Strensall Merchants / BG-Demo – Check In
Callcompleted
Strensall Merchants · 23 Apr 2026 12:15
Neil Craven again described B-Viz resolving a housebuilder query in minutes and better credit and sales alignment. Usage is rising with headroom. He raised a possible late refresh and a key-person risk.
What was said
What this says
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Neil Craven again described B-Viz resolving a housebuilder query in minutes and better credit and sales alignment. Usage is rising with headroom. He raised a possible late refresh and a key-person risk.
What happened: Daniel and Neil met alone. Neil said B-Viz showed within minutes that a wrong delivery came from an amended order, not a credit hold.
Customer view: He said directors have stopped asking if it was worth it, and credit and sales now look at the same picture. He wants value discussed first, then money with finance.
Commercial: Active users are up by about a quarter, at about a third of the licensed users on Enterprise. Daniel confirmed the order form and invoices match at £114k a year. Neil asked whether more users would cost extra; up to the licensed number they would not.
Watch: A branch manager said one morning the data looked behind, and Daniel is checking refresh history. Neil admitted the account rests mostly on him and one credit analyst, so a second admin is needed.
Themes
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026Theme
Value proof and key-person risk
Importance
renewal
Sentiment
positive
Voice
champion
Who was there
BG-Demo
CRMmade from
Them
CRMmade from
Follow-up
Next steps
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Daniel to check the refresh history and tell Neil the result either way.
- Neil to nominate branch users, name the key account manager who moved region and consider a second admin from operations.
- Daniel to draft the session, send a note on the admin role and gather anonymised value examples for the pre-renewal review.
Risks
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- Possible late nightly refresh, which Enterprise is credited for, is unconfirmed.
- The account depends on Neil and one credit analyst, a key-person risk.
- About half of the branches barely use B-Viz, which weakens the value case at renewal.
Opportunities
As at Fri 9 Oct 2026- A peer-led session with the four or five strong branch users could spread adoption across the licensed Enterprise users.
- Call recordings next to orders are underused and could anchor the value case ahead of renewal.
Transcript
Daniel OkaforHello Neil, can you hear me alright? I can see you but I'm not sure the sound's coming through on my side.
Neil CravenAye, loud and clear. Hang on, I've got the van going past the window. There. Better.- Daniel OkaforLovely. Thank you for making time, I know lunchtime's usually the only gap you get. It's just the two of us today, is that right? Nobody else from your side joining?
- Neil CravenJust me. I did think about dragging someone from credit in, but I said I'd keep it short. It's a check-in, not a board meeting.
- Neil CravenSorry, I'm going to start with this because it's what's been on my mind. One of the big housebuilder accounts rang me first thing this morning. Wanted to know why a delivery had gone to the wrong site and whether credit had put a hold on it.
- Daniel OkaforOh dear. Which branch, which account? Sorry, that's your line, isn't it.
- Neil CravenIt is, aye. Cheeky. Which branch, which account, that's exactly what I asked. And here's the thing, I didn't have to ring three people to find out. I asked B-Viz, it pulled the orders, the delivery notes and the credit position in one go. Took me a couple of minutes.
- Daniel OkaforThat's good to hear. And what was it in the end? Just so I can close the loop on what you saw.
- Neil CravenNo hold at all. The order had been amended after a site manager rang the branch, and the change hadn't carried through to the driver's sheet. So not a credit issue. But I could say that to the builder before lunch, with confidence. What's the builder actually seeing? That's what matters. He wants an answer, not a tour of our systems.
- Daniel OkaforRight. And that's really the thing you bought it for, isn't it. Branch, key accounts and trade credit all looking at the same trade account.
- Neil CravenThat's it. Fifteen years I ran a branch, and every time a builder rang you were guessing what head office knew. Now we all see the same picture. Mm. I'll not say it's perfect, but it's a different job.
- Daniel OkaforI'm really glad. So I thought we'd use today to look at how it's landed since go-live, and what usage is telling us, and then talk about what's next for you. How does that sound?
- Neil CravenSounds fine. Let's sort it, not talk about it. Go on.
- Daniel OkaforHa, understood. So the headline from my side is that it's a quiet picture, in the best sense. You've had no tickets in the last month at all, nothing high priority, and your invoices are all up to date, so nothing to chase there.
