Merriott Lyle Distribution / BB-Demo – Onboarding
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Merriott Lyle Distribution: documents · 2025-05-01 10:45
Onboarding session with Deepa Chauhan and Tariq Saleem. Six or seven owned actions were agreed, led by the branch-to-CRM match table. Deepa wants usage evidence to justify the £116k a year to finance.
What was said
What this says
Current to 11 Oct 26Onboarding session with Deepa Chauhan and Tariq Saleem. Six or seven owned actions were agreed, led by the branch-to-CRM match table. Deepa wants usage evidence to justify the £116k a year to finance.
What happened: Laura Penhaligon, Deepa Chauhan and Tariq Saleem agreed the order CRM, branch system, accounting system, then helpdesk, call recorder and email. Tariq builds the match table and Deepa signs off the same-account rule with credit control.
Customer view: Deepa worries about the first weeks, when one wrong-looking answer could sink trust. She said it was clearer than an hour ago, and that it is six or seven small jobs with names against them.
Commercial: Finance will ask what they get for the £116k a year. Deepa wants the answer to be something people have used. About twenty pilot users are keen against seats for two hundred.
Watch: Rollout is by team, not region, and waits for branch orders. Security questionnaire is about half done.
Themes
Current to 9 Oct 26Theme
Onboarding matching and rollout
Importance
renewal
Sentiment
positive
Voice
decision-maker
Who was there
BB-Demo
CRMmade from
Them
CRMmade from
Follow-up
Next steps
Current to 9 Oct 26- Tariq Saleem runs the unmatched code count and builds the match table, reviewed with Laura Penhaligon.
- Deepa Chauhan books the account-data review with credit control and decides account owner precedence by the end of next week.
- Laura Penhaligon sends the finance note, SSO and SCIM notes and a Friday one-page status.
Risks
Current to 9 Oct 26- Finance will test the annual cost against usage, so a value case is needed.
- Early answers that disagree with the branch system could cost the brain its credibility.
- Branch-to-CRM account matching is unsized and the unmatched count is not yet known.
Opportunities
Current to 9 Oct 26- Pilot of about twenty users is keen to widen, leaving room under the two hundred seat ceiling.
- Staged rollout to key-account managers, credit control and branch managers builds adoption.
Transcript
Laura Penhaligon NoneHello, can you both hear me alright? I can see Deepa but Tariq's showing as a grey box.
Tariq Saleem NoneYeah, I'm here, sorry. The camera's being awkward, I'll leave it off for now. Can you hear me?- Laura Penhaligon NoneLoud and clear. Morning, both. Thanks for making time, I know it's a busy week.
Deepa Chauhan NoneMorning, Laura. It's fine, it's quieter than it looks. The branch managers are all out on the road, so my inbox is calm for once.- Laura Penhaligon NoneLovely. So the plan is to use the next forty minutes or so to agree the order we bring the connectors in, who owns what on your side, and what good looks like for the first few weeks. Does that suit?
- Deepa Chauhan NoneThat's the one thing I need from today, really. A clear order and a name against each piece, so I can take it to the account-data review.
- Tariq Saleem NoneCan I start with the open tickets? There's only the one, but it's relevant.
- Laura Penhaligon NonePlease, go ahead.
- Tariq Saleem NoneIt's a how-to, not a fault. Someone in credit control asked why a dispute note on an account wasn't turning up in search. I checked the load log and the note sits in a field we hadn't mapped yet. So that's a mapping question, not a bug.
- Laura Penhaligon NoneGood, that's useful, because it feeds straight into the order. Which system is that field in?
- Tariq Saleem NoneThe CRM. Credit control keep their dispute notes on the account record, free text mostly. I haven't touched the mapping, because I wanted to tell Deepa first.
- Deepa Chauhan NoneThank you, I appreciate that. Which account, which branch? Is it every account or just the key accounts?
- Tariq Saleem NoneEvery trade account that's had a dispute. But the notes are much fuller on the key accounts, so that's where you'd notice it.
