All-In-One Versus Point Products

For a decade, we nurtured Peoplevox before it was acquired by Descartes. In the last two years of ownership, we experimented with a shift in product strategy. Rather than focusing on creating a comprehensive, end-to-end solution, we aimed to develop standalone apps that could also operate collectively within a unified system. The rationale was clear: acquiring brands already equipped with a warehouse management system (WMS) was challenging due to the high costs of switching. These standalone apps were conceived to complement our competitors' offerings, thus broadening our market reach, increasing our Total Addressable Market (TAM), and enhancing our client acquisition rate.

During this period, my attention was primarily on amplifying Peoplevox’s Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) through our established WMS, to maximise value for all stakeholders, including myself.

From afar, I observed parallels between our development efforts and Airtable, a platform I advocated for extensively. We envisioned these apps to be:

• User-configurable
• Seamlessly interconnected
• Founded on a customisable database framework
• Capable of allowing users to tailor fields and data types

Our acquisition by Descartes in early 2020, just before the global lockdowns began, marked a turning point. The strategic direction towards standalone apps was abruptly halted as Descartes focused on maximising their return on investment in Peoplevox’s WMS. In anticipation of the sale, we had already been dialling back on research and development to safeguard our profit margins.

Product Lifecycle Management Evolution

Nine months post-investment, I found myself reflecting on my next steps from a farm in Devon. It was then I discovered a startup, SupplyCompass, addressing challenges similar to those we had explored with Peoplevox’s point products. What set SupplyCompass apart was the founding team's profound understanding of the manufacturing industry and the production process. Their software stood out for integrating two platforms — one for brands and one for manufacturers — aiming to foster improved collaboration and more sustainable production decisions. However, it wasn’t creating a new product category but offering a fresh perspective within the established Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) space.

The Challenge of Siloed Operations

My tenure at SupplyCompass involved engaging with over 200 brands, from designers to COOs and creative founders. Despite our platform lacking certain features and operating on a subscription model, we managed to secure deals, challenging established PLMs like Centric and WFX.

Yet, striving for innovation beyond traditional PLM procurement cycles proved both exhilarating and draining. We encountered operations desperately in need of solutions, hindered by compartmentalised thinking. This fragmented approach often complicated the implementation of the SupplyCompass platform, leading to blockages after initial team approvals.

Unlike Peoplevox’s point products, SupplyCompass offered an all-encompassing solution. The inherent challenge with this strategy is managing stakeholder expectations and partial product usage until the solution is fully realised.

One notable success was the Style Tracker, a feature allowing the creation of custom critical paths for tracking a product's journey from design to launch. Despite its immediate appeal, particularly to merchandisers, early adoption uncovered several operational complexities, from data management across multiple levels to version control and template customisation for various product types.

Our encounters with these challenges highlighted the disjointed nature of fashion operations. The process from product development to launch involved multiple, siloed stakeholders without a unified operational oversight, leading to inefficiencies and missed opportunities.

The Genesis of a New Venture

By April 2022, I found myself without a job, a casualty of the declining venture capital investment in SaaS platforms. SupplyCompass’s closure underscored the importance of charging for onboarding and change management services — a lesson learnt too late for us.

This unforeseen career juncture propelled me towards starting my own venture. Reflecting on my experiences, I realised the aspects of work I truly enjoyed.

Navigating The Dark Stack

At SupplyCompass, I had developed a comprehensive workflow overview on a Miro board, tracing every step from new range inception to product returns. This exercise illuminated the disconnection between specialised tools and the holistic workflow needs of brands, leading to the concept of 'The Dark Stack' — a realm of isolated spreadsheets, duplicated data, and makeshift communication solutions.

Embracing Airtable

Throughout numerous sales discussions turned market research sessions, I discovered brands attempting to address the very challenges targeted by the Style Tracker, using tools like Monday, Trello, Asana, and, notably, Airtable. While the first three served basic project management needs, the implementations I observed on Airtable offered a glimpse into its potential for more integrated operations.

Inspired by these insights and drawing on my Peoplevox experience, I saw a clear parallel in the application of Airtable for similar use cases.

