Strensall Merchants / BG-Demo – Onboarding
Callcompleted
Strensall Merchants · 24 Apr 2025 14:00
Enterprise onboarding call on 24 Apr 2025. Neil Craven and Ashok Patel agreed the connector order, a phased user rollout and owners. Inconsistent trade account numbers across systems are the main build risk.
What was said
What this says
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Enterprise onboarding call on 24 Apr 2025. Neil Craven and Ashok Patel agreed the connector order, a phased user rollout and owners. Inconsistent trade account numbers across systems are the main build risk.
What happened: Laura Penhaligon set out the twelve-week Enterprise implementation, now at the start of the build. The customer agreed to connect the branch, credit and delivery systems in that order, with calls and mail after.
Customer view: Neil wants key account managers, then credit controllers, then branch managers, and does not want all licensed users switched on at once. Ashok wants credit figures reconciled to the ledger before credit users go live.
Commercial: The call shows the Enterprise tier in use: single sign-on, SCIM, connector headroom and the security review support. Neil says he signed off the deal, so he is the buying voice, and the call names Daniel as the future customer success contact.
Watch: Account numbers differ across the branch, credit and delivery systems, and a source change can quietly stop a connector loading. Laura asked to be told before big system changes.
Themes
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Theme
Enterprise onboarding build plan
Importance
neutral
Sentiment
positive
Voice
decision-maker
Who was there
BG-Demo
CRMmade from
Them
CRMmade from
Follow-up
Next steps
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Laura Penhaligon to send the connector plan and sign-in checklist today or tomorrow.
- Neil Craven to name two pilot branches and give the shared mailbox answer by the end of the week.
- Ashok Patel to send a sample of the account number mappings for the pilot branch.
Risks
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Trade account numbers differ across the branch, credit and delivery systems, so the account mapping could delay the build.
- A change in a source system could quietly stop a connector loading.
- Branch managers may see B-Viz as head office oversight, which could slow adoption.
Opportunities
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Phased rollout to key accounts, credit and branch managers could build usage towards the licensed user count.
- Shared mailboxes, calls and the CRM can be added after the first three connectors, deepening use.
Transcript
Laura PenhaligonHello, good afternoon both. Can you hear me alright?
Neil CravenAfternoon, Laura. Aye, loud and clear. Ashok's just sorting his camera out.
Ashok PatelSorry, afternoon. Yes, there we are. Can you see me, or is it just the ceiling?- Laura PenhaligonJust the ceiling, ha. No, you're there now. Lovely. Thanks for making the time, I know it's been a busy week for you both.
- Neil CravenBusy's the word. I've had one of our big housebuilder accounts on the phone since half seven this morning. Their statement showed a delivery against the wrong site, and it turned out the order was booked through two different branches. Nobody had done anything wrong, but the builder's looking at it thinking, well, who do I ring?
- Laura PenhaligonThat's honestly the best opening I could have asked for. That's the exact problem we're here to fix, one trade account seen the same way by every branch.
- Neil CravenThat's it. What's the builder actually seeing? That's what I keep asking. Right now the answer depends which branch you ask.
- Laura PenhaligonRight. So what I'd like to do today is walk through the plan for the next few weeks, who owns what on your side, and the order we connect things. Then agree what each of us does before we speak again. Does that work?
- Ashok PatelThat works. Can I start with what I've changed since we last spoke? It might save us some time.
- Laura PenhaligonPlease, yes. Go on.
- Ashok PatelSo, I've created the service account we agreed for the Snowflake side, and I've limited it to the schema we set aside for B-Viz. I've also pulled a small extract from the branch system for one branch only. Just to see what the trade account fields look like when they arrive. I'll test it on one branch first, always.
- Laura PenhaligonGood, that's sensible, and it's exactly what I'd have asked you to do. What did the extract look like?
- Ashok PatelMostly clean. The trouble is the account numbers. Which account number is that, is the question I keep asking. The branch system has its own, the credit system has another, and the delivery system uses a third that's really a site code. Some of the big builders have a different number at different branches.
