What was said
What this says
Current to 10 Oct 26Four of six depots are now on the brain and Liam Doherty expects to sit at the 15-user soft limit, possibly over. He now wants a finance connector, which Starter cannot hold within its four connectors.
What happened: Marcus Bell and Liam spoke on 26 Apr 2024 after the depot sessions. Active users are up by about a third, no tickets are open, and a second admin has been nominated.
Customer view: Liam wants no depot manager turned away and would rather add a finance connector than swap one out. He says the finance question is now a real one from the depots.
Commercial: both the licence limit and the connector limit point to a plan or add-on conversation. Marcus will give Tom a heads-up on each.
Watch: Liam said a change to the depots' exceptions system looks more likely than not, which could break a source.
Themes
Current to 9 Oct 26Who was there
BB-Demo
Them
Follow-up
Next steps
Current to 9 Oct 26- Marcus Bell to tell Tom that Brackwell are close to their licences and want a finance connector.
- Liam Doherty to send the last two depot names so Marcus can book their sessions.
- Liam Doherty to introduce Marcus to whoever runs the exceptions system change once it is real.
Risks
Current to 9 Oct 26- A change to the depots' exceptions system could break a connected source if reconnection is not planned.
- Being refused logins for waiting depot managers would damage the rollout momentum.
Opportunities
Current to 9 Oct 26- Users at or just over the 15-user soft limit support a plan or extra-users conversation.
- A finance connector beyond Starter's four connectors points to a bigger plan or a connector add-on.
Transcript
- Liam Doherty NoneMarcus! Can you hear me? I think I'm on mute and then not on mute.
- Marcus Bell NoneI can hear you fine. Afternoon, Liam. Happy Friday.
- Liam Doherty NoneHappy Friday. Honestly, I've been looking forward to this one all week, mainly because it means I get to say what went well for once. Normally I'm ringing you with problems.
- Marcus Bell NoneYou've never rung me with problems, you've rung me with a list. Which I like. Okay, shall I share my screen and tell you what I want to cover? It's a short one.
- Liam Doherty NoneGo for it.
- Marcus Bell NoneRight, so it's an informal check-in, since we only spoke properly a few weeks ago. I've pulled the numbers again because the depot sessions have happened since, and I wanted to see whether they'd made a difference. Three things: usage, how the depots are getting on, and whatever's on your mind.
- Liam Doherty NoneSounds good. I've got a few things on my mind, as you'd expect.
- Marcus Bell NoneOf course you have. Usage first. Since the last review, active users are up by about a third. It's not a huge jump in raw numbers, but it comes on top of an already big rise, so it's not a blip.
- Liam Doherty NoneOkay, that's good. That'll be the depot lot. The sessions went down really well, actually. I wasn't sure they would. Two of the account managers messaged me afterwards, which never happens. One of them said it was the first time he'd seen the whole of a customer on one page.
- Marcus Bell NoneThat's the line, isn't it. One view.
- Liam Doherty NoneOne view, that's the point. Exactly. He's been doing this job for years and he'd been flipping between three different screens to get the same picture.
- Marcus Bell NoneI saw the logins from the depot sessions. A couple of them have come back more than once in the days since, which is the sign I look for. Not a one-off look, a second and third visit.
- Liam Doherty NoneYeah. And I think now they're asking each other, which helps. It's not just me telling them to use it.
- Marcus Bell NoneThat's the best way for it to spread. Okay, health. Still no tickets, nothing urgent, nothing raised since the last call. The data's been landing on time and the records indexed are still going up, so nothing looks stuck.
- Liam Doherty NoneGood. That's what I'd have said. I haven't heard a peep from anyone about it being out of date.
- Marcus Bell NoneAnd, before I forget, thank you for the note you sent on the setup. I read it properly. It's a really clear handover document, the saved pages, the way you've grouped the accounts. If you ever got hit by a bus, I'd know where everything was.
- Liam Doherty NoneDoing things properly, that's all. And I nominated one of my analysts as the second admin, like we talked about. She's been through the walkthrough with me.
- Marcus Bell NoneI saw that, she's set up. That makes me a lot happier. Two people who can change things means it isn't fragile.
- Liam Doherty NoneRight. So can I bring up the thing I actually wanted to ask about?
- Marcus Bell NonePlease do.
- Liam Doherty NoneWe've got six depots, and four of them are properly on it now. The last two, the smaller ones, are asking. Which is a nice problem. I've got fifteen licences, and by my count I'm going to use most of them by the end of next month. What happens when I go over?
- Marcus Bell NoneFifteen is what we call a soft limit, so you won't be locked out the moment you hit it. But I do want to be straight with you. If you're consistently above it, that's a conversation about the right plan or about adding users, and that conversation sits with Tom, your account owner, not me. I don't want to guess at the terms and get it wrong.
- Liam Doherty NoneFine, that's fair. I'm not asking for a quote, I just don't want to be caught out. And I don't want to have to tell a depot manager that they can't have a login.
- Marcus Bell NoneUnderstood. How many do you think you'd actually have, roughly? Not exactly, just a feel.
