What was said
What this says
Current to 11 Oct 26Philip Annear calls eleven active users of fifty licences thirty-nine idle seats and wants value in hours or cost per pallet. He wants the renewal early and the seat count tested. Payments are on time.
What happened: Check-in between Daniel Okafor and Finance Director Philip Annear alone. Just over eleven people are active on a typical day out of fifty licences, about level with the quarter before.
Customer view: Philip describes the team's reaction as quiet, neither complaints nor praise. Depots have not picked the brain up, and Daniel accepts that is partly BB-Demo's doing.
Commercial: Annual figure is £48k and matches the order form, paid on time throughout. Philip wants the renewal properly early and wants to know whether fifty is the right number.
Watch: Term runs to 27 Dec 2025 with renewal on 28 Dec 2025. The evidence does not show the outcome.
Themes
Current to 9 Oct 26Who was there
BB-Demo
Them
Follow-up
Next steps
Current to 9 Oct 26- Daniel Okafor emails Philip Annear the high priority ticket note and sends usage by team, and by depot if the data allows.
- Daniel Okafor asks the account managers how long client review prep takes now compared with before and reports back, including if the answer is thin.
- Daniel Okafor asks Tom Ashdown about early renewal timing and tells Philip Annear.
Risks
Current to 9 Oct 26- The Finance Director sees thirty-nine idle seats and may push to cut the seat count at renewal.
- No quantified value exists yet, and the team's view of the brain is described only as quiet.
- Depot managers have not adopted the brain, so the wider rollout the licences were sized for has not happened.
Opportunities
Current to 9 Oct 26- Account managers' own words on review prep time could give the Finance Director the evidence he wants.
- A short session with the two satellite depot managers could widen adoption if he agrees it is worthwhile.
Transcript
- Daniel Okafor NoneHello Philip, good afternoon. Thank you for making the time. I think it's just the two of us today, is that right?
- Philip Annear NoneAfternoon, Daniel. Yes, just me. Can you hear me all right? My headset's been temperamental.
- Daniel Okafor NoneLoud and clear. Bit of an echo for a second but it's gone. How's your week been?
- Philip Annear NoneMonth end looming, so the usual. Shall we start with usage? Who's using it?
- Daniel Okafor NoneOf course. So over the last month we're averaging just over eleven people active on a typical day, out of the fifty licences you have. That's about level with the quarter before, a touch down if anything, nothing that worries me. It's mostly the account managers, and a few people on the contracts side.
- Philip Annear NoneEleven of fifty.
- Daniel Okafor NoneYes. I know how that sounds on its own.
- Philip Annear NoneIt sounds like thirty-nine seats nobody's touching. Is that unfair?
- Daniel Okafor NoneIt's not unfair, and I'd rather you said it. Let me give you the other side though. The fifty was sized when you bought it, with the idea that the wider commercial team and the depot managers would come on over time. The core group has stayed steady, and they're the ones who sit with the client accounts all day. The depots haven't really picked it up, and I think that's on us as much as on them.
- Philip Annear NoneRight. And the core group, what are they actually doing with it? What does it save us?
- Daniel Okafor NoneThe thing they keep coming back to is not having to go round three places before a client review. Temperature excursion tickets, the orders and the contract notes all sit together, so an account manager can see a client's whole picture in one go. Before, as I understand it, that was a lot of copying and a lot of asking colleagues.
- Philip Annear NoneI understand the principle. I'd like it in hours, or in something I can put next to a cost per pallet. Do I have that?
- Daniel Okafor NoneNot in a number I'd be comfortable putting in front of you, no. I'd be guessing, and I'd rather not. What I can do is ask the account managers directly how long a client review prep takes now compared with before, and bring you what they actually say.
- Philip Annear NoneI'd welcome that. Not a brochure, just what they say.
- Daniel Okafor NoneUnderstood. Just to close the loop on that one, I'll come back to you once I've spoken to them, and I'll tell you if it's thin.
- Philip Annear NoneGood. Tickets?
- Daniel Okafor NoneTwo in the last month. One we treated as high priority, and it was dealt with within the response time you're entitled to. The other was a routine question. Nothing open that's keeping anyone up at night.
- Philip Annear NoneWhat was the high priority one?
- Daniel Okafor NoneA morning where one of the account managers couldn't see the latest overnight data. It was sorted by lunchtime. I can send you the ticket note if you'd like it, it's short.
- Philip Annear NonePlease. I'd rather see it than hear about it second hand.
- Daniel Okafor NoneOf course. Done, I'll put it in an email after this.
- Philip Annear NoneInvoices. Anything outstanding from my side?
- Daniel Okafor NoneNothing overdue, as far as I can see. You've paid on time all the way through, which I'm grateful for. The annual figure is still £47,500, and that matches the order form, so no surprises there.
- Philip Annear NoneGood. I dislike surprises. Which brings me to the renewal, which I'm aware is at the end of the year.
- Daniel Okafor NoneYes, the term runs to 27 Dec 2025 and the renewal falls on 28 Dec 2025. It feels a long way off but, you know, December arrives quickly.
- Philip Annear NoneIt does. Send me the renewal in good time. And I mean properly in good time, not the week before. I don't renew on autopilot, Daniel.
- Daniel Okafor NoneI wouldn't expect you to, and I'd much rather you didn't. Tom Ashdown looks after the commercial paperwork on our side, and I'll make sure he knows you want it early. I can't give you the exact day he'll send it, that's his to set, but I'll ask him and come back to you.
- Philip Annear NoneFine. And on the fifty. I'd want to understand whether it's the right number before then.
- Daniel Okafor NoneThat's fair. Let me think about how best to give you that. I could pull together who has logged in and who hasn't, by team, so we can talk about it with some facts in front of us rather than impressions.
- Philip Annear NoneYes. By team, and by depot if you can.
- Daniel Okafor NoneI'll see what I can do by depot. There's a chance the depot managers sign in under a shared arrangement and it won't show cleanly, but I'll tell you honestly what the data does and doesn't say.
- Philip Annear NoneThat's all I ask.
- Daniel Okafor NoneCan I ask you something, Philip? How is the team finding it, from what you hear? I get the account managers' view, but I don't often hear what reaches you.
- Philip Annear NoneHonestly, not much reaches me. Which I take to mean it's fine. Nobody has come to me to complain, and nobody has come to me to say it's brilliant either. If I had to put it in a word, quiet.
- Daniel Okafor NoneQuiet's not the worst thing to be, but I'd like us to be a bit better than quiet. I think the review prep numbers might help us there, one way or the other.
- Philip Annear NoneAgreed. Anything else from your side?
- Daniel Okafor NoneOnly one thing. If it would help, I'm happy to spend half an hour with the two satellite depot managers, just to show them the basics. No obligation, and only if you think it's worth their time.
- Philip Annear NoneLet me think about that. I'd want to know first that they'd get something out of it. I don't want to pull people off the floor for a demonstration.
- Daniel Okafor NoneCompletely fair, and I wouldn't want that either. Park it for now, and we can come back to it once you've seen the usage by team.
- Philip Annear NoneGood. Then I think we're done. Thank you, Daniel.
- Daniel Okafor NoneThank you, Philip. So, just to close the loop: I'll send you the ticket note this afternoon, usage by team, the account managers' own words on review prep, and I'll ask Tom about the renewal timing. Anything I've missed?
- Philip Annear NoneNo, that covers it.
- Daniel Okafor NoneLovely. Enjoy what's left of the afternoon, and good luck with the month end.
- Philip Annear NoneI'll need it. Goodbye.