One system for orders, stock, invoices and customer messages, replacing a set of spreadsheets
A design study of an operations system for a UAE trading company: orders, stock by location, VAT invoices and a WhatsApp inbox in one place.
Imagine a trading company running orders from WhatsApp, stock in Excel and invoices in a Word template. The brief we set ourselves: one place for orders, stock and invoices with 5% VAT handled correctly, customer messages arriving in the same system, and an assistant that answers routine questions but hands over to a person when it should.
A web-based operations system: order and customer records, stock by location, quotations and VAT invoices, payment tracking, a WhatsApp inbox linked to customer records, and an AI assistant that answers from the catalogue and stock data. Designed to demonstrate design.
Choices we made, and why.
- 01
Model the real workflow before the screens
We map how an order moves from enquiry to quotation, invoice, delivery and payment, and who touches it. The data model follows that flow, so the screens match how staff already think and training is short.
- 02
Stock as movements, not a number
Stock is the sum of receipts, sales and adjustments, each with a user and a date. A single editable quantity cannot be audited, and an audit trail is what lets a manager find where a count went wrong.
- 03
VAT and invoices built in, with the accountant in the loop
Invoices carry 5% VAT as separate lines with sequential numbering. Tax rules are confirmed with the client's accountant and, for e-invoicing, checked against current UAE requirements before we configure anything.
- 04
WhatsApp through the official API
Messages arrive via the WhatsApp Business Platform, which requires approved templates for business-initiated messages and a business account. We build on that rather than unofficial tools, which risk the number being blocked.
- 05
The assistant answers from data and knows when to stop
The AI assistant reads the catalogue and stock, answers price and availability questions, and hands off to a person for discounts, complaints or anything outside its data. It cites what it used, and staff can review every conversation.
- 06
Roles and permissions from day one
Sales, warehouse and finance see different things, and price or cost fields are hidden where they should be. Adding permissions after launch is harder than designing them in.
Planned timeline: Planned as a 10 to 14 week operations system build: workflow discovery in weeks 1 to 2, design in weeks 2 to 4, core modules in weeks 4 to 10, WhatsApp and assistant in weeks 9 to 12, data migration, training and launch after.
Designed and engineered by our studio.
Your brand, built to this standard.
Tell us what you sell and when you want to launch.