- Deepa Chauhan NoneOkay. Let's get credit control in the room for that one. I don't want the sales side deciding what counts as a dispute on their own.
- Laura Penhaligon NoneAgreed. I'd park that field until they've seen a sample of what comes through. Let me share the connector plan so we're all looking at the same page. Can you see it?
- Tariq Saleem NoneNot yet. Ah, there it is. Yes.
- Laura Penhaligon NoneRight. So as I've laid it out, first the CRM, because everything else joins to the account record. Second the branch system, for orders. Third the accounting system, for invoices and payment status. Then the helpdesk, the call recorder and email come last.
- Deepa Chauhan NoneWhy last for those three? The calls are what the key-account managers keep asking about.
- Laura Penhaligon NoneFair question. It's mostly that they're the easiest to load and the least likely to go wrong, so I'd rather spend the early weeks on the ones where matching is hard. If you'd prefer calls earlier we can pull them forward, it isn't a dependency.
- Deepa Chauhan NoneNo, I take the point. Get the account right first, then everything hangs off it. Tariq?
- Tariq Saleem NoneAgree, the order's right. The CRM's the easy one, it's already in decent shape. The branch system is where I'd spend the time.
- Laura Penhaligon NoneTell me what you're expecting there.
- Tariq Saleem NoneAccount codes in the branch system don't line up with the CRM account IDs one to one. Some accounts were opened at a branch years ago and never got a head office record, some have two. I'd want a match table before anything loads, otherwise we'll get orders attached to the wrong account.
- Laura Penhaligon NoneThat's the thing I'd most like to avoid, yes. Have you got an idea how big that table is?
- Tariq Saleem NoneI'd be guessing, and I don't like guessing. Let me run a count of unmatched codes and come back to you with a real number.
- Deepa Chauhan NoneAnd I'll say this now, so it's on the record. Nobody blames the branches for this. It's how the accounts grew. If the match table throws up odd ones, we sort them out with the branch managers, we don't send a list round with names on it.
- Tariq Saleem NoneFine by me. That's how I'd do it anyway.
- Laura Penhaligon NoneGood. So practically, Tariq, would you be happy to build the match table and I review it with you? I can sit with you on the first pass.
- Tariq Saleem NoneYes. I'd rather build it and have you check it than the other way round, because I know where the odd ones live.
- Laura Penhaligon NoneThat works. And Deepa, who signs off the rule for when two records count as the same account?
- Deepa Chauhan NoneI do, with credit control. Which means we need them in that review. I'll get it booked.
- Laura Penhaligon NoneLovely. I'll put that down against you, Deepa.
- Laura Penhaligon NoneSorry, I'm just updating the plan while we talk. Right. On the CRM connection itself, Tariq, you're the one who authorises it, correct?
- Tariq Saleem NoneCorrect. I've got the admin rights, and I've already set up a service user so it doesn't hang off one person's login.
- Laura Penhaligon NoneThat's exactly right, thank you. It saves a headache when someone changes role.
- Deepa Chauhan NoneCan I ask something slightly off the plan? When we say the brain reads from the CRM, does it change anything in there?
- Laura Penhaligon NoneNo, it only reads. Nothing is written back to the CRM, and everything sits in your own Snowflake account, so the data doesn't leave your environment.
- Deepa Chauhan NoneGood. That's the first thing the regional directors will ask me.
- Laura Penhaligon NoneThen it's worth having that sentence ready. Right, the accounting system. Who owns that on your side?
- Tariq Saleem NoneOur finance team own it. I can request the connection, but someone in finance needs to approve the access, and they'll want to know it's read only as well.
- Laura Penhaligon NoneOf course. Would it help if I wrote them a short note saying exactly what's read and what isn't?
- Deepa Chauhan NoneYes please. Short, plain, one page. They don't want a security paper, they want to know what it touches.
