Case study
UK Designer Resale Business
From spreadsheet chaos to a single operating system for inventory, sellers, and commissions.
- Systems
70%
Time savings
~90%
Error reduction
+90 hrs/mo
Team capacity
The business
A UK-based designer resale business specialising in second-hand designer goods and vintage items. The business manages hundreds of client-sellers, thousands of inventory items, and complex commission calculations including VAT.
The problem: spreadsheet chaos
Operations depended on multiple disconnected spreadsheets, manual SKU work, and institutional knowledge for commissions.
- Multiple disconnected spreadsheets: sales, inventory, and client details—none talking to each other
- Manual tracking from intake through sale to client payment
- SKU generation by hand, with inevitable errors
- Commission calculations, VAT rates, and client-specific terms held in people's heads
- Version confusion over which file was current
- Key-person dependency: when the person who 'knew the system' was unavailable, work slowed or stopped
What we did
Approach
We mapped the real workflow, removed friction points, designed clean system architecture, built a purpose-specific application, and embedded it into day-to-day operations.
- 1
Week 1: Map & design
Mapped the full workflow from client onboarding through item sale to payment; identified friction (manual SKUs, disconnected data, commission complexity); designed database schema and architecture.
- 2
Weeks 2–3: Build & test
Web app with role-based access; automated SKU generation; commission engine with payment-method rates and VAT; real-time dashboard (daily / monthly / yearly); tested with live exports from spreadsheets.
- 3
Week 4: Deploy & adopt
Migrated historical data; trained the team; went live with spreadsheets retired.
Outcomes
Results
Operational impact
- ·Administrative time cut by about 70%: an estimated 1–2 hours per day per team member returned to productive work
- ·Revenue leakage reduced: fewer commission errors and missed items
- ·Payment disputes reduced: complete audit trail for transactions
- ·Key-person risk reduced: operations less dependent on single individuals
Business intelligence
- ·Real-time dashboard for sales, inventory, and client payments
- ·Performance analysis: top sellers, categories, seasonal patterns
- ·Faster decisions from current data instead of last week's spreadsheet
Client feedback
“We wouldn't operate without it now. It's changed everything. Never take it away.”
“Everything I need is just there. It saves us hours every week, and we've stopped arguing about which version of the spreadsheet is right.”
Outcomes represent a specific implementation; your results will depend on scope and adoption.