What was said
What this says
Current to 11 Oct 26Kickoff on 3 Apr 2025 for the Growth subscription. Priorities are CRM, helpdesk and call recorder, with Snowflake access the likely bottleneck. Pieter wants a measurable answer on what the brain is worth before renewal.
What happened: Natalie Eze and Laura Penhaligon agreed connector order (CRM, helpdesk, call recorder) with Pieter van Dam and Bas Vermeulen. Bas committed to a CRM field list and helpdesk label mapping by the end of the following week.
Customer view: Pieter wants names and dates, and wants a first wave of account managers rather than forty users at once. He needs to answer to his director on value.
Commercial: Natalie set out Growth at £44,000 a year, term to 31 Mar 2026, renewal on 1 Apr 2026. A value measure was agreed: weekly questions asked and shippers where an exception was caught earlier.
Watch: Network access sits with IT and may take longer.
Themes
Current to 9 Oct 26Who was there
BB-Demo
Them
Follow-up
Next steps
Current to 9 Oct 26- Laura Penhaligon to send Bas Vermeulen a one-page Snowflake access note today or the next morning.
- Bas Vermeulen to deliver the CRM field list and helpdesk label mapping by the end of the following week.
- Pieter van Dam to nudge IT if access stalls and send Natalie Eze the names of two early users.
Risks
Current to 9 Oct 26- Snowflake network access depends on a colleague in IT and could delay first data.
- Pieter must show his director what the brain is worth before the 1 Apr 2026 renewal.
Opportunities
Current to 9 Oct 26- A phased rollout from account managers to the exceptions desk and later planners could widen use towards the 40 licensed users.
Transcript
- Natalie Eze NoneHello everyone, can you hear me? Pieter, Bas, good afternoon.
- Pieter van Dam NoneGood afternoon, Natalie. Yes, I hear you. Bas is just joining, I see him in the lobby.
- Bas Vermeulen NoneHi, sorry, I was in another meeting that overran. Can you hear me okay?
- Laura Penhaligon NoneLoud and clear, Bas. Hi, I'm Laura, I'm the implementation consultant, we haven't met yet. Looking forward to getting into the detail with you.
- Bas Vermeulen NoneNice to meet you, Laura.
- Natalie Eze NoneSo, quick framing. Brakkevoort's contract started on 1 Apr 2025, so we're two days in, and today is about turning the order form into a plan. Who does what, which sources go first, and what good looks like in the first few weeks. Laura will lead the technical side, and I'll stay with you after go-live for the reviews.
- Pieter van Dam NoneGood. Before we start, to be clear, what is the outcome of this hour? I want a list with names and dates, not a general discussion.
- Natalie Eze NoneThat's exactly what we'll leave with. A list of connectors in order, an owner for each, and the first actions for this week.
- Laura Penhaligon NoneSo I'll start with the sources, if that's alright. From the order form you want the CRM, the helpdesk and the call recorder, in that sort of priority. Does that still match what you're thinking, Pieter?
- Pieter van Dam NoneYes. The CRM first, because every shipper account lives there. Then the helpdesk, because the exception tickets are what the account managers miss. The call recorder third.
- Laura Penhaligon NoneGood. Bas, you know these systems best, so tell me about the CRM. Anything unusual? Custom fields, lots of old records, anything somebody's bolted on over the years?
- Bas Vermeulen NoneYes, quite a bit of custom. The shipper object has fields we added for contract type and the port terminal. Some are not used any more, but nobody removed them. And there are duplicate shippers, same company with two names. I know about it, I just have not cleaned it.
- Laura Penhaligon NoneThat's very normal, honestly. We don't need it clean to connect. What I'd like is for you to flag the fields that matter and the ones to ignore, and we can deal with duplicates once you can see them in the brain.
- Bas Vermeulen NoneOkay. So I make a list of fields. Is a spreadsheet fine?
- Laura Penhaligon NoneA spreadsheet is perfect. Just three columns: the field, what it means, and whether the account managers use it. Could you manage that by the end of next week?
- Bas Vermeulen NoneYes, I think so. If the CRM export is easy. I can do it by the end of next week.
- Pieter van Dam NoneBas, I want this written down as a commitment. End of next week, field list to Laura. Natalie, please note it.
- Natalie Eze NoneNoted, and I'll put it in the plan we send round afterwards, with your name against it, Bas.