- Laura Penhaligon NoneDone, I'll send that tomorrow. And the point of it for credit control is payment status sitting next to the account, so they see an overdue invoice alongside the open dispute and the last call.
- Deepa Chauhan NoneThat's the whole point for me, honestly. Credit control, the key-account manager and the branch all looking at the same account, rather than three people holding three versions.
- Tariq Saleem NoneWhich will expose a few disagreements. I'd rather we expect that now.
- Deepa Chauhan NoneOh, absolutely. Better in the review than in front of a customer.
- Laura Penhaligon NoneLet me scroll down to the timeline, bear with me.
- Laura Penhaligon NoneSorry, found it. So we're already well into the implementation window. The aim is the CRM and the branch system loading nightly first, with the accounting system close behind. The helpdesk, call recorder and email follow once the account matching is behaving.
- Tariq Saleem NoneWhen you say loading nightly, what's the cut-off? Because the branch system closes its day late.
- Laura Penhaligon NoneThe refresh is meant to be complete by 07:00 your time on working days. If the branch export lands after the branches close, it simply goes into that night's run. Is it a file or a live feed?
- Tariq Saleem NoneA file drop, in the evening. I'll check the load log from the test I did and give you the actual time rather than the one I remember.
- Laura Penhaligon NonePerfect. If it's comfortably before the early hours, there's no issue at all.
- Deepa Chauhan NoneCan I say what worries me? Not the loading. It's the first couple of weeks after it loads, when somebody asks the brain a question, gets an answer that disagrees with their branch system, and decides the whole thing is wrong.
- Laura Penhaligon NoneThat's a real risk, and it's usually how it goes. What I'd suggest is that a small group checks answers against the source for the first few weeks, and every disagreement goes in one place with the account, the branch and which source turned out to be right.
- Deepa Chauhan NoneWhich account, which branch, which source. Yes, I like that.
- Tariq Saleem NoneAs long as it's not a spreadsheet passed round by email. One list, in one place, that everyone writes into.
- Laura Penhaligon NoneOne shared list, agreed. I'll set it up in your SharePoint, if that's where you'd keep it.
- Deepa Chauhan NoneSharePoint's fine. Put me and Tariq as owners.
- Laura Penhaligon NoneRight, that's noted. Let's talk about people for a minute. You've got seats for two hundred. Who's actually in at the moment?
- Deepa Chauhan NoneIt's the pilot group. A handful from commercial systems, a few of the key-account managers, and two people from credit control. About twenty, I'd say, and they're keen. They've been asking for more.
- Laura Penhaligon NoneThat's a good sign. How are you thinking of widening it?
- Deepa Chauhan NoneNot by region. By team. Key-account managers first, then credit control properly, then branch managers. And I'm not telling the regions anything until the branch orders are in, because I won't promise them something that isn't there yet.
- Laura Penhaligon NoneThat's sensible, and it's what I'd have recommended. The branch managers will get most from it once orders are in, so it lines up.
- Tariq Saleem NoneRelated to that, single sign-on. I've asked a colleague in IT to look at it, and they want to know exactly what settings you need from their side.
- Laura Penhaligon NoneI'll send you the SSO and SCIM set-up notes. SCIM is the bit that provisions people automatically, so joiners and leavers flow through without anyone touching the brain.
- Tariq Saleem NoneWhich I want, because otherwise I'm the one removing leavers by hand, and with this many branches there are leavers every week.
- Laura Penhaligon NoneExactly. And on the security side, Enterprise includes support with the security review. Has your IT team's questionnaire come through?
- Tariq Saleem NoneIt's with a colleague in IT. They've done about half. I'll find out what's outstanding and send it on.
- Laura Penhaligon NoneSend me whatever's left and I'll draft the answers, then you or they can correct anything I've got wrong.
- Deepa Chauhan NoneWhile you're writing that down, there's something I need for the review. A simple view of what's loaded, connector by connector, so I can show where we are without reading a load log.
