Industries

Headless, by industry.

Every sector carries a different kind of repeatable work. We know where it sits, which three functions move first, and which agents we would shortlist.

Share of headcount on repeatable work
Illustrative, from our Blueprint models

01 · Ecommerce and retail

Tickets, listings and reconciliations.

Volume businesses. Most of the repeatable load is customer contact and keeping the catalogue true across channels.

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The repeatable work
Illustrative
47%of headcount on work that repeats every week
Where that time goes
Customer service
35%
Catalogue and stock
30%
Finance
20%
Marketing operations
15%
Typical outcomes
Illustrative
First response
6 hours → 2 min
Month-end close
12 days → 3 days
EBITDA margin
10% → 13.9%
From the online retailer Blueprint. Not a client result.
Moves first
  1. 1Customer service. Where is my order, returns and address changes resolved end to end, refunds under a cap.
  2. 2Catalogue and ops. Listings, stock sync and price parity across every channel from one product master.
  3. 3Finance. Bills captured, bank lines reconciled nightly, overdue invoices chased.
We would shortlist

Systems of record stay: Shopify, Xero, Klaviyo, Cin7.

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02 · Wholesale and distribution

Quotes in days. Cash chased by hand.

Margin lives in speed to quote and days sales outstanding. Both are mostly repeatable work.

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The repeatable work
Illustrative
35%of headcount on order, quote and collections work
Where that time goes
Order entry and quoting
35%
Collections and payables
25%
Inventory and purchasing
25%
Customer service
15%
Typical outcomes
Illustrative
Quote turnaround
Days → Same day
Repeatable workload
38 FTE → 15 FTE
EBITDA margin
7% → 9.4%
From the wholesale distributor Blueprint. Not a client result.
Moves first
  1. 1Quotes and order entry. Emailed and PDF orders keyed automatically. Quotes built from the price book the same day.
  2. 2Collections. Statements and reminders by customer terms. Disputes routed to the account owner.
  3. 3Purchasing. Reorder suggestions from sales velocity and lead times. Buyer approves the PO.
We would shortlist

Systems of record stay: ERP, Xero or NetSuite, warehouse system.

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03 · Professional services

Partners doing admin.

Accounting, legal and advisory firms. The billable work stays human. Onboarding, chasing and billing do not need to.

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The repeatable work
Illustrative
20%of headcount on admin around the billable work
Where that time goes
Client onboarding
30%
Billing and WIP
30%
Document chasing
25%
Scheduling
15%
Typical outcomes
Illustrative
Client onboarding
3 weeks → 3 days
Repeatable workload
30 FTE → 12 FTE
EBITDA margin
18% → 21.5%
From the accounting firm Blueprint. Not a client result.
Moves first
  1. 1Client onboarding. Engagement letters, identity checks and setup run from one intake. Manager signs off.
  2. 2Document collection. Agents request, chase and file client records against each job checklist.
  3. 3Billing. WIP reviewed weekly, invoices drafted to engagement terms, debtors followed up.
We would shortlist

Systems of record stay: practice management, Xero, document storage.

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04 · Trades and field services

The office slows the vans.

Plumbing, electrical, HVAC and maintenance. Technicians are billable. Dispatch, quotes and invoices hold them back.

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The repeatable work
Illustrative
17%of headcount, all of it in the office behind the vans
Where that time goes
Dispatch and scheduling
35%
Quoting
25%
Invoicing
25%
Customer calls
15%
Typical outcomes
Illustrative
Invoice sent
Weeks → Job day
Repeatable workload
24 FTE → 9 FTE
EBITDA margin
9% → 12.6%
From the trades services Blueprint. Not a client result.
Moves first
  1. 1Calls and bookings. Every call answered 24/7. Jobs booked into the schedule. Emergencies paged to on call.
  2. 2Dispatch. Jobs assigned by skill, location and availability. Re-planned when a job runs over.
  3. 3Invoicing. Invoice sent from the job record on completion. Overdue accounts chased.
We would shortlist

Systems of record stay: job management, Xero, phone system.

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05 · Health and clinics

Missed calls are missed bookings.

Physio, dental, allied health and specialist groups. Clinicians stay with patients. The desk and the paperwork move.

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The repeatable work
Illustrative
38%of headcount at front desks and in admin
Where that time goes
Front desk and calls
45%
Clinical notes
25%
Billing and claims
20%
Recalls
10%
Typical outcomes
Illustrative
Bookings
Office hours → 24/7
Repeatable workload
46 FTE → 20 FTE
EBITDA margin
12% → 16.9%
From the physio group Blueprint. Not a client result.
Moves first
  1. 1Bookings and calls. A voice agent books, moves and confirms appointments against live diaries, day and night.
  2. 2Clinical notes. An AI scribe drafts notes and letters. The clinician reviews and signs every one.
  3. 3Recalls. Patients due back are contacted on schedule. Gaps in the diary filled.
We would shortlist

Systems of record stay: practice management, health fund claiming, Xero.

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06 · Hospitality

Head office runs on rosters and invoices.

Multi-venue groups. Venue managers should run the floor, not spreadsheets.

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The repeatable work
Illustrative
30%of head office and venue manager time
Where that time goes
Rostering and payroll
35%
Supplier invoices
30%
Reviews and enquiries
20%
Stock
15%
Typical outcomes
Illustrative
Rosters
Days → Overnight
Repeatable workload
60 FTE → 25 FTE
EBITDA margin
8% → 9.9%
From the hospitality group Blueprint. Not a client result.
Moves first
  1. 1Rosters. Draft rosters built to forecast, award rules and labour budget. Manager approves.
  2. 2Supplier invoices. Every invoice captured, coded by venue and matched before payment.
  3. 3Reviews and enquiries. Reviews answered in house voice. Function enquiries quoted and followed up.
We would shortlist

Systems of record stay: POS, rostering, Xero.

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07 · Franchise networks

One support office. The same question, 120 times.

Networks scale sites faster than support. Agents answer from the operations manual and escalate the rest.

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The repeatable work
Illustrative
45%of the support office on the same questions
Where that time goes
Franchisee support
40%
Onboarding and compliance
25%
Royalty reporting
20%
Marketing requests
15%
Typical outcomes
Illustrative
Franchisee answers
Days → Minutes
Repeatable workload
35 FTE → 14 FTE
EBITDA margin
15% → 18.3%
From the franchise network Blueprint. Not a client result.
Moves first
  1. 1Franchisee support. Answers from the manual, policies and systems in minutes. Exceptions to the right team.
  2. 2Onboarding. New sites stepped through setup, training and compliance checks on one plan.
  3. 3Royalty reporting. Sales pulled from every site, royalties calculated, variances flagged.
We would shortlist

Systems of record stay: POS, intranet, Xero or NetSuite.

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Private equity

Six back offices. One playbook.

Portfolio companies across these sectors run the same repeatable work. We take it headless once, to one standard for approvals, spend caps and audit, owned by each company.

6
portfolio companies
$300M
combined revenue
260 → 110
FTE on repeatable work
$10M
net EBITDA a year
Illustrative six-company portfolio, $300M combined revenue. Not a client result.

All figures are illustrative, drawn from our Blueprint models of typical businesses in each sector. Not client results. A Diagnostic replaces them with your numbers. Tools named are what we would shortlist today. No paid placements. No vendor affiliation. Product names are trademarks of their owners.

Your sector, your numbers.

30 minutes with our founder. We map your repeatable work, the three functions that move first and the agents we would pick.

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