Program Operations · Discovery
What we heard,
and where this can go.
Our reflection of what Jon and Allison shared on April 14th. What we heard, our synthesis on the future state, and how we can get there.
01
What we heard.
Speed and accuracy are core priorities
Jon and Allison landed on the same two metrics independently: how fast a program goes from sale to live, and how often it is right the first time. The current process works against both.
Sales is doing work that is not revenue generating
Completing the SKU template requires the same person who closes deals to fill out every attribute combination as its own row, navigate vendor-specific naming conventions, and re-engage with ops when something is wrong. This feels misaligned to their incentives and their core skillset.
Institutional knowledge is load-bearing
The onshore checker holds vendor nuances, per-client configuration rules, and program-specific history that is limited in live documentation. The system functions because of what she knows. That creates a fragile dependency in the operation.
Redundant technology systems
FileMaker and NetSuite carry redundancies. The result is nine import and export cycles per program, two databases that drift out of sync, and a handoff that requires institutional knowledge to navigate without errors.
This is both a cost and a growth constraint
SKU creation is the bottleneck for your entire program capacity. Fixing it does not just reduce cost. It unlocks how much more volume you can take on without adding proportional headcount. As Allison put it: "If we can solve this, it explodes our capacity to offer that service." The two problems are the same problem.
"Sales should only be responsible for identifying what the product is and how it's decorated. After that, I need to get it out of the sales environment and into the operations environment."
Jon Levine, CEO · April 14, 2026
02
Proposed Workflow Changes
Today's process touches four departments across seven steps before a program goes live. The proposed model compresses that to four, with validation and attribute mapping handled by the system.
Today · 7 steps, 4 departments
Proposed · 4 steps, exception-driven
1
Sales completes full SKU template, every attribute combination as its own row↓
2
Ops reviews for accuracy and re-engages sales when data is incomplete or wrong↓
3
Nine FileMaker and NetSuite imports to generate parent and child SKUs↓
4
IT manually validates vendor attribute naming against each vendor's database↓
5
Web images created, public links generated and attached manually in Magento↓
6
Setup instructions authored manually for each decoration record↓
7
Program goes live, days to weeks after the initial sales conversation1
Sales selects product type, decoration method, colors, and sizes. Nothing else.↓
2
System validates input, maps vendor attributes automatically, and structures data for NetSuite↓
3
SKUs generated in NetSuite. Setup instructions drafted. Web images queued.↓
4
Ops reviews a short exception list. Program goes live within 24 hours.03
Your goals.
A
Allison Rabe
Chief Operating Officer
✓Speed from data received to program live, measured and consistently short
✓Accuracy as a primary metric: SKUs right the first time, no downstream correction loops
✓Vendor data pulled in rather than recreated, integrated where possible, translated where not
✓One database, not two drifting apart
✓The judgment that currently lives in one person's head built into the system instead
J
Jon Levine
Chief Executive Officer
✓Sales involvement ends at product identity and decoration. Everything downstream belongs to ops or automation.
✓Speed and accuracy as the compensation metrics, with an exponential structure tied to both
✓Capacity to grow program volume without growing headcount at the same rate
✓Offshore deployed on work that is genuinely mechanical, with judgment removed from the process
04
A working vision.
The salesperson picks the product and the outcome. Vendor selection, attribute mapping, and SKU generation happen automatically.
Program Builder
Set up a new branded program
Step 1Product
Step 2Decoration
Step 3Colors
Step 4Sizes
Step 5Preview
What type of product does your client need?
Branded HoodieApparel
Performance PoloApparel
Branded T-ShirtApparel
Insulated TumblerDrinkware
Recognition AwardEmployee Recognition
Branded ToteBags
How should the logo be applied?
Left Chest Embroidery
Durable, professional. Best for structured fabrics.
Full Front Screen Print
High impact, cost-effective at volume.
Heat Transfer
Full color detail. Good for complex artwork or smaller runs.
Laser Engraving
Premium and permanent. Ideal for drinkware and hard goods.
⬆
Upload client logo
SVG, AI, EPS, or PNG at 300dpi+
✅ClientLogo_Final_v3.svg uploaded and reviewed
Which colorways should be available on the store?
✓
Black
✓
Navy
✓
Hthr Grey
✓
Red
✓
Royal Blue
✓
Forest Grn
✓
Gold
✓
White
Which sizes should be offered? Select all that apply.
XS
S
M
L
XL
2XL
3XL
4XL
⚡
Sizes use PromoStandards format (S, M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL). Vendor selection and attribute mapping are handled by the system. Whether a supplier calls it "2XL," "XXL," or "Extra Large," the correct match is found before anything enters NetSuite. You never choose the vendor.
Ready for ops review.
0
Child SKUs
0
Colorways
0
Sizes
🤖
Vendor matched. Attributes normalized. SKUs ready for NetSuite. Setup instruction drafted. Web images queued.
| SKU | Product | Color | Size | Decoration | Vendor |
|---|
05
How we work together.
The Discovery Engagement
Build. Buy. Kill.
Discovery replaces the assumptions in this document with decisions. The output is a prioritized recommendation on what to build custom, what existing tools to bring in, and what to remove from the current stack.
Build
Logic specific to your programs, clients, and vendor relationships that off-the-shelf tools cannot replicate.
Candidates: vendor attribute translation, NetSuite SKU generation, program-aware validation, setup instruction automation
Buy
Tools that already solve part of this and can be integrated without a full custom build.
Candidates: ESP+ or commonsku for the quoting and catalog layer, PromoStandards integrations already in market
Kill
Systems that exist only because something else was not working well enough.
Strong candidate: FileMaker. Once NetSuite receives clean structured data directly, there is no remaining purpose for it.
What you walk away with
→A mapped current-state workflow with every handoff, dependency, and failure point identified
→Institutional knowledge documented and structured so it can inform what gets automated
→Recommendations on decision-making flows and information architecture for an AI-era operation
→A prioritized build/buy/kill roadmap with the first items chosen to release the most pressure, fastest
Two questions before we go further.
1.Does this reflect the constraints you are trying to solve?
2.How much discovery do you want before we scope anything?