- Neil CravenAye, that's the legacy of branches being bought up over the years. Every one of them came with its own way of numbering. We've never properly tidied it.
- Laura PenhaligonThat's very common with groups that have grown through acquisition, so you're not on your own there. The good news is we don't have to fix the numbering in the source systems before we start. We build a mapping table inside your Snowflake account that says these three numbers are one trade account. B-Viz reads through that.
- Ashok PatelAnd who maintains that table afterwards? Because if it's me, I'd want to know that now.
- Laura PenhaligonFair question. In the early weeks it's something we build together, and then it sits with you as admin. We'll give you a simple way to add and review the mappings, so you're not editing raw tables. And nothing gets deleted that you can't restore, I'll make sure of that.
- Ashok PatelGood. That's important to me. The data says otherwise a lot of the time, and I'd rather be able to prove what changed and when.
- Laura PenhaligonUnderstood. Everything we do is logged, and it all runs in your account, so you can see it too.
- Neil CravenLaura, can I ask the big picture bit? Where are we in all of this? I signed off on this back in February last year and I want to be sure I know what happens between now and branches using it.
- Laura PenhaligonOf course. Since we signed on Friday 28 February 2025, we've been through the scoping and the security review support, which is part of the Enterprise implementation. The implementation itself runs over twelve weeks. We're at the start of the build now. So, roughly, the first few weeks are connectors and the account mapping, the middle is checking the data against your ledger and the reports you trust, and the last part is bringing users on.
- Neil CravenRight. And how many people are we talking about at the end of it?
- Laura PenhaligonYou're licensed for one hundred and sixty users, and I'd suggest we don't switch them all on at once. You've got about ten people active at the moment, mainly testing. I'd grow that in waves.
- Neil CravenAye, that makes sense. I'd not want a hundred and sixty people finding out it's wrong on day one. Let's start with the ones who feel the pain.
- Laura PenhaligonWho would they be, in your mind?
- Neil CravenKey account managers first. They look after the housebuilders and they're the ones who get the phone calls. Then the credit controllers, because when credit and sales disagree about a customer, that's where it goes wrong. Branch managers after that. Which branch, which account, that's the question they all ask me.
- Laura PenhaligonThat's a clear order. Key accounts, credit, then branch managers. I'll write that into the rollout plan.
- Ashok PatelCan I add one thing? If we do credit before the branch managers, I'd want the credit figures reconciled to the ledger first. Finance will not trust a number that doesn't match.
- Laura PenhaligonAgreed. That's the middle phase I mentioned. We compare what B-Viz shows against a ledger report you pick, account by account for a sample, and you tell us when you're happy. No credit users go live until you say so.
- Ashok PatelGood. Thank you.
- Laura PenhaligonRight, so connectors. Enterprise gives you up to twenty, and I know you won't use all of them straight away. From what we scoped, the first ones are the branch system, the credit system and the delivery system. Then your CRM, and the call recorder, so calls to trade customers sit against the same account. Have I got that right?
- Ashok PatelThat's right, and I'd keep that order. Branch first, because everything hangs off the trade account there. Then credit. Delivery third, because the site codes are the messy part and I'd like the mapping settled before we load it.
- Laura PenhaligonThat works for me. Credit second also helps, because it gives Neil's team something to look at earlier.
- Neil CravenAye, and what about email? Half of what the key account people know is in their inboxes.
- Laura PenhaligonMailboxes can come in through Microsoft 365, I'd just want to agree with you what's in scope. Whose mailboxes, whether it's the whole team or shared mailboxes only. That's a conversation for your security people as well as you.
- Neil CravenLet's sort it, not talk about it. I'll have a word with our security lead this week and come back with a yes or no on shared mailboxes. Personal ones I'd leave for later.
- Laura PenhaligonThat's sensible. Shared mailboxes first, we can always widen it. I'll note that as yours, Neil.
