Northwind · Replacing 47 spreadsheets with one ops platform
Consolidated 47 operational spreadsheets into a unified ops platform with role-based dashboards, automated reporting, and audit trails, saving 60 hours per week across the team.
01/ The challenge
Northwind ran their entire fleet operations across 47 spreadsheets passed between 23 people. Mistakes were costing them an estimated $400k a year in misrouted cargo and missed billing.
02/ The approach
We mapped the actual workflow, not the org chart. We built a Django-based ops platform with a clean React UI, role-scoped dashboards, an audit log on every change, and a one-time migration tool that imported their existing spreadsheets cleanly.
03/ The outcome
- Saved per week
- 60 hrs
- Routing errors
- -78%
- Spreadsheets
- 47→1
60 hours per week saved across the operations team. Misrouting errors down 78% in the first quarter. Auditors get a clean report in one click instead of three weeks.
“Forty-seven spreadsheets, twenty-three people, one platform. The migration was so smooth I had to ask twice if we'd actually cut over.”