Salesforce Will Retire the Original Territory Management Module

Salesforce is constantly rolling out releases. At least three times a year (Spring, Summer, Winter), the company rolls out a free update that includes new features, enhancements, bug fixes, and of course, retirements. Some organizations out there like the old way of doing things, but at Salesforce, they are continually looking to improve on what they have built. This means from time to time, they must retire old functionality to bring forth the latest and greatest. With the Salesforce Spring ’21 release right around the corner, another retirement is upon us. Currently targeted for June 2021, Salesforce is planning to retire the original Territory Management module.

What is the original Territory Management module?

This tool from Salesforce lets organizations grant users access to accounts based on criteria such as postal code, industry, or any other standard or custom field you wish. This made it possible to extend access to Accounts and other related objects like Opportunities.

Why is Salesforce retiring the original Territory Management module?

Not a new tool by any means, but Salesforce basically replaced the original Territory Management module with Enterprise Territory Management many years ago. This replacement extends the functionality of the original Territory Management module, improving the user experience. Salesforce said, “[They’re] focusing [their] developmental efforts on the Enterprise Territory Management functionality to improve performance and efficiency.”

How will my organization be impacted?

All users with a territory have the possibility of being impacted in their access control, visibility, and functionality. Users will no longer have access to the original Territory Management data via UI or API. All territory sharing groups will no longer be available also.

How do I mitigate my risk of being affected by this change?

If you are not currently using the original Territory Management module, you have nothing to worry about.

However, if you are, then there are some steps you should take to mitigate your risk. You should migrate all users to the Enterprise Territory Management Module. You should also export your Share records for Accounts, Opportunities, Contact, and Cases generated through territory rule execution. This will give your organization access to the model once the retirement goes into place. Also, if you are using Customizable Forecasting, which was retired last Summer 2020, you should switch over to Collaborative Forecasts.

What is Enterprise Territory Management?

Enterprise Territory Management covers all the major functionality of original Territory Management and includes additional functionality. This tool offers a way to manage and maintain your company’s sales territories. Enterprise Territory Management builds on the original Territory Management feature by introducing territory types, territory models, and territory model states. This provides the ability to create and preview multiple territory structures and strategies before you fully go live so you can find the one that best fits your organization’s needs. It also comes with the ability to build custom reports to help you organize your territory model for optimum coverage, assess territory effectiveness, and modify your mode. Your team can also use chatter to collaborate back and forth by building and deploying your territory model.

You can find a complete comparison of the original Territory Management and Enterprise Territory Management here.

If you are interested in learning more about the retirement, be sure to reach out to Sikich or check out this article from Salesforce.