- Ashok PatelWhile we're on access, what about sign-in? I'd rather people used our normal login than another password.
- Laura PenhaligonYes, Enterprise includes single sign-on and SCIM, so people are created and removed automatically from your directory. That'll be a job for you and a colleague in IT, and I'll send over exactly what we need. It's not a big job, but it does need someone with the rights to your identity setup.
- Ashok PatelA colleague in IT looks after that. I'll ask them to join the next call so they can hear it first hand.
- Laura PenhaligonThat would be ideal. Now, one thing I want to set expectations on. Every night B-Viz refreshes from your sources, and on business days that's complete by seven in the morning your time. If a source changes, say someone alters a field in the branch system, a connector can quietly stop loading. So I'd like you to tell me before you change anything big in those systems.
- Ashok PatelI'd do that anyway. I never switch on a source without testing it, and I'd not change one without a heads up either. Is there a way I can see if records have stopped coming in?
- Laura PenhaligonYes, there's an admin view that shows records indexed per connector. If a line goes flat for a few days, that's your clue something's broken. I'll show you in the next session. It's one of the first things I'd like you to be comfortable with.
- Neil CravenCan I ask something a bit awkward? When the branch managers see this, will they think it's head office looking over their shoulder? I've been a branch manager. I know how it lands.
- Laura PenhaligonIt's a fair worry. What tends to work is framing it around the customer rather than the branch. It's the builder's whole picture, not a league table. If the first thing a manager sees is that their phone call with a customer now shows the delivery and the credit position together, they usually come round quickly.
- Neil CravenAye. Make it help them, not check on them. I'll say it that way when I brief them. I'd never run a branch down to a supplier, but I want them on side.
- Laura PenhaligonThen I'd suggest two pilot branches for the first wave. One busy one, one quieter one. We learn from both before we go wider. Could you pick them, Neil?
- Neil CravenI can. Give me until the end of the week. I want one where the builders ring in a lot, and one that's a bit more tucked away.
- Ashok PatelIf it helps, I'd like the pilot to include the branch I already extracted from. Then I've got a baseline to compare against.
- Laura PenhaligonThat's a good point, Ashok. Neil, if that one can be among the two, it saves us rebuilding the comparison.
- Neil CravenI'll make it so. It's one of the busier ones anyway.
- Laura PenhaligonLovely. Let me recap the owners, because it's easy to lose this. Ashok owns the connectors, the account mapping and the admin side. Neil owns the choice of pilot branches, the user waves and the mailbox decision with your security lead. Your colleague in IT will own sign-in. And I own the build, the checks against your ledger report, and the training. Does that sound right?
- Ashok PatelThat sounds right. I'd add that the ledger report to compare against is something I'll choose with finance. I'll tell you which one.
- Laura PenhaligonPerfect, thank you. And on our side, you'll also have Daniel as your customer success contact once we're live, and Lewis stays your account owner. I'll introduce Daniel properly before the end of the implementation.
- Neil CravenFine by me. I like knowing who to ring.
- Laura PenhaligonSo, next steps. I'll send you both the connector plan and a short checklist for sign-in, today or tomorrow. Ashok, you'll send me a sample of the account number mappings for the pilot branch, even if it's rough. Neil, the two pilot branches and the shared mailbox answer by the end of the week. Then we speak again next week and start loading the branch connector properly.
- Ashok PatelThat's fine. I'll send the sample with a screenshot of where the numbers disagree, so you can see it rather than me describing it.
- Neil CravenGood. Anything else you need from me?
- Laura PenhaligonJust one name when you can, a key account manager who'd be happy to be the first to try it and tell us honestly what's confusing. Someone who'll be straight with us.
- Neil CravenI know exactly who. Straight talking, that one. I'll put her forward.
- Laura PenhaligonBrilliant. Thank you both, that was really useful. Enjoy the rest of the afternoon, and good luck with the housebuilder.
- Neil CravenCheers, Laura. Speak soon.
- Ashok PatelThanks, Laura. Speak next week. Ashok.
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