managers find it manageable.
• Maximized Office 365 investment: No new software required.

“Power Apps has created a way for us to easily share important information about customer requests
for new products with our stores and senior management staff.”
- Lynn Martinusen

Final takeaway

North State Grocery successfully modernized a 28-year-old customer request program by combining SharePoint, Power Apps, and Microsoft Flow.

The result: Greater efficiency, Stronger customer loyalty, and Higher value from Microsoft 365.