Atlantic Plumbing Supply Enables Sales Team to Win More Business with Canals

Atlantic Plumbing Supply has been in business since 1929. When Michael Ratner and his business partner Joe Marchese took over from their fathers, the company had three locations. Today it has nine branches that serve customers ranging from plumbing and heating contractors, mechanical contractors, and property management firms, to professionals in waterworks, fire protection, and utilities.

Customer service is at the core of Atlantic Plumbing's identity. As Michael puts it, "We go out of our way." That’s a mindset Michael sees shared with Canals. “Our whole thing is our people,” he said. “We are accessible and prioritize customer service. I get the same feeling from you guys.”

The Problem: Half the Day Gone to Typing

For Atlantic Plumbing's inside sales team, manual order entry wasn't just an inconvenience–it was a ceiling on growth. Reps handling large orders had very little time left to pursue additional business or thoroughly manage their accounts.

For a rep spending 50% of his day entering orders, if I could eliminate or even just reduce that workload, that’s potentially 50% more time my rep–who's an excellent salesperson–has to go get more business.

Across nine branches, the cost of manual entry added up. Michael looked at the math this way: if each branch hired an experienced, knowledgeable order-entry person who knew their ERP and catalog inside-and-out, he'd hire them without hesitation–that would mean nine new hires, one for each location.

Even if that were possible, the work of sales order entry is tedious, and humans are naturally inclined to make mistakes when keying in items line by line. It’s exactly the kind of work that, given the right technology, should be automated to give good salespeople more time to do what they do best.

Core Challenges

• Manual order entry consumed too much of the sales day: For reps managing mechanicals and large projects like hospitals, as much as 50% of their day was spent just keying orders into the ERP, with no easy upload or shortcut that people actually used
• No bandwidth to pursue new business: Because reps were so consumed with data entry, they couldn't take on new customers or grow underdeveloped accounts, even when the opportunity was right in front of them
• No visibility into growth opportunities within existing accounts: Reps didn't have time to look at what a customer wasn't buying from them, so wallet share was left on the table
• Errors due to overload: With people stretched thin and having to rush, returns didn't get sent back to vendors, credits got missed, and non-stock items ordered for specific jobs didn't get flagged

From Pilot to Company-Wide in Days

When Michael learned about Canals, he approached it the way Atlantic Plumbing handles any new technology: start with one branch, test it, then roll it out. That plan lasted about a day.

We moved forward on a Wednesday–they were implementing it, and by Friday the team started using it. Within an hour, everybody got it. By Monday, the entire company was using it. It was the most seamless integration that we've ever had–and the support was excellent.

The implementation was the smoothest their team had experienced with any software. The Canals team had the system live quickly, and the product's intuitive design meant reps needed minimal training to get started.

Canals was quick to address any challenges, including a unique complexity that Atlantic 

Plumbing had: When entering orders for pipe into their ERP, it had to be input in "lengths" to avoid mistakes in the warehouse during order preparation, but customers or manufacturers often requested or required orders in feet. Now Canals levels and matches these measurements automatically, saving the team from costly ordering mistakes.

We just love how engaged everybody on the Canals support team was. Every person in that room was asking the right questions. The team was excellent. If they didn't have an answer, or there was something that the platform didn't do, they were gonna find a way to get it done.

Easy Implementation for Quick Adoption

• Seamless setup: Atlantic Plumbing was live in days, across all nine branches, with minimal IT lift
• Fast adoption: The intuitive interface was simple enough that most reps picked it up quickly
• Handles real-world complexity: Canals accommodates Atlantic Plumbing's specific unit-of-measure requirements and ERP setup
• Learns from usage: For repeat customers, the system adapts quickly–often to the point where reps now just quickly review and submit

The Hidden Upsides of Automation

Michael recognized benefits that rarely make the highlight reel: the reduction in costly errors and missed opportunities that come with being too busy.

When a rep is stretched beyond their bandwidth, small things fall through the cracks—a return not sent back to the vendor, a credit not claimed, a non-stock item ordered for a job that doesn't get flagged for follow-up. None of these are malicious. They're the inevitable result of people doing too much with too little time.

With more bandwidth, reps can manage returns properly. They can also review customer purchase history and identify products a customer is buying elsewhere to try to win that spend. That's revenue recovery and new revenue opportunity that was simply left on the table before.

You don't see some of the savings that Canals creates because salespeople can make mistakes, they miss returns. Now they have the time to really dot their i's and cross their t's.

More Time, More Customers, More Sales

Directly measurable business impact showed up quickly and concretely. 

One rep–a high-volume salesperson handling demanding mechanical contractors–is up 52% year over year. Of that growth, Michael attributes 30 percentage points to six new customers the rep added, and 22 points to deeper growth within his existing accounts. Thanks to the rep’s hard work–and the time Canals freed up for him–he was able to grow his commission checks and Atlantic Plumbing’s business.

A second rep is up 37%, with four new customers Michael describes as impossible to have serviced otherwise: 

There's not a chance he would have been able to service them if he didn't have Canals. He just didn't have the time.

Success is contagious. As more sales reps see what they can accomplish with Canals, they’re using the platform more and more. As Michael puts it, “The sales reps using it are happy. They’re making more money. They’re getting bigger bonuses.” What more could a salesperson ask for?

Business Impact

• 52% sales growth for top rep, driven by both new customer acquisition and deeper existing account penetration
• 6 new customers added by one rep alone—accounts he couldn't have taken on without the time saved on order entry
• Reps have time to analyze their books, spot what customers aren't buying from Atlantic Plumbing, and go after that business
• Canals helps sales reps reduce the number of errors made, which in turn helps avoid costly returns
• With more time in the day, reps actually have time to manage the returns that inevitably happen and get the supplier credits for them

Advice for Encouraging AI Adoption

Michael doesn't mince words when talking to his team about order entry automation. When encouraging sales reps to the platform, his advice is simple:

There's no reason for you not to use Canals. It's that easy. And the more you use it, the better it gets.

From a business perspective, his framing is clear: think about what it would cost to hire one experienced, knowledgeable order-entry person at each of your locations. Whatever that number is—multiply it by your branch count. That's what you're spending in opportunity cost right now. Canals costs a fraction of that and gives your salespeople the time back to actually grow the business.