- Laura Penhaligon NoneI can do a one-page status every Friday. Connector, whether it's loading nightly, anything that's blocked, and who's got the next action.
- Deepa Chauhan NonePerfect. Show me where each number comes from, that's all I ask. Finance will want to know what we get for the £116,500 a year, and I'd like the answer to be something people have used, not something I've argued for.
- Laura Penhaligon NoneUnderstood. Usage is the best evidence of that, and it's already moving the right way with your pilot group. I'll make sure the status page shows the questions being asked, not just the loads.
- Tariq Saleem NoneCan I ask about one more mapping thing, while it's on my mind? Account owner in the CRM versus the owner in the branch system. They don't always agree.
- Laura Penhaligon NoneWhich one should win?
- Tariq Saleem NoneThat's a mapping question, but it's also Deepa's call. I'm not changing it without her.
- Deepa Chauhan NoneThe CRM, I think, but let me check with the key-account managers first. Some of them keep the branch system right and let the CRM drift. I'll come back to you on that by the end of next week.
- Laura Penhaligon NoneGreat. I'll leave the field unmapped until you've decided, and we can flag it in the shared list so nobody wonders.
- Laura Penhaligon NoneOkay, I think I've got everything. Let me read back what I've written, and tell me if I've got it wrong.
- Laura Penhaligon NoneOne. Tariq builds the match table between branch codes and CRM accounts, and runs the count of unmatched codes first. I review it with him. Two. Deepa books the account-data review with credit control, to agree the dispute field and the rule for same-account. Three. Tariq checks the load log for the real time of the branch file drop. Four. I send the note for your finance team, and the SSO and SCIM notes. Five. Tariq sends me the outstanding security questions, and I draft the answers.
- Tariq Saleem NoneThat's right. Add the owner field to Deepa's list, though, the CRM versus branch system one.
- Laura Penhaligon NoneSix, then. Deepa decides which system wins on account owner and tells us by the end of next week. Anything else?
- Deepa Chauhan NoneI'd add a seven, if I may. A date when we all look at this again, so it doesn't drift.
- Laura Penhaligon NoneGood idea. How about a short call next week, once Tariq has the count, rather than waiting for the review?
- Tariq Saleem NoneThat works. Early in the week, if I can, so I've got time to run it properly.
- Deepa Chauhan NoneFine with me. Laura, can you send the invite? Mine's a mess this week.
- Laura Penhaligon NoneI'll send it this afternoon. And I'll let Amara know where we've landed, since she'll pick up the regular check-ins once onboarding's done. Nothing here for Lewis, it's all delivery.
- Deepa Chauhan NonePlease do. Amara's been very helpful, and I'd like her to hear it from you what's still open.
- Tariq Saleem NoneOne small thing before we go. If the first load of the branch system looks odd, is it okay to stop it and re-run, rather than leave it to run overnight?
- Laura Penhaligon NoneAbsolutely. Better to stop and re-run than let a bad load sit. Just tell me, and I'll look at it with you the same day.
- Tariq Saleem NoneGood. I'll check the load log before I touch anything, that's my rule anyway.
- Deepa Chauhan NoneLaura, I'll say, it's a lot clearer than it was an hour ago. I came in thinking it was one enormous job, and it's actually six or seven small ones with names against them.
- Laura Penhaligon NoneThat's the aim. Most of the difficulty is in the match table, and Tariq's already thinking about it, so you're in a better place than most.
- Tariq Saleem NoneI'm in a better place once I've seen the count. Ask me again next week.
- Laura Penhaligon NoneFair enough. Anything else from either of you? Otherwise I'll let you get back to your day.
- Deepa Chauhan NoneNothing from me. Thanks, both. And it's good that nobody's panicking.
- Tariq Saleem NoneNothing from me either. I'll send the load log time and the security questions when I have them.
- Laura Penhaligon NoneBrilliant. Speak next week then. Thanks, both, and have a good rest of the day.
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