- Liam Doherty NoneRight at the limit, to be honest. Maybe one or two over if finance finally come on board. I'd say at the limit.
- Marcus Bell NoneOkay. Then what I'll do is flag it to Tom as a heads-up, not a sales thing. Something like, Brackwell are close to their licences, they're keen, they've got a few more people waiting. Then he can come to you with options when it suits you. How does that sound?
- Liam Doherty NonePerfect. I'd rather he hears it from you than me chasing him.
- Marcus Bell NoneDone. Is there anything you'd want him to know that isn't about licences?
- Liam Doherty NoneSame thing as last time, the finance connection. It's still a nice to have. But since the depots have taken to it, the question I keep getting is, which retailers are costing us money. The delivery exceptions show me which ones are noisy, but not whether they're worth the noise.
- Marcus Bell NoneRight. And that's a connector question, because you've got four connected and that's the hard limit on Starter. So adding finance would mean a different arrangement, either a bigger plan or an add-on for more connectors. Again, that's for Tom, and I'll make sure he knows it's growing from a wish into something your depots are actually asking for.
- Liam Doherty NoneYeah. Say it's a real question now, not a wish. That's fair.
- Marcus Bell NoneWill do. Anything you could swap out for it, out of the four you've got? I'm only asking so I can give him the full picture.
- Liam Doherty NoneNo. We use all four. Email's the quietest one, but that's where a lot of the retailer chasing sits, so I wouldn't give it up. I'd rather add than swap.
- Marcus Bell NoneOkay, that's clear. Add, not swap.
- Liam Doherty NoneCan I ask something slightly different? How do other companies get the whole business using it? I feel like we've got the account managers, but the planners and the warehouse side have never looked at it. Do they even need it?
- Marcus Bell NoneGood question. I'd be careful, honestly. I wouldn't push it onto everyone just to hit a number. The customers who get most out of it tend to start with the people who talk to the customer, which is your account managers, and then pull in other teams only when those teams have a question the brain can answer. Do the planners have a question like that?
- Liam Doherty NoneHmm. Maybe. They always want to know which retailers are about to have a spike. Which is partly a calls question, because the retailer sometimes tells the account manager in advance.
- Marcus Bell NoneThat sounds like a real one. If the account managers log what the retailer says on a call, the planners could ask the brain instead of ringing round. That's worth a conversation, but I'd start small. One planner, one question, see if it sticks.
- Liam Doherty NoneI like that. I'll find a planner who isn't allergic to software.
- Marcus Bell NoneHa. Good luck. Let me know who, and I'll sit with them for a short while, like the depot sessions.
- Liam Doherty NoneWill do. Oh, and while I remember, the depots' exceptions system change I mentioned. It's still not decided, but it's looking more likely than not. Probably not for a few months, but I wanted you to hear it from me early like I said.
- Marcus Bell NoneThank you, that's exactly what I asked for, I appreciate it. When it gets nearer, let's get a thirty minute call with whoever's running it in IT, so we know what the new system looks like and what we need to reconnect. I won't promise a turnaround on the engineering side, but if we plan together there shouldn't be any nasty surprise.
- Liam Doherty NoneBrilliant. I'll introduce you when I know who's running it. Probably a colleague in IT, I'd guess, not a project manager.
- Marcus Bell NoneEither's fine. Okay. Is there anything about the product itself that's annoying you? Something small, even. I'd rather hear the small stuff.
- Liam Doherty NoneSmall stuff. Let me think. The search is great. Sometimes when I search for a retailer by a short name, it brings back the wrong one with a similar name. That's all. It's not a big deal.
- Marcus Bell NoneCan you give me an example I can take away? Doesn't need to be the real one, just the shape. Is it that the short name matches too many accounts?
- Liam Doherty NoneYeah, that's it. A couple of our retailers have names that start the same. If I type the first word, it gives me both and the wrong one first.
- Marcus Bell NoneOkay, I understand. I'll write it up properly and pass it on. I can't tell you when or whether it changes, I don't want to promise something I don't control. In the meantime, if you type the longer name, or use the filter by account owner, you should get the right one at the top.
- Liam Doherty NoneThat's fine, I'll tell the depots. Workaround's good enough.
- Marcus Bell NoneRight. I think I've got what I need. Let me recap, so we don't both lose it. One, I'll give Tom a heads-up that you're close to your fifteen licences and have a couple of people waiting. Two, I'll tell him the finance connector idea is now something your depots are asking for. Three, you'll find a planner to try one question. Four, you'll introduce me to whoever runs the exceptions system change when it's real. And five, I'll write up the search name issue.
- Liam Doherty NoneThat's all of it. And I'll send you the last two depot names so you can book their sessions.
- Marcus Bell NoneOh, yes, thanks. Send them over and I'll put them in the diary. Shall we aim for the next couple of weeks?
- Liam Doherty NoneNext week would be better, they're both quieter then. I'll message you Monday.
- Marcus Bell NonePerfect. Thanks, Liam. It's been a pleasure seeing it take off.
- Liam Doherty NoneCheers, Marcus. Enjoy your weekend. Speak soon.
- Marcus Bell NoneYou too. Speak soon, bye.