What was said
What this says
Current to 11 Oct 26Onboarding is moving quickly for Harrowden Foods: three sources reconciled, early users already finding value, and training booked. Gemma Holt's main worry is usage fading after the first fortnight.
What happened: Hamza Akhtar reconciled orders and complaints for the biggest own-label retailer. Orders matched, and complaints were missing because of three spellings of the retailer's name, now fixed with a mapping.
Customer view: Gemma reported an early win and said it was moving quicker than she expected. Her boss asked what has been delivered so far for the fifty thousand, and she accepted that proof comes from people using it.
Watch: Site-level answers stay partial until the second site's spreadsheet loads cleanly. Gemma fears people stop using it after the first fortnight.
Next: A second admin is lined up, account manager and customer service training are planned, and examples of time saved are being logged for the first review.
Themes
Current to 9 Oct 26Who was there
BB-Demo
Them
Follow-up
Next steps
Current to 9 Oct 26- Gemma Holt to send the second admin's email address so Hamza Akhtar can set her up.
- Hamza to write up the two column fixes for the planning team and send the training invites.
- Gemma to keep logging examples of time saved ahead of the first review.
Risks
Current to 9 Oct 26- Usage may fade after the first fortnight once the day job takes over.
- New spelling variants will not match until added to the mapping, so complaints can go missing.
- Site views stay partial until the second site's spreadsheet loads cleanly with the template columns.
Opportunities
Current to 9 Oct 26- A weekly dashboard for the keen account manager gives a reason to return and shows investment in the brain.
- The finance connector can be added a few weeks in, bringing invoices and payment status next to orders.
Transcript
- Hamza Akhtar NoneMorning, Gemma. Can you hear me?
- Gemma Holt NoneMorning! Yes. Sorry, I'm a minute late, I was stuck in a meeting that wouldn't end.
- Hamza Akhtar NoneNo problem at all. I was just getting my notes up.
- Gemma Holt NoneRight, quick win first. One of the customer service team used the brain yesterday to see that a single retailer had been raising the same type of complaint every few weeks. She'd never have spotted that in the helpdesk. She took it straight to the account manager.
- Hamza Akhtar NoneThat's lovely to hear, and it's the sort of thing the brain's good at, joining up what sits in separate systems. So, you've already got people in?
- Gemma Holt NoneJust a few, the ones I trust not to break anything. I wanted to see it before everyone else does.
- Hamza Akhtar NoneSensible. So, status. IT created the service user last week and approved the CRM connection, and the helpdesk connection went in a couple of days after. The first loads have run and the nightly refresh has been running since.
- Gemma Holt NoneYes, he was great in the end. Once he'd read your note he was fine. Said it was the clearest request he'd had.
- Hamza Akhtar NoneGood, I'll take that. Now, the part I care about. The reconciliation. I took the retailer you picked, your biggest own-label account, and compared the order history and the complaints against the source systems. Let me share my screen.
- Gemma Holt NoneGo on, I'm nervous.
- Hamza Akhtar NoneOrders match. Every order I checked is there, with the right values and dates. Complaints, though, we were out by a handful. The brain was missing some.
- Gemma Holt NoneLet me guess. Spellings.
- Hamza Akhtar NoneSpellings. Three versions of the retailer's name in the helpdesk, and only one matched the CRM. So those complaints were sitting there but not attached to the account.
- Gemma Holt NoneI did say. Customer service type whatever's quickest.
- Hamza Akhtar NoneYou did, and you were right, it's exactly what I'd expected. I've built the mapping for this retailer, and now they all attach. I'd like to do the same for the other main retailers with you and the account manager, like we said.
- Gemma Holt NoneYes. I've asked her already. She's free Thursday afternoon.
- Hamza Akhtar NoneThursday afternoon's fine for me. About an hour should do it.
- Gemma Holt NoneCan I ask, is it going to keep happening? New spelling next month, and we're back to missing complaints?
- Hamza Akhtar NoneIt can. When someone types a new variant, it won't match until it's added to the mapping. What I'd suggest is a short list customer service can see of unmatched names, and someone, you or the second admin, adds them. A few minutes a week.
- Gemma Holt NoneOkay, that's fine. And talking of the second admin, I've got one. A colleague in commercial planning, she's very organised.
- Hamza Akhtar NoneBrilliant, thank you. Send me her email address and I'll set her up as an admin, then I'll give you both a short walkthrough of the connectors and the unmatched list.
- Gemma Holt NoneWill do. I'll email after this.
- Hamza Akhtar NoneNow, the order system. It's connected and the load completed on Friday. The numbers lined up for the main system. The spreadsheets from the second site are the open item. Did the planning team get the template?
- Gemma Holt NoneThey did, and they've sent me a first one back. I forwarded it to you yesterday afternoon, I think.
- Hamza Akhtar NoneGot it. Let me open it. Give me a second.
- Hamza Akhtar NoneRight. It's nearly there. Two columns are named differently from the template, and the dates are typed as text in some rows. Easy to fix, but it's why a template matters, because if they change a column the load will fail quietly.
- Gemma Holt NoneQuietly is the worst. Can you tell them what to change? I'd rather it came from you, they'll listen to someone official.
- Hamza Akhtar NoneHa, I can do that. I'll write it up in a few lines and copy you in. Then once they send a clean one I'll connect it as the second connector. That's well inside your eight.
- Gemma Holt NonePerfect. And the site question, the one I was going to find out about. The main order system doesn't carry the site for the later one. So the spreadsheet is the only place.