- Neil CravenNo tickets. Well, I'd like to tell you that's because we're brilliant, but I think it's because it just works. Is that daft?
- Daniel OkaforNot daft. Though I'd always want to check it isn't silence for the wrong reason, which is why I look at usage alongside. And there it's pointing the right way. Active users are up by about a quarter compared with the previous quarter.
- Neil CravenA quarter. That'll be the key accounts team. I got them started in the new year, and then the credit controllers got nosy once they saw what the key account managers were doing.
- Daniel OkaforThat fits what I'm seeing. Now, you're licensed for a hundred and sixty users on Enterprise. We're running at something like a third of that active on an average day. So there's a lot of room.
- Neil CravenAye, I know. That's the bit that bugs me. Ninety-odd branches and I'd say a good half of them don't touch it unless I'm stood over them.
- Daniel OkaforMm. How is the team finding it, at branch level? Not the people who already like it. The ones who don't open it.
- Neil CravenHonest answer? Branch managers are busy. Counter's full by seven, they've got lads wanting loading, builders ringing. If it's not quicker than the thing they already do, they'll not bother. So I'm not blaming anybody, but it has to be a habit before it's useful.
- Daniel OkaforThat's fair, and it's very common. The branches where it sticks tend to be the ones with one person who asks it a real question every morning. Do you have a few of those already?
- Neil CravenFour or five I could name. A couple up in the north, a Midlands one. Won't say which, I'd only upset the rest. Never run a branch down.
- Daniel OkaforNo, quite right. Well, what if we built on those few? I could run a short session with them, just a handful, and they show the others what they ask. Not me teaching, them.
- Neil CravenI like that. Branch managers listen to other branch managers. They don't listen to head office, or to a Customer Success Manager, no offence.
- Daniel OkaforNone taken, I'd say the same. So if you could nominate those people, I'd put together a few example questions from their own use, with nothing sensitive in them, and we'd go from there.
- Neil CravenRight. I'll have a think about who and let you know. Give me a week or so. Is that alright?
- Daniel OkaforThat's perfectly fine, and I'll come back to you once I've got a draft of how the session might run. I won't put a date on it until you've told me who.
- Neil CravenGood. Don't want you promising owt before we know the diaries.
- Daniel OkaforExactly. Can I ask about the other end, as well? Trade credit. You mentioned the controllers got curious.
- Neil CravenYes. That's been the surprise, really. I expected branches and key accounts to take to it. Credit, I thought, they've got their own system and they live in it. But when they could see the calls and the delivery issues sat next to the balance, it changed how they talk to sales.
- Daniel OkaforIn what way?
- Neil CravenWell, before, credit would stop an account and sales would find out when the builder shouted. Now they're looking at the same thing before it gets that far. Credit and sales agreeing on a customer, that's what I've wanted for years. We're not there every time, mind. But we're closer.
- Daniel OkaforThat's a real outcome. Honestly, that's the sort of thing I like to write down for the review, because when someone asks what it's worth, that's the answer. Not a dashboard, a conversation that used to go wrong.
- Neil CravenAye, well. Put it in. Just don't put my name next to anything about the price. I don't talk money without my finance side in the room.
- Daniel OkaforUnderstood, and I wouldn't. That's for the renewal conversation anyway, which is a good while off yet. Your term runs on into next year, so we've got plenty of time to do that properly.
- Neil CravenGood. Because I'll tell you now, I'd not want to be doing that in a rush. What's in place today, is it all as we agreed? Same as the order form?
- Daniel OkaforYes. What's on the order form is what we've been invoicing, and it matches on my side. One hundred and thirteen thousand five hundred pounds a year, and accounting agrees with that, so there's no mismatch to worry about.
- Neil CravenFine by me. Not that I look at the invoices, mind.
- Daniel OkaforNo, that's what the finance team are for. But I like to say it out loud so nobody's surprised later.
- Neil CravenFair enough. Let me ask you something. You said a third of the licences are active. If we got more people on it, would that cost us more? Or is that already paid for?
- Daniel OkaforUp to the hundred and sixty, it's already included. So bringing more branch people on costs you nothing extra today. It's only if you wanted to go beyond that number that we'd need to talk, and honestly you're nowhere near it.
- Neil CravenRight. That's useful. I'd been wondering if I was wasting what we'd got. I'd not want to be paying for a hundred and sixty and using fifty.