The Advent of Custom Apps

The introduction to Vic Graves, a fervent Airtable enthusiast who had developed custom apps for a retailer, marked a pivotal moment. Joining forces, we leveraged Airtable to craft bespoke apps for brands, marrying our deep understanding of operational workflows with Airtable’s flexible platform.

Our collaboration led to successful projects for brands like Hype and RIXO, proving that significant R&D investment wasn’t a prerequisite for delivering impactful solutions. This approach not only aligned with our vision but also demonstrated a competitive edge in addressing the needs identified by the Style Tracker, without the unnecessary complexities.

Agile Operations

Understanding the applications is crucial for promoting Airtable solutions, yet the bespoke aspect is what attracts Operators to it. Brands driven by their products shape their operations to support their product strategy. This strategy dictates the operational needs of the business, with different product strategies requiring varied operational workflows.

There's widespread discussion about Nike's sluggish pace in introducing product innovations, while brands like ON and Hoka are making significant headway.

Essentially, Nike has become the proverbial oil tanker, requiring nine miles to come to a halt, in contrast to the nimble movements of ON and Hoka, akin to speedboats. This kind of agility must extend to operational practices; they should be regarded as dynamic systems. The challenge for your brand, especially if it's rapidly expanding, is maintaining this agility.

Becoming entrenched in fixed operational methods means your brand could struggle to adapt its operations in line with shifts in product strategy led by your product chiefs. Failure to operationalise and implement strategic changes can severely impede growth. New staff members, particularly those from well-known brands, tend to leave, and the established team members become disheartened and exit as well.

Custom Apps vs Off-the-Shelf Software for Expanding Brands

Opting for off-the-shelf software for a rapidly growing brand often means attempting to align your present and anticipated future operations with a pre-set framework. This approach necessitates making forecasts about future requirements—a daunting task that leads decision-makers to simplify their decision-making process. They might reason, "If successful Company XYZ utilises it, and we aspire to their level of success, adopting the same technology should assist us in achieving that." However, this line of thinking can result in unwise technology investments, potentially jeopardising careers and leaving the brand committed to lengthy contracts with rigid platforms like Enterprise PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) or PIM (Product Information Management) systems.

Off-the-shelf software is characterised by predetermined implementation methods, integration capabilities with your existing technology stack, and established workflows. This was the situation with SupplyCompass, in spite of its contemporary technology and user interface.

It's improbable that you'll want to—or even be capable of—using every feature of a rigid software solution from the beginning. Being advised that you need to "grow into" your software investment because the vendor says so is a cautionary flag. Accepting limitations now with the hope of future advantages can constrain your brand's unique growth and differentiation.

If your strategy is centred on distinguishing your brand from established competitors and carving out your own path to success, you will require an operational model that underpins this vision. Conventional, one-size-fits-all software, developed with a standard mindset, won't support this kind of innovation.

This presents brands with a critical choice: risk losing operational clarity to an incompatible technology stack ("The Dark Stack") or commit to developing custom applications tailored to their specific processes and growth trajectory. Custom apps offer the adaptability and scalability that high-growth brands necessitate to innovate and excel in their marketplace.

Embracing Operational Agility

The evolution from Peoplevox to creating custom apps via Airtable underscores a crucial lesson for businesses: the limitations of one-size-fits-all software and the transformative power of bespoke solutions. As markets evolve, the agility to tailor operations to unique brand strategies is essential. The transition towards custom apps exemplifies a move from rigid, predefined systems to dynamic, adaptable tools that grow with the brand.

This shift isn't just a trend but a necessary evolution for competitiveness and innovation. Brands must adopt flexible, living operational systems to navigate today’s fast-paced markets effectively. The choice between off-the-shelf software and custom app development is strategic, impacting a brand’s ability to innovate and adapt.

In a world where operational agility can make or break success, investing in custom solutions offers a path to bespoke innovation and a competitive edge, tailored to each brand's vision and strategy. The journey of adapting to custom apps highlights the future of operations: flexible, customised, and strategically aligned for growth.

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