- Laura Penhaligon NoneRight, access next. The brain is built and run inside your Snowflake account, so I'll need someone who can create a space for us there and grant the right roles. Bas, is that you, or does it sit with somebody else in IT?
- Bas Vermeulen NoneIt is me for the data side, but the security settings are with a colleague in IT. I can ask. I think the role creation is quick, but for the network access it may take longer.
- Pieter van Dam NoneWhat is the plan on that? If IT is the bottleneck, I want to know today. I can speak to the head of IT myself.
- Laura Penhaligon NoneThat would help, actually. I'll send Bas a short note of exactly what's needed, one page, so IT can say yes or no without a meeting. Then Pieter, if it gets stuck, you've got something concrete to push on.
- Pieter van Dam NoneYes. Send that note. Let's make it concrete.
- Laura Penhaligon NoneWill do, today or first thing tomorrow.
- Natalie Eze NoneWhile Laura writes that, can I ask about people? The order form covers up to 40 licensed users. Pieter, who do you picture being in the first wave?
- Pieter van Dam NoneThe account managers, first. All of them. Then the people on the exceptions desk. Planners later, only if it works. I do not want forty people logging in the first week and nobody knowing what to ask.
- Natalie Eze NoneThat's sensible, and honestly it's what tends to work. A smaller group who really use it, then widen. Do you want to nominate a couple of people to be the early voices, who'll tell us what's confusing?
- Pieter van Dam NoneYes. I have two account managers in mind, one who is very sceptical, one who likes tools. I want both. I will confirm their names to you.
- Natalie Eze NoneA sceptic's a gift, to be honest. Better to hear it in week two than at the review.
- Pieter van Dam NoneExactly my thinking.
- Bas Vermeulen NoneCan I ask something about the helpdesk? The exception tickets are tagged in a way that changed halfway through last year. Old tickets use one label, new ones use another. Will the brain understand both?
- Laura Penhaligon NoneGood thing to raise now. It will read both, but it won't know they mean the same thing unless we tell it. So, same as the CRM, add a line to your spreadsheet: old label, new label, and I'll map them when we configure the helpdesk connection.
- Bas Vermeulen NoneOkay, I can do that. It's only a handful of labels.
- Pieter van Dam NoneAnd the call recorder? Same story, I expect. Calls are not tagged to shippers cleanly.
- Laura Penhaligon NoneUsually it's matched by attendee email or company name, so it depends how consistent your account managers are with invites. We'll see once it's loaded. I wouldn't try to fix it in advance.
- Pieter van Dam NoneThen we see it first, fix after. Fine.
- Natalie Eze NoneLet me go through the contract basics quickly, so nobody's surprised later. Subscription is Growth, £44,000 a year, starting 1 Apr 2025, and the term runs to 31 Mar 2026, with the renewal falling on 1 Apr 2026. I'll be in touch well before that, but I mention it now so it's on the table from day one.
- Pieter van Dam NoneUnderstood. Forty-four thousand a year, one year. I will remember that we have a review before renewal.
- Natalie Eze NoneYes, and we'll do the regular reviews in between, so the renewal isn't a surprise to either of us. Our aim is that by then you've got a clear answer on what the brain is worth to the account managers.
- Pieter van Dam NoneGood. That is the right way to say it. What is it worth? I will need to answer that to my director.
- Natalie Eze NoneThen let's pick a measure now. Something simple you can show him. Questions asked by the account managers each week, maybe, and one or two shippers where you caught an exception earlier than before.
- Pieter van Dam NoneYes. The shippers example is the best one. I will keep a list myself, from the weekly review.
- Laura Penhaligon NoneLovely. Let me recap the actions then, and shout if I've got something wrong. Bas: field list for the CRM and the helpdesk label mapping, end of next week. Me: one-page note on Snowflake access to Bas, today or tomorrow morning. Pieter: nudge IT if access is stuck, and send Natalie the names of the two early users.
- Pieter van Dam NoneCorrect. And you, Laura, what is the first date I can see data in the brain?
- Laura Penhaligon NoneOnce access is in place, the CRM is first, and I'd want to show you something real inside a couple of weeks. I'll put the dates in the written plan so you can hold me to them.
- Pieter van Dam NoneGood. Then I have nothing else. Bas?
- Bas Vermeulen NoneNo, I'm clear. Thanks, Laura, this helped.
- Natalie Eze NoneGreat. Plan goes out this afternoon. Thanks everyone, speak soon.
- Pieter van Dam NoneThank you. Groet.