How a Beirut Retailer Connected Orders, Customer Requests and Daily Operations

A Beirut retailer recorded orders, returns and complaints in separate places. We built one operations workflow for order recording, status updates, availability checks, exceptions, customer records and a daily summary.

Project overview

A Beirut retailer recorded orders, returns and complaints in separate places. We built one operations workflow around a single order and customer record. Staff now work from the same record on every channel.

The solution

We implemented five connected automations:

Central recording of orders and requests from every sales channel
Status and availability checks from the order and inventory systems
Confirmations and exception notices to customers and staff
Routing of returns, complaints and unusual requests to an owner
Customer records and a daily summary of open orders and cases

Business impact

Staff now work from one record per order and per customer.

Orders from every channel are recorded in one structure
Exceptions, returns and complaints are routed to an owner and escalated if they stall
A daily summary shows open orders and unresolved cases

The challenge

A customer asking about an order could mean checking the order system, the stock sheet and a message thread before anyone could answer. Orders from different channels were copied by hand into one list, and details were lost in the copying.

Returns, complaints and unusual requests had no clear owner. They sat in whichever inbox or chat they arrived in until someone noticed. Customer records were incomplete, so staff could not see what had happened with a customer before. At the end of the day, nobody had one view of which orders were open and which cases were unresolved.

Individual automations

Each automation works on the same order or customer record, so staff see one history instead of several partial ones.

Centralized recording of orders and customer requests

Every order and request ends up in one record, whatever channel it came from.

Orders and requests arrive from the configured sales channels, such as the online shop, email and the store.
The workflow creates one structured record for each, with the customer, the items, the channel and the time.
Duplicates of the same order from two channels are detected and merged for review.
The record gets an owner and a status.

Staff can correct or complete any record. Nothing is created without a trace to its source.

Order status updates from the order management system

Staff and customers see the current status without searching.

The workflow reads order status from the order management system on a schedule and on change.
The record shows the current stage, such as received, being prepared, dispatched or completed.
Status questions can be answered from the record instead of by checking several systems.

The order management system remains the source of truth. The workflow only reads and reflects it.

Availability checks

Orders are checked against stock where the integration allows it.

For each order line, the workflow looks up availability in the connected inventory source.
Lines that are available are confirmed on the record.
Lines that are short are flagged, with the reason, to the responsible staff member.
Where no inventory integration exists for a channel, the record says that availability was not checked.

Staff decide what to do with a shortage: substitute, wait or contact the customer.

Order confirmation and exception notifications

People are told when something needs attention, and customers are told what they need to know.

A confirmation is prepared when an order is accepted.
Exceptions, such as a shortage, a delay or an address problem, generate a notification to the owner of the record.
Customer notifications can go out by email or by the messaging channel the customer used, using approved wording.
Every notification is logged on the record.

Messages that go beyond approved wording are drafted for staff to review and send.

Routing of returns, complaints and unusual requests

Anything that is not a routine order goes to someone who can resolve it.

The workflow recognizes returns, complaints and unusual requests from the form used or the content of the message.
It opens a case, linked to the order and the customer.
The case is routed to the responsible staff member by type and by workload.
Cases that are not resolved in time are flagged to a supervisor.

Decisions on refunds, replacements and exceptions are made by staff.

Customer record updates and service history

Every interaction adds to the customer's history.

Orders, cases and notifications are attached to one customer record.
Contact details are kept up to date from the latest order.
Staff see the service history before they reply.

Customer data is available only to authorized staff and is used for service, not for anything else.

Daily operations summary

Each day starts with a clear picture of what is open.

Open orders by status.
Unresolved cases and how long they have been open.
Operational exceptions such as shortages and delays.

The summary is generated every day from the records and sent to the people responsible, or shown on a dashboard.

The summary informs. Priorities and actions are decided by the team.

How the workflow operates

This is the path of an order, with the points where people step in.

An order or request arrives A configured sales channel delivers it, and the workflow creates one record.
The record is completed Customer details and items are structured, and duplicates from other channels are merged for review.
Status and availability are checked The workflow reads order status and, where integrated, checks availability for each line.
Exceptions are raised A shortage, a delay or a problem opens a notification to the owner of the record.
Staff resolve what needs a decision Returns, complaints and unusual requests are routed to a responsible staff member.
The customer is informed Confirmations and updates go out using approved wording, and are logged on the record.
The day is summarized Open orders, unresolved cases and exceptions are collected into the daily summary.

Systems and integrations

Sales channels: the configured channels from which orders and requests are collected.
Order management system: the source for order status.
Inventory source: used for availability checks where an integration exists.
Customer records: one record per customer, with orders, cases and service history.
Email and messaging: for confirmations and exception notifications.
Dashboard and email summary: the daily view of open orders, cases and exceptions.

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