Everyday operations

What gets in the way

In a business that makes, sells and delivers products, the day usually runs on a few spreadsheets, a busy inbox and the people who know how it all fits together. That works while the business is small. As orders grow, the same details are typed in two or three places, the delivery plan is rebuilt by hand, and “where is this order?” means asking around.

Off-the-shelf tools tend to handle one piece well, such as orders or stock, but not the way you actually deliver: your own van for some orders, a courier for others, a customer collecting from the shop. Software shaped around how the work really happens is what closes that gap.

The cost is rarely one big failure. It is steady lost time, the odd order that slips, and an owner who cannot step away because they are the one who knows.

Typical examples

• Bringing orders from your website, shop and phone into one list of what needs making and sending.
• Building delivery schedules and driver manifests without starting from a blank sheet each day.
• Keeping stock counts and what has been promised to customers in step.
• Recording returns and aftersales issues, so nothing depends on someone remembering a conversation.
• Giving the office one place to see where every order stands.

At a Kent mattress maker selling online and in store, the first stage replaced manual manifests and delivery schedules. It went from signed contract to live in about six weeks, and the office uses it every day. The second phase, now under way, follows the work further into aftersales.

What a good result looks like

A good result is quiet. The plan for the day is ready when the office opens, a customer asking about an order gets an answer in one look, and the owner can be away for a week without the day stopping.

It is built with the people who use it every day, because they are the ones who will notice if it does not fit.

How a first stage works

I start on site, with the people doing the work. We follow an order from enquiry to doorstep, see where it gets stuck and agree what would make a useful first stage. That is usually one clear piece of the day, not the whole business.

Each stage has a fixed price, agreed before work starts. First stages usually cost £5,000 to £10,000 and are scoped to go live in weeks, not months. You keep the tools you already use. The aim is to join them up and stop the retyping, not to replace them.

Once the software is running, a monthly support fee covers fixes, small changes and someone who knows the system. New features are priced as their own stage. I’m based in the South East and work on site across the UK.