- Daniel OkaforI understand that. And I'd say it a bit differently. You've got a lot of headroom and the trend's going up, which is a good place to be. But it's worth us doing something deliberate about it, which is the session we just talked about.
- Neil CravenAye. Deliberate. I'll go with that.
- Daniel OkaforCan I ask about the connectors? Anything changed in your systems lately that I should know about? A new depot system, a change to the credit tool, anything like that?
- Neil CravenNot that I've been told. Mind you, I'm the last to be told when IT change something. I'd ask them, but I think we're steady. We've got some talk about the branch ordering side next year, but nowt decided.
- Daniel OkaforOkay. If that moves, would you let me know early? It's far easier if we hear before a source changes than after, because then we can keep the data fresh rather than finding out when somebody notices a gap.
- Neil CravenAye, I'll mention it. I'll tell the IT lads to give you a shout as well. Who should they contact, you or Lewis?
- Daniel OkaforMe for anything day to day, and Lewis Kerr for anything on the commercial side, as your account owner. But honestly, if in doubt, just send it to me and I'll make sure it gets to the right place.
- Neil CravenRight, that's simple enough. Daniel, can I raise something a bit awkward?
- Daniel OkaforOf course. Go ahead.
- Neil CravenIt's the nightly refresh. Last week a branch manager said the picture hadn't caught up one morning when he looked early. Might have been him looking too soon. But I told him I'd ask.
- Daniel OkaforThank you for asking, that's the right instinct. For reference, the refresh is meant to be complete by seven in the morning, your local time, on business days. And as an Enterprise customer, data freshness is something we're held to, so I'd want to know if it was ever late.
- Neil CravenHe didn't say which day. Probably I should ask him.
- Daniel OkaforIf you could, that would help. And I can look at the refresh history on my side in the meantime. There's nothing in the tickets, which makes me think it was timing, but I'd rather look than assume.
- Neil CravenGood. I'll not make a fuss of it. Just want to know.
- Daniel OkaforNo fuss at all. I'll come back to you once I've checked, and just to close the loop, I'll tell you either way.
- Neil CravenCheers. Now, something I wanted to ask you. Other customers. Merchants, I mean, or similar. What do they do with it that we don't?
- Daniel OkaforI can't talk about specific customers, as you'd expect. But in general terms, the ones who get most out of it tend to make somebody senior the person who asks it questions in meetings. Not reports, questions. And it spreads from there.
- Neil CravenHa. So I should be doing it in the Monday meeting.
- Daniel OkaforI think you'd find it catches on. Put the screen up, ask about one account that's been in the news with a branch, and let people see how quick it is.
- Neil CravenMm. I might try that. See if the directors bite. Might be an easier sell than the branch managers, actually.
- Daniel OkaforIt might. And with Enterprise you have an executive sponsor on our side too, so if you want somebody senior from BG-Demo to join one of those, we can talk about that.
- Neil CravenDon't need a suit in the room just yet. Let me try it myself first.
- Daniel OkaforHa, fair. The offer's there when you want it.
- Neil CravenWhat about the calls side? We've got the call recordings in there. I'm still not sure the branches know that. They think it's all orders and credit.
- Daniel OkaforThat's a really good point, and probably the most underused part for most customers. When a builder rings a branch and says a delivery's wrong, that conversation is searchable next to the order. So the manager can see what was promised, not just what was booked.
- Neil CravenThat's the bit I'd want them to see. What did the lad on the counter actually say to the builder. Because half the time it's a misunderstanding, not a mistake.
- Daniel OkaforExactly. So that could be one of the examples in the session. A real question about a call, an order and a delivery, side by side.
- Neil CravenAye, go with that. I'll make sure the lads who nominate themselves are ones who ring builders a lot.
- Daniel OkaforPerfect. Can I ask one more on adoption? Is there anyone on your side who'd look after this day to day, apart from you? I always worry about a champion carrying everything.
- Neil CravenHa. Fair. It's mostly me, and one of the analysts in the credit team who's good with it. If I got run over by a lorry, the analyst would keep it going. Probably.
- Daniel OkaforProbably is the word I'd like to firm up. Not because anything's wrong, but because it would be good to have a second named person, perhaps from the branch side, who's confident enough to be an admin. Would that be reasonable?
- Neil CravenAye, that's sensible. Someone from operations, maybe. I'll think on.
