Blueprint · Wholesale distribution · Illustrative example
How a $60M wholesale distributor goes headless.
$60M revenue · 110 people · 7% EBITDA · NetSuite, HubSpot, Microsoft 365
The short version
$1.45M
More EBITDA a year
net of software and running costs
7% → 9.4%
EBITDA margin
+2.4 points
41,400
Hours back a year
38 → 15 FTE on repeatable work
16 weeks
To fully running
first value in week 8
01 · Where the time goes
38 people on repeatable work. 15 after.
Full-time equivalents spent on work that is the same every week, by function.
TodayHeadless
Orders and quotes
14 → 5
Customer service
8 → 3
Credit and collections
10 → 4
Purchasing and stock
6 → 3
Total23 FTE of time back. 41,400 hours a year.38 → 15
02 · The stack
Your stack. Built by us. Owned by you.
PADISO is not in your stack. We choose the agents, wire them into the systems you already run, and set the rules inside your own tools. Every account, contract and log is in your name.
You
MD and leads
7am daily summaryApprovals in TeamsWeekly operating review
Agents
Bought, not built
ConexiomZendesk AI agentsUpflowStampliNetstockCustom Claude agents on n8n
The rules
Set in your own tools
Approval thresholds in SlackSpend caps in each vendorAudit logs you keepWeekly accuracy checks
Models: Claude, GPT, Gemini or Grok, chosen per task on accuracy and cost. Swappable without a rebuild.Custom agents: only where no product exists. Here, three: quoting, supplier follow-up and credit reviews.
03 · The playbook
Function by function, step by step.
The tools, the order of work, the guardrail and what it is worth. Detailed enough to implement.
Orders and quotes
Weeks 5 to 8
Quote turnaround
5 days → Same day
Hours back a year
16,200
Net EBITDA a year
$567K
Tools
ConexiomNetSuiteClaude agent on n8n
Steps
1Pull 12 months of quotes and orders. Map every format customers send: PDF orders, emails, spreadsheets.
2Connect Conexiom to the orders inbox. Orders land in NetSuite as sales orders, checked against price and stock.
3Deploy a Claude quoting agent on n8n over the NetSuite price book, contract pricing and stock levels.
4Shadow for 2 weeks: agents draft, reps send. Go live customer group by group once accuracy passes 90%.
People keep
Key accounts, negotiation, new business
Guardrail
Quotes over $20K or below floor margin need a rep to say yes.
Customer service
Weeks 8 to 11
Order status reply
4 hours → 2 min
Hours back a year
9,000
Net EBITDA a year
$315K
Tools
Zendesk AI agentsNetSuiteTeams
Steps
1Tag 12 months of emails and calls by intent: order status, backorders, proof of delivery, returns.
2Connect Zendesk AI agents to NetSuite orders and carrier tracking. Write the returns and credit policy as guidance.
3Shadow for 2 weeks: the agent drafts, people send. Go live intent by intent once accuracy passes 90%.
4The agent raises return authorisations under $500. Disputes and key accounts route to a person in Teams.
People keep
Key account care, disputes, complaints
Guardrail
Credits over $500 and any key account complaint go to a person.
Credit and collections
Weeks 11 to 14
Days sales outstanding
58 days → 44 days
Hours back a year
10,800
Net EBITDA a year
$378K
Tools
UpflowStampliNetSuite
Steps
1Segment the ledger by risk and terms. Write the reminder cadence and escalation rules once.
2Upflow runs reminder sequences from NetSuite data. Promises to pay are tracked, not lost in inboxes.
3Stampli captures supplier invoices, matches them to purchase orders in NetSuite and routes exceptions.
4A Claude agent drafts credit reviews for new accounts and limit increases. The credit controller signs.
People keep
Credit decisions, holds, supplier terms
Guardrail
Account holds, write-offs and every payment run need a human yes.
Purchasing and stock
Weeks 13 to 16
Stockout lines a month
120 → 35
Hours back a year
5,400
Net EBITDA a year
$189K
Tools
NetstockNetSuiteClaude agent on n8n
Steps
1Connect Netstock to NetSuite. Set service levels by item class: high for A items, lean for slow movers.
2Netstock proposes reorders from demand forecasts. Buyers approve in bulk, not line by line.
3A Claude agent on n8n chases supplier confirmations and ETAs, and updates the purchase orders.
4A weekly exception list lands in Teams: late suppliers, excess stock, items to reprice or drop.
People keep
Supplier negotiation, range, big buys
Guardrail
Purchase orders over $50K and new suppliers need a yes.
Tools named are what we would shortlist for this business today. No paid placements and no vendor affiliation. Best of breed moves fast, so the stack is reviewed every quarter.
04 · How it runs
Faster on every measure that matters.
Shorter bar is better. Same business, same team leads, same systems.
Quote turnaround30× faster
Today
5 days
Headless
Same day
Order entry, per order12× faster
Today
12 minutes
Headless
1 minute
Order status reply120× faster
Today
4 hours
Headless
2 minutes
Days sales outstanding14 days sooner
Today
58 days
Headless
44 days
Stockout lines a month71% fewer
Today
120
Headless
35
Approvals reaching the MD89% fewer
Today
35 a week
Headless
4 a week
05 · The money
$4.2M EBITDA becomes $5.65M.
Each function adds to the bottom line. Figures are net of software, models and running the agents.
$4.2M
Today
+$567K
Orders and quotes
+$315K
Customer service
+$378K
Credit and collections
+$189K
Purchasing and stock
$5.65M
Headless
EBITDA margin
7%→9.4%
How the $1.45M is built
23 FTE × $84K$1.93MSoftware, models, running, 25%−$0.48MNet a year$1.45M
06 · The 16 weeks
One function at a time. Value from week 8.
Each function runs in shadow mode for two weeks: agents draft, people send. Nothing goes live until accuracy holds above 90%.
12345678910111213141516
Diagnostic
Diagnostic
Orders and quotes
Live wk 8
Customer service
Live wk 11
Credit, collections
Live wk 14
Purchasing, stock
Live wk 16
DiagnosticShadow modeLive
Annual EBITDA run rate, by week
$1.45M by week 16
12345678910111213141516
Milestones
Week 4Board signs off the case, the stack and the guardrails
Week 8Conexiom and the quoting agent live. $0.57M run rate
Week 11Zendesk AI agents answering order status. $0.88M
Week 14Upflow and Stampli live. DSO falling. $1.26M
Week 16Netstock live. Handover to Operate. $1.45M
07 · After
The MD’s Monday, headless.
One summary at 7am. Two decisions. The rest of the day goes on customers and suppliers.
Daily summaryMon 7:00am
186
orders entered since Friday
94%
without a person keying them
$212K
in 9 quotes sent same day
Waiting for you · 2
Quote $64K · contractor account · 2% under floor marginApprove
Credit limit · $40K to $80K · 4 years paid on timeReview
Illustrative model: 23 FTE of repeatable work at $84K fully loaded, less 25% for software, models and running the agents. 1,800 hours per FTE a year. Not a client result. A Diagnostic replaces these with your numbers. Product names are trademarks of their owners.
What would your business look like headless?
30 minutes with our founder. We sketch your before and after, and your stack, on the call.