"Customer Zero" is a strategy used by IT and technology companies in which the company itself becomes the "0th customer" (a test monitor) for a new product, AI service, or cloud service before rolling it out to external customers.
Key benefits: faster validation and improvement (using the product in a real working environment surfaces bugs and usability issues early), and more persuasive sales pitches (a proven in-house success story/use case lets you propose to clients with confidence).
With that in mind, the DX team has kicked off an initiative to get our own sales team using D365 Sales more fully.
| Zone | Content | Implementation |
|---|---|---|
| Zone A | Auto-generated Next Actions / detecting stalled deals | Power Automate |
| Zone B | Opportunity velocity monitoring / large-deal alerts | Power Automate |
| Zone C | Customer health management / churn prevention / renewal alerts | Power Automate |
| Zone D | Document flow / chained tasks | Power Automate + BPF |
Custom fields are added from Power Apps using the following steps.
| Step | Task | Details |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Open Power Apps | Go to make.powerapps.com and select the target environment (sandbox) |
| 2 | Select the table | Left menu "Tables" → select "Opportunity" |
| 3 | Add a column | "Columns" tab → click "Add column" |
| 4 | Enter field info | Enter display name, data type, and schema name (cr917_xxxxx), then save |
| 5 | Do the same for Account | Add the corresponding fields to the "Account" table the same way (also create the Initiative ② additional fields using the same steps) |
| 6 | Configure choices | For cr917_customer_type, add a "new choice" with the two options "License-continuation type" and "Project type" |
| 7 | Add to forms | Open the main form for each table, add the new fields, then save and publish |
Note: prefixes like cr917_ vary by environment.
| Field Name | Type | Input Method | Purpose / Description |
|---|---|---|---|
Proposal Sent cr917_proposal_sent |
|||
| Yes/No (Boolean) | Manual (rep) | Checked by the rep when the proposal is sent. Trigger condition for Zone D-1 flow. | |
PO Received cr917_po_received |
|||
| Yes/No (Boolean) | Manual (rep) | Checked when the PO is received. Trigger condition for Zone D-2 flow. | |
Invoice Sent cr917_invoice_sent |
|||
| Yes/No (Boolean) | Manual (rep) | Checked when the invoice is issued. Flow D-3 auto-sets cr917_invoice_date . |
|
Acceptance Confirmed cr917_acceptance_done |
|||
| Yes/No (Boolean) | Manual (rep) | Final completion flag. If left unchecked for 30 days, flow D-4 generates a reminder task. | |
Invoice Date cr917_invoice_date |
|||
| Date and Time | PA auto (D-3) | PA automatically records the date cr917_invoice_sent became Yes. Used as the baseline date for the 30-day acceptance check. |
|
Stage Changed Date cr917_stage_changed_date |
|||
| Date and Time | PA auto (A-4) | PA updates this with the current date/time every time the stage changes. Used for stall-day calculations in flows A-1 and B-1. | |
NDA Status cr917_nda_status |
|||
| Option Set | Manual (rep) | For ① NDA Signing. Three choices: Not Submitted / Under Review / Complete. PA monitors status changes to advance the flow. | |
NDA SharePoint URL cr917_nda_sharepoint_url |
|||
| Text | PA auto | For ① NDA Signing. After signing completes, PA automatically writes in the SharePoint storage URL. | |
WBS Approved cr917_wbs_approved |
|||
| Yes/No (Boolean) | Manual (rep) | For ⑤ Offering. Checked once WBS approval is complete. PA then advances to the order-registration step. | |
Order Registered cr917_order_registered |
|||
| Yes/No (Boolean) | Manual (rep) | For ⑤ Offering. Order-registration completion flag. Checking it generates the flow-completion task. | |
Payment Confirmed cr917_payment_confirmed |
|||
| Yes/No (Boolean) | Manual (rep) | Shared by ④⑥ Renewal/Inspection. Checked after payment is confirmed. If unconfirmed 60 days after invoicing, an alert fires. | |
SP Registered cr917_sp_registered |
|||
| Yes/No (Boolean) | Manual (rep) | For ⑥ Delivery Inspection. Flag for completed SharePoint registration of deliverables. PA checks this as a precondition before triggering invoicing. |
| Field Name | Type | Input Method | Purpose / Description |
|---|---|---|---|
Renewal Date cr917_renewal_date |
|||
| Date | PA auto + manual override | PA auto-sets this to close date + 365 days on a Won close. Rep may optionally adjust it. Baseline date for flows C-3/C-4. | |
Last Activity Date cr917_last_activity_date |
|||
| Date and Time | PA auto (C-6) | PA updates this to the current date/time whenever a completed activity (call, email, visit, CI-J integration) is created. Baseline date for A-2, C-1, C-2. | |
Customer Type cr917_customer_type |
|||
| Option Set | Manual (rep) | 5 choices: License-continuation / Project / Support (spot) / Support (term contract) / Support (time-purchase). 60-day group: License-continuation, Support (term contract). 90-day group: Project, Support (spot), Support (time-purchase). | |
BC Registered cr917_bc_registered |
|||
| Yes/No (Boolean) | Manual (rep) | For ② Partner Contract. Rep records completion of Business Central registration. Interim flag pending full BC integration. | |
Contract SharePoint URL cr917_contract_sharepoint_url |
|||
| Text | PA auto | For ② Partner Contract. After the contract is signed, PA automatically writes in the SharePoint storage URL. | |
PO Number cr917_po_number |
|||
| Text | Manual (rep) | For ③ PO Issuance. Rep enters the PO number when it's received; used for reconciliation at invoicing time. |
source & further reading
dev.to — original article
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