Discovery

Brightline Supply Co. · Inside sales, customer service & order desk · 16 people

Sample deliverable

Sample deliverable. Brightline Supply Co. is an illustrative company. The figures are invented but internally consistent, so you can see how a real plan reads.

How discovery works

Chapter 01

Discovery

Two weeks on one workflow: how a quote becomes an order at Brightline. We sat with the people who answer the emails and phones, traced quotes and POs through every system and checked each idea against the tools you already pay for.

  • 2 weeks
  • 12 people
  • 10 sessions
  • 8 systems

The evidence base

People interviewed
12
Of live work observed
14 h
Systems reviewed
8
Quote requests traced end to end
420
Emailed POs sampled
1,480
Customer calls reviewed
860

Scope

In scope

  • Inside sales: quote requests, pricing and spec sheets
  • Order desk: emailed and phoned-in purchase orders
  • Customer service: order status, lead times, substitutions and credit holds

Out of scope

  • Outside sales and territory management
  • Purchasing, replenishment and warehouse operations
  • ERP upgrade or replacement
  • Headcount and organization design

Engagement timeline

2 weeks · 10 sessions

Week 1Sep 14–18Kickoff and shadowing

  1. Sep 14Kickoff

    Kickoff and scope alignment

    Dana Whitfield, Vice President of Sales & Service · Rob Castellano, Inside Sales Manager · Erin Walsh, Customer Service Supervisor · Linda Park, Order Desk Lead

  2. Sep 15Shadowing

    Quote request shadow

    Keisha Morgan, Inside Sales Rep · Luis Ortega, Inside Sales Rep, Regional Chains

    • Outlook
    • Excel
    • Prophet 21
    • SharePoint

  3. Sep 16Shadowing

    Emailed PO entry shadow

    Linda Park, Order Desk Lead · Brian Kowalski, Order Entry Specialist

    • Outlook
    • Excel
    • Prophet 21

  4. Sep 17Shadowing

    Phone queue and status calls shadow

    Erin Walsh, Customer Service Supervisor · Tasha Bell, Customer Service Rep · Hector Ramos, Customer Service Rep

    • RingCentral
    • Prophet 21
    • Carrier portals

  5. Sep 18Interview

    Credit holds and supplier lead times

    Megan Doyle, Credit Manager · Carla Jennings, Purchasing Manager

    • Prophet 21
Week 2Sep 21–25Data, sizing and recommendations

  1. Sep 21Analysis

    PO sample: 1,480 emailed POs categorized

    • Outlook
    • Prophet 21

  2. Sep 22Interview

    Systems, access and API review

    Sanjay Iyer, IT & ERP Administrator

    • Prophet 21
    • HubSpot
    • Brightline Online
    • SharePoint

  3. Sep 23Working session

    Working session: pricing and substitution rules

    Rob Castellano, Inside Sales Manager · Linda Park, Order Desk Lead · Carla Jennings, Purchasing Manager

  4. Sep 24Analysis

    Opportunity sizing and business case

  5. Sep 25Readout

    Readout with leadership

    Dana Whitfield, Vice President of Sales & Service · Rob Castellano, Inside Sales Manager · Erin Walsh, Customer Service Supervisor · Megan Doyle, Credit Manager

People we spoke to

  • Dana WhitfieldVice President of Sales & Service · Leadership
  • Rob CastellanoInside Sales Manager · Inside sales
  • Keisha MorganInside Sales Rep · Inside sales
  • Luis OrtegaInside Sales Rep, Regional Chains · Inside sales
  • Erin WalshCustomer Service Supervisor · Customer service
  • Tasha BellCustomer Service Rep · Customer service
  • Hector RamosCustomer Service Rep · Customer service
  • Linda ParkOrder Desk Lead · Order desk
  • Brian KowalskiOrder Entry Specialist · Order desk
  • Megan DoyleCredit Manager · Finance
  • Carla JenningsPurchasing Manager · Purchasing
  • Sanjay IyerIT & ERP Administrator · Systems

Systems reviewed

2 need action first

  • Excel price booksCustomer pricing

    Pricing for 310 accounts across 11 workbooks; three versions in circulation.

    Action needed

  • SharePoint spec librarySpec sheets

    4,100 spec sheets filed by supplier; 18% superseded or duplicated.

    Action needed

  • HubSpotCRM

    Used by outside sales. 41% of quotes never reach it, so open quotes go unfollowed.

    Manual handoffs

  • Outlook shared inboxEmail

    One inbox for POs, quotes and status questions, with no tags or ownership.

    Manual handoffs

  • Brightline OnlineB2B ordering portal

    Used by 22% of accounts. Shows stock, but not lead times or order status.

    Manual handoffs

  • LTL carrier portalsFreight tracking

    Three carrier portals checked by hand; two have no tracking API.

    Manual handoffs

  • Prophet 21ERP

    Accurate stock, orders and credit. Contract pricing set up for the top 40 accounts only.

    Connected

  • RingCentralPhone system

    Queues and call logs in place. Call reasons aren’t captured.

    Connected

ConnectedManual handoffsAction needed