The Problem: 4 Hours a Day on Administrative Tasks
Distribuidora Andina (name changed for confidentiality) is an Ecuadorian business with 15 years in the market, 25 employees and over 300 active customers.
When they contacted us, their administrative team of 4 people spent an average of 4 hours a day on:
- Manually entering orders received through WhatsApp
- Updating inventory in Excel sheets
- Creating invoices one by one
- Following up on outstanding payments
- Coordinating delivery routes
The real cost: $2,400/month in unproductive hours, excluding errors and delays.
The Assessment: Disconnected Processes
After a week of analysis, we identified the central problem: every process operated in isolation.
- Orders: WhatsApp + notebook
- Inventory: Excel, updated "when there was time"
- Invoicing: Basic system without integration
- Collections: Another Excel sheet + the salesperson's memory
- Deliveries: Telephone calls
There was no flow of information. Everything depended on someone remembering to update something.
The Solution: Phased Automation
Phase 1: Centralisation (Weeks 1–2)
We implemented a CRM adapted for distributors (Pipedrive + customisations) as a single source of truth.
Immediate result: Everyone saw the same information in real time.
Phase 2: Automatic Order Capture (Weeks 3–4)
We configured a WhatsApp Business bot that:
- Receives the customer's order
- Checks inventory availability
- Generates an automatic quote
- Records it in the CRM
- Notifies the dispatch team
Result: From 45 minutes to 2 minutes per order.
Phase 3: Integrated Invoicing (Weeks 5–6)
We connected the CRM to the SRI electronic invoicing system.
Result: Invoices generated automatically when an order is confirmed.
Phase 4: Proactive Collections (Weeks 7–8)
We automated payment reminders:
- Automatic email 3 days before the due date
- WhatsApp message on the due date
- Alert to the salesperson if payment is overdue
Result: A 40% reduction in overdue receivables.
Phase 5: Route Optimisation (Weeks 9–10)
We implemented a routing app that considers:
- Customer locations
- Preferred delivery times
- Vehicle loads
- Real-time traffic
Result: 2 additional deliveries per day per vehicle.
The Numbers After 90 Days
| Metric | Before | After | Improvement | |--------|--------|-------|-------------| | Daily administrative time | 4 hours | 45 min | -81% | | Order errors | 8% | 0.5% | -94% | | Invoicing time | 15 min/invoice | 30 sec | -97% | | Overdue receivables | 25% | 15% | -40% | | Deliveries per day | 18 | 22 | +22% |
Project ROI: The investment was recovered in 47 days.
Lessons Learned
1. Start with the biggest pain point
We did not try to automate everything. We started with order entry because it was the most critical bottleneck.
2. Involve the team from day 1
End users participated in every decision. When it was time to use the tools, they already felt ownership of them.
3. Measure before automating
Without baseline data, you cannot demonstrate improvements. We documented everything before starting.
4. Iterate quickly instead of pursuing perfection slowly
We preferred launching something functional in 2 weeks and improving it to pursuing perfection for 3 months.
Is Your Business Ready?
If any of these symptoms sound familiar:
- Processes that depend on someone's memory
- Information in multiple disconnected places
- Repetitive tasks that consume hours
- Frequent errors caused by the "human factor"
Then there is probably an opportunity for automation.
Want an automation assessment for your business? Book a free session and let us review your processes together.
