How Cin7 reduced churn by 60% with automated health monitoring at scale

During the pandemic, Cin7 (B2B inventory management SaaS) saw a surge in usage and revenue as e-commerce boomed. However, when online retail activity leveled off, churn spiked unexpectedly. The company found itself facing rising cancellations and slowing new demand simultaneously.

Worst of all, they couldn't immediately pinpoint why formerly stable customers were leaving. "We lacked insight into what was driving the churn and [lacked] a mechanism to intervene," admitted Ryan Ballein, Cin7's global Director of CS.

In other words, Cin7 was flying blind: accounts that looked "green" on their manual spreadsheets ended up churning, catching the team off guard.

The problem: Scale without visibility

Cin7's Customer Success coverage could not keep up with its scale:

Small CS team - Just a dozen CSMs responsible for over 8,500 customers worldwide
Limited coverage - Could only proactively manage the top ~200 accounts
Long tail neglect - Thousands of smaller customers with no regular check-ins
Reactive attention - The "long tail" of accounts received attention only when they raised support issues

This meant many accounts showed warning signs that no one noticed in time:

Declining logins
Uncompleted onboarding steps
Low engagement with emails
Unresolved support tickets

The company also underwent a merger of systems, adding to the data chaos. In short, Cin7 lacked a unified view of customer health; by the time churn became evident in metrics, it had already bitten into ARR.

The impact: Growth stalled

The unexpected churn wave put financial stress on Cin7:

Retention wall - After a period of rapid ARR growth, the company hit a retention wall
Churn above forecasts - Churn climbed above forecasts, eroding net revenue retention
Growth slowed - Growth slowed markedly because new sales were offset by existing customers' revenue contraction
Investor concerns - This "churn crisis" at a pivotal stage risked dampening Cin7's trajectory and could have rattled investors evaluating its unit economics

It underscored that even strong sales can be undermined if a company cannot see and preempt churn risks. For Cin7, the situation was a wake-up call that retention needed to be as much a priority as acquisition.

The solution: Automated health monitoring at scale

Cin7's team responded by adopting a more scalable, tech-driven CS strategy. They implemented automated health monitoring and outreach ("digital customer success" plays) using a platform that could integrate all their customer data.

The system leveraged product usage signals to:

Flag at-risk customers 90 days in advance - Early warning system for accounts showing warning signs
Trigger tailored interventions - Automated "plays" to re-engage users who hadn't logged in
Automated check-ins - Proactive outreach at key milestones
Unified view - All customer data in one platform instead of scattered systems

The transformation

This allowed their small CS staff to cover far more than 200 accounts—"reaching more customers without adding headcount." The shift from manual, reactive management to automated, proactive monitoring transformed Cin7's customer success approach.

The results: 60% churn reduction

The payoff was significant:

60% churn reduction - Cin7 achieved a 60% quarter-over-quarter reduction in churn after these changes
Scalable coverage - Small CS staff could now cover thousands of accounts, not just 200
Proactive approach - Early "plays" to re-engage users who hadn't logged in saved accounts that would previously have quietly churned
Growth back on track - Cin7 got its growth back on track as churn became manageable and predictable

Lessons learned

1. Scale requires automation

A dozen CSMs can't manually manage 8,500 customers. Cin7 learned that automated health monitoring is essential for scaling customer success without adding headcount.

2. The long tail matters

Focusing only on top accounts means thousands of customers are neglected. Cin7's automated approach allowed them to reach the "long tail" of smaller customers with proactive outreach.

3. Early intervention saves accounts

By the time churn is evident in metrics, it's often too late. Cin7's 90-day early warning system allowed them to intervene before customers were ready to cancel.

4. Digital customer success scales

Automated "plays" and check-ins allow small teams to cover thousands of accounts. Cin7 proved that digital customer success can scale without adding headcount.

How modern customer success solves this

If Cin7 had access to modern customer success tools from the start, they could have:

Real-time health scoring at scale - Automated health scores (0-100) updated hourly for all 8,500 customers, not just the top 200
Early warning alerts - Get notified immediately when any account's health score drops or becomes inactive
Unified dashboard - All customer health data in one place, not scattered across systems
AI-powered recommendations - Specific actions for each at-risk account: who to contact, what to say, when to act
Automated outreach - Digital customer success "plays" to re-engage inactive users without manual work

FirstDistro's Customer Insights provides exactly these capabilities. With real-time health scoring (updated hourly), automated alerts for at-risk accounts, and AI-powered recommendations, you can scale customer success to thousands of accounts with a small team—just like Cin7 did.

The bottom line

Cin7's story shows how a SaaS with a fast-growing customer base can hit a wall if it doesn't invest in churn prediction—and how quickly things improve once it does. Churn went from a nasty surprise to a manageable, predictable metric, stabilizing Cin7's financial outlook.

The transformation from manual, reactive management to automated, proactive monitoring allowed Cin7 to scale customer success without adding headcount—and cut churn by 60% in a single quarter.

Get started with Customer Insights to scale customer success and prevent churn at scale, or view documentation to learn more.

Key takeaways

✅ Scale requires automation - A dozen CSMs can't manually manage 8,500 customers

✅ The long tail matters - Automated monitoring allows you to reach all customers, not just top accounts

✅ Early intervention saves accounts - 90-day early warning systems prevent churn before it happens

✅ Digital customer success scales - Automated plays allow small teams to cover thousands of accounts

✅ Results speak for themselves - Cin7 cut churn by 60% quarter-over-quarter with automated health monitoring

Don't wait for a churn crisis. Implement automated health monitoring now.

Frequently Asked Questions

What was Cin7's main problem with customer success?

Cin7's small CS team (just a dozen CSMs) was responsible for over 8,500 customers worldwide. They could only proactively manage the top ~200 accounts, leaving thousands of smaller customers with no regular check-ins. Many accounts showed warning signs that no one noticed in time.

How did Cin7 reduce churn by 60%?

Cin7 implemented automated health monitoring and outreach that flagged at-risk customers 90 days in advance and triggered tailored interventions. This allowed their small CS staff to cover far more than 200 accounts, reaching more customers without adding headcount.

How many customers did Cin7 have?

Cin7 had over 8,500 customers worldwide, but only a dozen CSMs. This meant they could only proactively manage the top ~200 accounts, leaving thousands of smaller customers with no regular check-ins.

What is digital customer success?

Digital customer success uses automated health monitoring, early warning alerts, and automated outreach ("plays") to scale customer success without adding headcount. This allows small CS teams to cover thousands of accounts with proactive, data-driven engagement.

How can I scale customer success without adding headcount?

Implement automated health monitoring with real-time scoring and early warning alerts. FirstDistro's Customer Insights provides automated health scores (updated hourly), at-risk customer alerts, and AI-powered recommendations—so you can cover thousands of accounts with a small team, just like Cin7 did.

What can I learn from Cin7's experience?

Key lessons: (1) Scale requires automation, (2) the long tail matters, (3) early intervention saves accounts, and (4) digital customer success scales. Cin7 cut churn by 60% quarter-over-quarter by moving from manual, reactive management to automated, proactive monitoring.