The Challenge
The client managed their orders and enquiries through a manual system with some Excel tracking, leading to inefficiencies and difficulty in managing stakeholders' needs. Multiple stakeholders (transporters, warehouse staff) needed coordination, orders needed accurate tracking to avoid delays, and there was a lack of real-time updates for orders and dispatches.
What We Built
Using Retool, AI Sensy (WhatsApp API), and Zoho Books API, we built a custom order management system around their actual workflow. It handles enquiries, orders, and dispatch end-to-end — with real-time WhatsApp notifications keeping every stakeholder in the loop.
The system includes CRUD functionality for all entities, automated invoice generation via Zoho Books API, WhatsApp notifications via AI Sensy for order updates, and role-based views for different stakeholder types.
How the Workflow Runs
An enquiry is logged in Retool the moment it arrives and converts into an order without re-entering anything. As the order moves through confirmation, warehouse picking and dispatch, each status change triggers a WhatsApp message through AI Sensy to whoever needs to act next — the transporter, the warehouse, or the customer.
When an order is confirmed, the invoice is generated directly in Zoho Books through its API, so accounts works from the same record as operations instead of a copied spreadsheet. Each stakeholder type sees only the views relevant to their part of the job.
Solutions Delivered
- Custom Retool app covering enquiries, orders and dispatch
- Enquiry-to-order conversion without duplicate data entry
- Automated WhatsApp status notifications via AI Sensy
- Invoice generation through the Zoho Books API
- Role-based views for transporters, warehouse and accounts
- Full replacement of the Excel tracking sheets
The Results
40% time savings by automating manual tasks. Improved communication with all stakeholders, reducing delays. Full visibility into each stage of the order and dispatch process. Automated invoice generation eliminated manual accounting errors.
Behind the Scenes
We spent time at the warehouse and office watching the order-to-dispatch lifecycle play out. Talked to transporters, warehouse staff, and the accounts team separately — each had a different version of "the process." The final system reflects how they actually work, not a sanitized version of it.