LogisticsOperations platformImporter and distributor
An importer’s broken operations system, rebuilt so shipments update themselves
spent re-keying orders and shipments. Signed off by the operations manager.
- Status
- Signed off
- Built with
- Next.jsPostgresShipment tracking APIClaude
Before and after
- Ops manager’s day spent re-keying
- Before: Most of itAfter: None
- Shipment updates
- Before: Typed from emailAfter: Automatic
- Changing an order
- Before: Delete and redoAfter: Edit in place
01The problem
The existing system could not edit an order once it was in, so any change meant deleting it, recreating it and moving it back through every stage: on the water, customs, delivery. Shipment updates arrived by email and were keyed in by hand. Nothing could be invoiced in parts, so deposits and instalments were handled outside the system and it drifted out of step with reality. The operations manager spent most of each day on these three jobs.
02What we built
A rebuild of the whole operations system: orders, bulk orders, shipping, stock, scheduling, invoicing and payables. Orders edit in place. Shipments update themselves from the carrier’s tracking data. Invoices can be raised for any part of a contract, capped at the contract value. Access is enforced by the database, and the old data is imported and reconciled.
03The result
The operations manager walked through it end to end and signed it off. The jobs that took most of their day are now automatic: no recreated orders, no shipment updates typed from the inbox, and deposits and instalments invoiced in the system. More than 500 automated checks run on the database before every release.
More work
Your first six weeks
Something like this in your business?
Start with one workflow. Two weeks to find where the hours go. Four to build the fix into the tools you already use.