From reconciliation tool to operational architecture
A holiday incident exposed the limits of reactive tooling. Here's the architectural shift we're building in response.
In Order Reconciliation, we walked through building an internal tool that helped a support team stop drowning in manual cross-referencing. Unified view of orders across systems. Validation checks that caught discrepancies before customers called. AI-generated summaries that turned 15-minute investigations into 1-minute reads.
The tool worked. But it was still reactive.
The trigger
The happy path for an order looks simple: customer places order, product ships, customer receives product. Done.
But that is not where the journey ends. A certain percentage of orders will be returned or exchanged. A certain percentage will be delayed, returned to sender, stolen, or lost. These are not edge cases. They happen too frequently to treat as exceptions.
During the holidays, lost packages spiked. Insurance covered the cost. But these were gifts. Trees without presents on Christmas morning.
The tool helped us see the problems faster. It did not help us get ahead of them.
We had been discussing a different approach for months: actionable insights. Alerts that surface potential issues before customers call. We knew it was the right direction. We needed to "find the time" to build it. The holidays made it clear: working fine is not the same as ready for scale. We started building.
From report to tool to framework
This work has evolved through three phases.
First, a report. Pulling data from multiple systems into a single view so someone could see what was happening.
Then, a tool. Adding validation, sync logic, and summarization so someone could act on what they saw without manual investigation.
Now, a framework. Separating concerns so the system can grow, adapt, and eventually enable proactive response instead of reactive support.
Each phase funded the next. The report saved hours. The tool saved more. The framework is how we stop playing catch-up entirely.
Three layers, three responsibilities
The framework separates concerns into three distinct layers. Each has a single job.
Sync Layer
The sync layer ingests and normalizes data from multiple systems on a predictable cadence.
Its job is intentionally boring:
- Pull data incrementally
- Preserve raw state
- Track changes over time
- Be resilient to partial failures
No business decisions happen here. No assumptions are made. This layer exists so downstream logic never has to guess what happened or when.
Business Logic Layer
This is where the real work happens.
The business logic layer:
- Correlates related records that do not naturally line up
- Applies deterministic rules and heuristics
- Resolves ambiguity instead of hiding it
- Produces explainable outcomes
Crucially, this logic lives outside of vendor platforms. That makes it auditable, testable, and evolvable as the business changes.
This is also where edge cases stop being emergencies and start being categorized inputs.
Reporting and Alerting Layer
The final layer translates system state into human decisions.
Instead of dashboards that require interpretation:
- Operators see clear status buckets
- Exceptions surface early, not weeks later
- Alerts are tied to business impact, not raw data changes
The goal is not more visibility. It is faster confidence and fewer manual interventions.
From reactive to proactive
Until now, the support team has operated reactively. Customer calls, team investigates, issue gets resolved. That works, but it means you are always behind.
With actionable insights surfacing early, we can flip the model.
A proactive text message: "We see your order is delayed. We are watching it and will send a replacement if you have not received it in 7 days."
A proactive email: "Your delivery was returned to us. Please double check your address and let us know where to resend the order."
A push notification: "The item you ordered is sold out. Would you like a substitute, a refund, or store credit?"
These are not hypotheticals. They are the next phase.
Instead of a support team that can only react to customer contacts, you now have the option to focus on meeting customer expectations before they have to reach out. That changes the operating model. It changes how customers experience the brand.
Work in progress
At the time of this article, we are six weeks into this journey.
The actionable insights are already funding the work through operational savings. But we are just getting started. This framework will expand to support multiple teams and departments.
Our goal is to learn from our reactions so we can become proactive, reducing customer friction and increasing revenue and margins.
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