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Operations platforms: one event, every record that cares

An operations platform is built around the things your business runs on: jobs, customers, technicians, trucks, parts and invoices. Get those records and their links right, and one event, like a job being finished, updates everything it touches. No re-keying, no reconciling at the end of the day, no department working from yesterday's numbers.
Discuss your operationSee the model ↓
J-606 completed · 3:42 pmJobJ-606TruckTruck 3IGN-4 · 1 → 0restock on tomorrow's pickPartIGN-4warehouse · 1 reservedInvoiceINV-2240drafted · 2 linesCustomerJ-606's customerservice history +1TechnicianT34 of 5 jobs doneBoardtoday5 of 6 completeone event · six records · nobody re-keyed

Start with the nouns

The model is the platform. Screens, reports and automations are built on top of it.
Jobcustomer, site, technician, truck, partsdispatch and the technician
Trucktechnician, the parts on boardwarehouse picks and finished jobs
Parttrucks, the warehouse, supplier ordersjobs, picks and deliveries
Invoicejob, customer, agreementfinished jobs and the office
Technicianjobs, truck, hoursdispatch and the technician's day

What one event changes

Each event is recorded once. Every record linked to it updates from that one entry.

Job completed

Event
J-606 completed by T3
Job
completed, with notes and photos
Truck 3
parts used taken off its stock
Invoice
drafted from the job's lines
Customer
service history updated
Board
5 of 6 complete

Five parts of a platform

Most operations software has some of these. A platform has all five, on one model.

  1. 01

    Records

    The nouns, and how they link

    Jobs, trucks, parts, people and invoices, each defined once and linked to the others.

  2. 02

    Processes

    Steps with states

    Dispatch, picks, completion and billing move records from one state to the next.

  3. 03

    Roles

    Each person's part

    Dispatchers, technicians, the warehouse and the office each see and change what their job needs.

  4. 04

    Events

    Recorded once, felt everywhere

    A finished job or a late delivery is written once and updates every linked record.

  5. 05

    Reporting

    From the same records

    Today's board and the month's numbers come from the records the work changed, not from exports.

What an operations platform hands off

In

Records
jobs, trucks, parts, people
Events
from the field and the office
Roles
who does what
Operations platform
one model, updated by every event

Out

Boards
current, for every role
Accounting and payroll
what they need, sent on
Reports
from the same records

Worth building when departments keep different versions of the truth

Good fit

  • Dispatch, the warehouse and the office each keep their own lists.
  • Questions across departments take phone calls to answer.
  • How you run the operation is part of why customers choose you.

Not the right fit

  • One department, one process. A workflow application or internal tool is smaller.
  • A field-service product already covers how you work.

Where operations platforms are used

Next to operations platforms

Questions about operations platforms

Is this an ERP?

It covers similar ground for a smaller business: the operation's own records in one place. It's built around how you work rather than configured from a general product, and it connects to accounting rather than replacing it.

Do we have to build it all at once?

No. Start with the records one department needs most, then add the next. Each addition uses the same model, so nothing is rebuilt.

What about accounting and payroll?

They stay in the systems built for them. The platform sends them what they need, such as invoice lines and hours.

Can technicians use it on their phones?

Yes, the parts they need: their jobs, the parts on their truck, notes and photos.