PlainlyCase Study · Operational Improvement · Order Processing
Building the business case for order-processing automation
Before spending on automation, the business needed to know whether it was solving the right problem. I established the operational and commercial baseline, identified the slowest part of the process, and built a decision framework that let the business compare automation against commercial-policy changes using the same evidence.
The Challenge
Knowing the size of the problem before choosing a solution
Manual order processing had become a significant part of the order population, but the scale and commercial effect needed to be understood before choosing a solution.
The decision was not simply whether automation was technically possible. The business needed to understand the time consumed, the cost of processing, the value of the affected orders and the effect on margin so that any investment would be proportionate to the problem it solved.
What I Did
Six steps, in this order
Evaluated the manual order population
Assessed which orders required manual processing and how large that population had become relative to total orders.
Established time and cost baselines
Assessed the staff time consumed and the cost of processing, establishing the baseline needed for a proportionate decision.
Analysed the commercial picture
Looked at average order value, time per order and processing cost as a percentage of sales to understand the commercial effect.
Identified the slowest part of the process
Pinpointed where time was actually being lost, so any solution could target the real constraint rather than the symptom.
Assessed the effect on margin
Connected processing cost back to margin, so the decision could be made on commercial terms, not just operational ones.
Framed three practical options
Set out the decision as three clear choices: automate to reduce processing cost, raise the minimum order value, or combine both.
Results
What the analysis produced
A quantified baseline
The analysis established that approximately 24% of orders required manual processing, consuming around 39 staff hours each week and costing approximately £25,000 a year to process. These figures describe the identified opportunity, not realised savings.
A clear decision framework
Three practical options, automate, raise the minimum order value, or combine both, could be compared against the same evidence. This turned a general concern about manual work into a decision grounded in time, cost, order value and margin.
A proportionate response
By identifying the slowest part of the process and its commercial effect, the business could size any investment against the problem it solved, rather than automating for its own sake.
Not sure automation is the right answer?
Let's establish the baseline before you spend.
If manual processing is consuming time but the value of automation is unclear, I can help you establish the baseline and identify the most proportionate response before you commit to a solution.