To determine the cause of opportunities taking longer to close, the sales management team should use tools that provide insights into stages of the sales process and factors that might be causing delays. A report on the discount approval time for quotes can reveal whether waiting for discount approvals is lengthening the sales cycle. A dashboard of opportunity stage duration helps identify which stages are taking longer than usual, providing a granular view of where the delays are occurring. These tools together would give a comprehensive view of where and why the delays are happening, aiding the team in troubleshooting and streamlining processes.

Salesforce Console for Sales is designed to enhance productivity for inside sales teams. One of the key features is the ability to view caller ID on the screen and make calls quickly with one click, which directly supports sales activities and efficiency. Moreover, adding notes quickly while talking to a client is crucial for documenting interactions and keeping records up-to-date without disrupting the conversation. These functionalities align well with the core objective of improving sales productivity, making them the appropriate use cases for recommending Salesforce Console for Sales.

When Advanced Currency Management is enabled in Salesforce, the converted amount for reports that span time periods with different exchange rates is based on the historical exchange rate associated with the close date of the transaction. This ensures that the conversion is accurate for the particular time frame in which the transactions were closed.

To launch a web-based credit application from a Salesforce account record and pass the credit ID, the most suitable solution is to create a formula field that uses the HYPERLINK function. This allows users to click a link directly on the Account page, which will open the external web application and pass the necessary credit ID as a parameter in the URL. This approach is straightforward and does not require complex coding or triggers, making it efficient and easy to implement.

To meet the requirement of the Universal Containers sales team wanting to easily see customer purchasing activity on the account, contact, and contract detail pages, enabling the Orders object in Salesforce is the most appropriate solution. The Orders object is specifically designed to track customer purchases and can be linked to accounts, contacts, and contracts, thereby providing a comprehensive view of purchasing activities directly within the Salesforce Sales Cloud.