- Hamza Akhtar NoneOkay, that's helpful. It means by-site answers will only be complete once the spreadsheet's in. Until then, I'd tell people the site view is partial.
- Gemma Holt NoneYes, I'll say that. Honest is better than somebody finding it by themselves.
- Hamza Akhtar NoneAgreed. What did compliance say about free text on tickets?
- Gemma Holt NoneKeep it out for now. They want to look at what's in there first. So no notes, just the structured fields. Category, status, dates, retailer.
- Hamza Akhtar NoneThat's what we've got on at the moment, so nothing to change. When they're ready, tell me and we'll add it.
- Gemma Holt NoneGood. Now, my boss asked me something yesterday and I'd like to be able to answer it. What have we got so far for the fifty thousand?
- Hamza Akhtar NoneFair question. I'm on the build side, so I'll be straight. So far you've got three sources connected and reconciled, a working mapping for your biggest retailer, and a handful of people already using it. The value comes when the account managers and customer service are on it every day, and that's the training.
- Gemma Holt NoneOkay. That's a fair answer. I'll say the proof comes in the first month of people using it.
- Hamza Akhtar NoneI'd say it a bit more carefully, but yes. What helps is your own examples. Keep a note of each time somebody saves time or spots something, like the pattern yesterday. Amara will want those for the first review.
- Gemma Holt NoneI'm already keeping a list in my notes. I'll send it on.
- Hamza Akhtar NonePerfect, thank you. Now, training. I'd like to fix dates. Account managers first. Does Thursday morning work?
- Gemma Holt NoneThursday I've got the mapping session in the afternoon, so morning's good. Eleven again?
- Hamza Akhtar NoneEleven works. Roughly forty minutes, on their own retailers. How many of them will there be?
- Gemma Holt NoneI think all of them. Maybe a dozen. Is that too many for one go?
- Hamza Akhtar NoneNo, a dozen's fine. If everybody's got a question ready, even better. Ask them to bring one real question about a retailer they've got a review with soon.
- Gemma Holt NoneLove it. And customer service? Can we do them the week after? Their lead is out until then.
- Hamza Akhtar NoneNext Tuesday after the account managers works. Same time?
- Gemma Holt NoneLet me look. Yes, they've got a team meeting just before but it's finished by half ten. That's fine.
- Hamza Akhtar NoneGood. Let me put both in the diary and send invites. I'll send the invites to you and you can forward.
- Gemma Holt NonePerfect. Can I ask, what about the dashboards? The account manager who wanted the weekly view has asked me twice already.
- Hamza Akhtar NoneShe's keen. I'd still do it after the training. Now the data's reconciled, I can build her view with her in the session after. Then it's one she owns.
- Gemma Holt NoneTell her that. She'll be thrilled.
- Hamza Akhtar NoneI'll mention it on Thursday. Is there anything else on your list?
- Gemma Holt NoneYes. What about the finance connector? You mentioned the accounting system. Do we need it before people are using it?
- Hamza Akhtar NoneNo. It adds invoices and payment status next to the orders and complaints, which is useful for the account managers, but it's not needed for the first use. I'd add it a few weeks in, once the habit's there.
- Gemma Holt NoneGood. Less to explain at the start.
- Hamza Akhtar NoneAgreed. One more thing from me. The refresh. Overnight loads have been complete by seven each business day since the first load. If someone says the data looks old, check the time shown on the answer first. It states when the data was last refreshed.
- Gemma Holt NoneI'll pass that on. Customer service will love that. They always want to know how old a number is.
- Hamza Akhtar NoneIt's there for exactly that. And if a load ever fails, you'll see it on the connector page, and I'd want to hear about it from you or the second admin straight away.
- Gemma Holt NoneShould I raise a ticket, or email you?
- Hamza Akhtar NoneTicket's better, so it's tracked, and email me as well while we're still in onboarding. After that it's the normal support route.
- Gemma Holt NoneOkay. Good. Hamza, I've got to say, it's moving quicker than I expected. I thought we'd be arguing with IT for a month.
- Hamza Akhtar NoneCredit to you for the introduction. A clear owner for each source makes all the difference.
- Gemma Holt NoneHa, I'll take it. Right, so what do I owe you?
- Hamza Akhtar NoneLet me go through it. From you: the second admin's email today, the invites forwarded to the account managers and customer service, the mapping session on Thursday afternoon, and a nudge to the planning team on the two columns. From me: the note to the planning team, the invites, and a reconciliation summary for you to keep.
- Gemma Holt NoneCould the summary be one page? My boss won't read three.
- Hamza Akhtar NoneOne page. Sources connected, what matched, what didn't and what we fixed, and what's still open.
- Gemma Holt NonePerfect. That I can forward as it is.
- Hamza Akhtar NoneAnything you're worried about? Just so I know.
- Gemma Holt NoneHonestly, only people not using it after the first fortnight. They get excited, then the day job takes over.
- Hamza Akhtar NoneThat's the real risk, and it's the same everywhere. What helps is a reason to come back, like the weekly dashboard, and you sharing examples in the team meeting. Amara will check usage with you at the first review as well.
- Gemma Holt NoneOkay. I'll put it in the Monday meeting as a standing item for the first month.
- Hamza Akhtar NoneThat's a good idea. Right, I think we're done unless you've anything else.
- Gemma Holt NoneNo, that's everything. Thanks, Hamza. It's been really helpful.
- Hamza Akhtar NonePleasure. I'll send the note and invites this afternoon, and I'll see you and the account managers on Thursday.
- Gemma Holt NoneBrilliant. Cheers, Hamza.
- Hamza Akhtar NoneCheers, Gemma. Speak Thursday.