The situation
Alongside its technology work, Onarvo Group runs its own operations team delivering end-to-end retail implementation across the UK: storing and kitting fixtures and point-of-sale materials, transporting them nationwide, installing them in stores with field teams, and managing multi-site rollouts as a single programme.
That kind of work crosses several disciplines that are usually run in separate tools. Stock lives in one system, transport is planned in another, installation teams report by phone and photo messages, and the client gets an update by email at the end of the day. Every handover between those tools is a place where information is lost, and every lost piece of information turns into a phone call, a repeat visit or a dispute.
The decision
Rather than buy a warehouse system, a transport system and a field-service tool and try to join them together, we decided to build one operational platform that followed the job from start to finish. That platform became Loaditude.
The test we set ourselves was simple: our own operation had to run on it every day before we would offer it to anyone else. If it was not good enough for our own team, it would not ship.
What we built
Loaditude covers the whole flow of a retail implementation job:
- Inventory and receiving. Goods are booked in against the client and the programme they belong to, so stock is visible from the moment it arrives.
- Kitting and value-added services. Kits are built to the specification for each store or site, and recorded against the stock they consume.
- Transport management. Deliveries are planned and scheduled across the country, with each job carrying the information the driver and installer need.
- Driver mobile app. Drivers and field teams record delivery and installation on their phones, with photo evidence and sign-off on every visit.
- Client portal. Clients see live stock and job status without waiting for a report.
How it changed the way we work
Because the operation and the software are run by the same group, problems found on a Tuesday in the warehouse become changes in the product, not workarounds on a spreadsheet. The people who write the code hear directly from the people who load the vans.
Three practical effects stand out:
One version of the truth
Stock, transport and installation records sit in one place. When a client asks where something is, the answer comes from the system rather than from someone ringing round.
Evidence by default
Every delivery and installation is recorded with photographs and sign-off at the point it happens. That turns disputes about what was delivered, or what condition it was in, into a matter of looking at the record.
Clients see what we see
The client portal shows the same live status our own team works from, which removes a whole class of "can you send me an update" requests.
What we learned
- Build for the person holding the phone. Field teams record information when it is quick and obvious to do so. Every extra tap in the driver app is a record that does not get made.
- Model the job, not the department. Designing around the job from goods-in to sign-off, rather than around warehouse, transport and installation as separate functions, is what removed the handover problems.
- Running it ourselves keeps us honest. We feel every weakness in the product before a customer does.
Why it matters for clients
The same approach shapes the way we deliver for public and private sector clients: we design around the real job, we evidence what happened, and we take responsibility for running the service after it goes live. Find out more about our operations and logistics services or visit Loaditude.