- Daniel OkaforLovely. Add that to your list for next week. I'll bring a short note on what being an admin involves so it doesn't sound like a big ask.
- Neil CravenRight. That'd help. They hear admin and they think it's another job.
- Daniel OkaforWhich it isn't, really. It's mostly keeping an eye on who has access and making sure the data sources are healthy. Maybe an hour here and there.
- Neil CravenI'll tell them that. Hour here and there. Nobody's going to argue with that.
- Daniel OkaforNow, I did want to mention your first year, in general terms. You came on board in February last year, and I'd like to make sure the review we do before renewal actually captures what you've told me today. The branch consistency, the credit and sales alignment.
- Neil CravenRight. And that's with me and my finance side, I take it.
- Daniel OkaforYes. I'd suggest we do the value conversation first, with you, and then bring your finance colleagues in once it's clear what's been achieved. So nobody's being asked to approve something they haven't seen.
- Neil CravenThat's how I'd want it. Value first, then the money. I've seen it done the other way round and it's a bun fight.
- Daniel OkaforAgreed. And if it's useful, I can start gathering the material now. Examples like the one this morning, with your permission, written up simply.
- Neil CravenThe housebuilder one? Aye, use it, as long as you leave the name off. They're a big account and I'd not want them identified.
- Daniel OkaforOf course, I'd keep it anonymous. Just the story of how it was resolved.
- Neil CravenGood. Now, while we're at it, any new features coming I should know about? Anything that'd help the branches?
- Daniel OkaforI'd rather not promise things I don't control, so let me be careful. What I can say is that I'll check with our product team what's relevant to a merchant like you, and come back to you with something specific rather than a general list.
- Neil CravenThat's all I'm asking. Specific. Not a brochure.
- Daniel OkaforUnderstood, no brochure. Was there anything else on the user side? Any starters or leavers on the key team I should be aware of, so access stays tidy?
- Neil CravenOne of the key account managers is moving to a different region. Same company, new patch. Does that matter?
- Daniel OkaforNot for the licence. But if his access is tied to particular accounts, it might want a quick look so he sees the right ones. Send me his name and I'll have it checked.
- Neil CravenI'll drop you an email. I've got his details somewhere.
- Daniel OkaforThank you. That's the sort of small thing that's easy to miss and then causes confusion months later.
- Neil CravenAye. I've had that with our own systems. Somebody moves, nobody tells anyone, and then it's a mess.
- Daniel OkaforRight, so before we wrap, let me just read back what I've got. Is that alright?
- Neil CravenGo on, I'm listening.
- Daniel OkaforFrom you: you'll nominate a handful of branch people who already use it well, probably within the week. You'll ask the branch manager which morning the picture looked behind. You'll send me the name of the key account manager who's moved region. And you'll think about a second admin, ideally from operations.
- Neil CravenAye. That's it. Anything else I've forgotten, you'll remind me.
- Daniel OkaforI will, gently. From me: I'll check the refresh history and come back to you. I'll draft how the short session with your branch people might run, once I know who's in it. I'll send the short note on what an admin does. And I'll ask our product team what's relevant to you, and give you something specific.
- Neil CravenThat's plenty. Better than most suppliers. Most of them ring once a year when it's renewal time.
- Daniel OkaforWell, I'd rather you didn't feel that. I like to hear how it's going while it's going well, as much as when it isn't.
- Neil CravenIt's going well. I'll say that. Honestly, I was worried when we signed, because a few of the directors weren't sure. Now they've stopped asking if it was worth it.
- Daniel OkaforThat's a lovely thing to hear, and I'll pass it on to the team who set it up with you. They'll be pleased.
- Neil CravenDo. And tell Lewis as well. I'll not have him thinking I only talk to you.
- Daniel OkaforI'll make sure he hears it. He'll be glad.
- Neil CravenRight. I'd best get back. I've got a branch manager waiting on the other line, and he'll be wanting a stock answer.
- Daniel OkaforOf course. Thank you again for your time, Neil, especially over lunch. I'll send a short note after this with what we agreed, so it's in writing.
- Neil CravenGood lad. Let's sort it, not talk about it. Speak soon.
- Daniel OkaforSpeak soon. Enjoy what's left of the afternoon, and best of luck with the housebuilder.
- Neil CravenCheers, Daniel. Bye now.
- Daniel OkaforBye, Neil.
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