From admin overload to running the business

Orders came in by email, text message and phone call from a long list of customers. Every one had to be caught, read and recorded by hand.

• Production. Nothing told the bakers exactly what to bake for the next day. Arthur gathered the invoices and tallied every item into a spreadsheet by hand, which took hours.
• Order errors. Mistakes were common. When customers wanted to add, remove or change an item, the messages and calls came in faster than anyone could handle them.
• Cash flow. Every customer was on terms, and the only way to get paid was a statement sent from the accounting software. Cash flow was getting very tight.
• Products and pricing. Adding new products or changing existing ones was hard. Some customers were on the wrong prices without anyone knowing, and there was no way to reward customers buying in volume.
• Ingredients. Without a clear picture of what was being made, ingredient ordering was guesswork. Sometimes they were overstocked; sometimes they ran short and couldn't fill orders.
• Reporting. No easy way to see best-selling products, best customers, which customers needed help, or which products had fallen out of favour.

The admin was a nightmare, and the pressure all landed on Arthur.

• 1Built the catalogue. We gathered every product and its details, and loaded them with quality images to showcase the excellent products Arthur makes.
• 2Brought customers across. We pulled every customer from the accounting software and invited them to the platform. Each customer now sees their own price, a photo of every product, and clear product categories.
• 3Opened up payments. Customers choose how they pay: credit card, direct debit or PayID. Every payment maps to the accounting software and reconciles automatically.
• 4Switched on messaging. Customers message Arthur inside the platform and get a real-time response, instead of chasing him by phone.
• 5Turned on full reporting. Arthur prints production sheets built from each day's orders for next-day delivery: a production run sheet for the bakers, delivery sheets for every order, and invoices when needed.
• 6Automated invoicing. The moment an order is created, the invoice goes to the customer automatically.

• 30+ hours a week back. The hours spent filling in spreadsheets and collating data are gone.
• Order errors eliminated. No more messages and calls to catch and record by hand.
• Closer to customers. Arthur now sees what his customers need and want.
• Better production, better product. The bakers work from an exact run sheet, and both production and product quality improved.
• Tighter stock. Ingredient ordering matches what's being made, so spending is under control.
• Stronger cash flow. Customers pay the way that suits them, and payments reconcile without manual work.

Arthur started working on the business instead of in it. SupplyWise gave him the systems to run the bakery properly, and put him back in control.

Arthur told us that for the first time in many years, he was able to take a holiday and visit his family back home overseas. Before SupplyWise, he had never even considered it.