According to a publication by Salesforce, engine and parts manufacturer Kawasaki Engines generated more than $6.5 million in revenue in the first 90 days following the launch of a new digital commerce portal, exceeding project targets fivefold. The company, which manufactures engines and parts for lawn, landscape, and other commercial and residential equipment, serves customers through a nationwide network comprising original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), distributors, and more than 7,700 independent dealers. The project was led in collaboration with Salesforce consulting and implementation partner ForeFront, an EPAM company, to address the constraints of a legacy LANSA-based ERP system running on AS/400 computers. As part of the initiative, artificial intelligence tools including Claude were integrated alongside Salesforce B2B Commerce, MuleSoft, and Data Cloud platforms, without ripping and replacing the core systems.
The Limitations of the Legacy ERP System and the Need for a Self-Service Portal
For decades, Kawasaki relied on a legacy ERP system based on LANSA and AS/400, which had served the company’s operations well but reached its functional limit. Supporting a distributed network of more than 7,700 dealers became increasingly complex due to inefficient workflows, outdated user experiences, and a lack of integration across disparate systems.
This situation created heavy manual workloads for Kawasaki’s customer care teams, while dealers were frequently required to jump between disconnected systems to sell products. To address these difficulties, the company required a unified, self-service portal that would provide dealers with continuous 24-hour access to order parts, pay invoices, submit warranty claims, and access tools in a single centralized location. The defined objective was to enable dealers to locate parts and place orders in seconds rather than waiting for hours.
Partnering with ForeFront and Integrating AI Tools
To transform the dealer experience, Kawasaki partnered with ForeFront, a Salesforce consulting and implementation partner specializing in enterprise digital transformation, multi-cloud integrations, and industry-specific AI solutions. ForeFront contributed expertise across technology, data, business processes, and organizational change management.
To deliver a continuous, frictionless user experience without inflating project costs, ForeFront utilized AI-enabled tools such as Claude alongside headless capabilities. According to the report, this approach allowed the team to build an Amazon-grade user experience faster and within the pre-established budget.
Rather than adopting a rip-and-replace approach toward the core systems, ForeFront pursued a phased, calculated approach. A critical component of the work was connecting the Salesforce platform to Kawasaki’s legacy AS/400-based ERP system, LANSA. The integration enabled data flow between the platforms, thereby helping eliminate manual bottlenecks created by disconnected systems and outdated batch processes. In parallel, ForeFront provided strategic assistance in establishing a flexible architecture while protecting the core systems the business still relied on.
Unifying Commerce and Data Systems into a Single Architecture
The established architecture integrated Salesforce B2B Commerce, Data Cloud, and MuleSoft, while developing integrations with additional Salesforce products such as Manufacturing Cloud to create a unified commerce and customer service experience. Kawasaki was replatformed onto Salesforce B2B Commerce with an always-on storefront that brought ordering, invoicing, warranty claims, and service tools into a single purchasing experience.
To ensure adoption of the system, ForeFront deployed dedicated teams across three core areas: understanding Kawasaki’s business processes, technical and data expertise, and training alongside change management. Rallying internal stakeholders around immediate improvements—including live inventory checks, faster ordering, self-service invoicing, and ACH clearinghouse payments—built strong momentum among users ahead of go-live.
Tony Gondick, Senior Manager of IT Business Strategy at Kawasaki, noted that the implementation drove a profound transformation in the company’s business, and that the company centralized much of the data onto the Salesforce platform and unified it through MuleSoft.
Measurable Results in the First 90 Days
According to the published figures, the results of the initiative were clearly demonstrated within the portal's first 90 days of operation: • More than $6.5 million in revenue was generated through the B2B Commerce platform, exceeding original targets fivefold (a 5x jump). Christopher Cooke, Vice President of Manufacturing Process at ForeFront, an EPAM company, noted that this surge demonstrated that it is easier for customers to order their products. • The average order value recorded a fivefold increase, rising from a range of approximately $100 to between $450 and $550 per order. • Total spare parts sales reached $25 million, including a 259% increase in single-engine sales. • The portal logged over 1,000 storefront visits per week, with hundreds of unique dealer logins every day. • Round-the-clock (24/7) customer support was enabled without additional headcount, allowing the company to expand service without adding internal roles.
According to the source, the initial data demonstrated month-over-month consistency, indicating ongoing reliability and a stable user experience beyond initial curiosity visits.
Deploying Agentforce and Expanding to Additional Buying Groups
Following the outcomes of the commerce system, Kawasaki and ForeFront are evaluating how the same technology framework can support additional customers, buying groups, and business use cases. In this context, Kawasaki has already deployed an Agentforce-powered Service Agent to address the needs of the dealer community and provide proactive support to the OEM network.
The next phase of the project involves expanding customer adoption further and scaling the unified platform across five distinct buying groups: dealers, OEMs, distributors, resellers, and exporters. Gondick added that with the tighter integration of Agentforce into the platform, many new avenues are opening for utilizing this technology across the enterprise.