What was said
What this says
Current to 13 Oct 26Karin Sjöberg described three customer-insight sources merged by hand. Mats Eklund, the CFO, wants hours saved and lasting value shown before agreeing anything. Tom Ashdown pencilled Enterprise at £129k including implementation.
What happened: Tom Ashdown ran a discovery call on 20 Jan 2025 with Karin Sjöberg and Mats Eklund. Karin described sixty Nordic stores and three feedback sources that her team merges by hand.
Customer view: Mats wants the return measured in people-hours and in store decisions. He also wants value to last beyond the first year.
Commercial: Tom pencilled Enterprise at £129k in total, including one-off implementation, so not an annual price. Mats will agree nothing on a call and wants the written numbers well before 18 Mar 2025.
Watch: Karin said the data team will ask first about running inside their own Snowflake account. The Enterprise security review is the route for that.
Themes
Current to 9 Oct 26Who was there
BB-Demo
Them
Follow-up
Next steps
Current to 9 Oct 26- Tom Ashdown to send the written price breakdown and demo dates to Mats Eklund and Karin Sjöberg.
- Run the demo on Lindqvarn Retail's own data ahead of the 18 Mar 2025 target.
Risks
Current to 9 Oct 26- Mats Eklund will not agree anything without written numbers and doubts value beyond the first year.
- The Enterprise price is only pencilled and includes implementation, so it may be misread as an annual figure.
Opportunities
Current to 9 Oct 26- Enterprise tier for a group of about sixty stores, with security review support for the data team.
Transcript
- Tom Ashdown NoneMorning, both. Can you hear me? I've got the little green bar jumping about so I think we're fine.
- Karin Sjöberg NoneGood morning, Tom. Yes, we can hear you. How is everyone today? Mats is next to me, we are in the same room.
- Tom Ashdown NoneGrand, thanks. How's your week been so far, or is it too early on a Monday to ask?
- Mats Eklund NoneCold, and busy. Before we begin, I would like to confirm the agenda I received. Current systems, what you want to achieve, how this works, and next steps. Is that right?
- Tom Ashdown NoneSpot on, Mats, that's exactly what I'd got. No drama if we wander a bit, but we'll land on those.
- Karin Sjöberg NoneMaybe I can start with the background. We have about sixty stores across the Nordics, homeware and furniture. And today we have three places where we hear the customer: customer service, the e-commerce side, and feedback from the stores.
- Tom Ashdown NoneRight. And those don't talk to each other much?
- Karin Sjöberg NoneNot really. Each has its own reports, and someone, usually me or one of my team, puts them together by hand in a spreadsheet. By the time it is done, the store managers have already moved on.
- Tom Ashdown NoneThat's the bit we hear a lot. So what would you like to see instead? Describe a good Monday.
- Karin Sjöberg NoneOne view of each customer segment. If a group of customers in one region is unhappy about delivery times, I want to see that in the same place as their web orders and what the stores heard. And then the store managers should act on it. What do the stores say, that is always the question.
- Mats Eklund NoneAnd what is the return? I need to understand that.
- Karin Sjöberg NoneOf course. Mats, let us think about it together. Perhaps we can agree what we would measure.
- Tom Ashdown NoneThat's a good place to land, actually. What would you measure, Mats? Hours saved, fewer repeat complaints, something about store stock?
- Mats Eklund NoneTime first. How many people-hours go into the manual reports. Then decisions. If a store changes something because of the insight, can we see it? And next year? If it is only useful in the first year, it is not worth it.
- Tom Ashdown NoneFair enough, and I'd rather you pushed on that now than after you've signed. Can I explain quickly how it works? You'll have seen the material.
- Mats Eklund NoneI have not read the marketing. Please just explain it.
- Tom Ashdown NoneHa, fair. So, plain version. We build one layer over your systems, customer service, e-commerce, store feedback, whatever else you want in. It sits inside your own Snowflake account, so the data doesn't leave your environment. Then people ask it questions in ordinary language and get answers, with the source behind them.
- Karin Sjöberg NoneInside our own account. That is important for us. Our data team will ask about that first.
- Tom Ashdown NoneThey would, and they should. For a company your size we'd be talking about the Enterprise tier, and that comes with a security review, so your data team gets to go through it properly with us.
- Mats Eklund NoneEnterprise. So, a number, please. Roughly.
- Tom Ashdown NoneI'll be straight with you, I won't quote from memory and have you hold me to it. What I have pencilled against the deal is £129,000 in total, and that includes the one-off implementation, so it isn't an annual price. I'll confirm the split in writing.
- Mats Eklund NoneSend me the numbers first, then. I do not agree anything on a call.
- Tom Ashdown NoneWouldn't expect you to. Leave that with me.
- Karin Sjöberg NoneTom, who would need to be involved on our side? I would prefer we anchor this with the right people early, so no one is surprised later.
- Tom Ashdown NoneGood instinct. You, obviously, as the one who'll own it. Someone from your data team for the Snowflake side, and a person who knows each of the three sources. A colleague of mine, Marcus Bell, would look after you once you're live, so I'd bring him in at the right point.
- Karin Sjöberg NoneGood. I can ask two or three people from the stores to join the next conversation. They will tell us quickly if it is useful.
- Tom Ashdown NoneBrilliant. Next step is a demo on your own data rather than slides, so you see it with your real material. Let's get something in the diary. We're aiming at 18 Mar 2025 to have it settled, so there's room, but I don't want us drifting.
- Mats Eklund NoneMarch is acceptable. It must fit the store investment plan, so I will want the numbers well before that.
- Tom Ashdown NoneUnderstood. I'll send the written breakdown and some dates for the demo, and you can tell me what suits.
- Karin Sjöberg NoneThank you, Tom. That is a good first conversation. Let us think about it together and come back to you.
- Tom Ashdown NoneLovely. Cheers both, have a good week.