Climbing Turn Ltd

25/08/2026

Why AI won’t fix broken processes

I've written a piece on AI for Wholesale Manager in the special reports section.

Hopefully I've got the balance right, how AI works and how it can be used in your business.
It can be tricky getting that balance right, especially when you are the type of person that really likes to geek out on the tech behind the solution.

I've delved into where AI works best and where is it is unruly or rambunctious (I just love that word!).

You see, sometimes AI is the best tool for the job and sometimes, well, sometimes it really is just an expensive toy.

You need to choose wisely and I'm seeing a lot of hype about AI here on LinkedIn. If someone is telling you that you need to completely convert your workflows to AI and is selling you the moon on a stick, take beat.

You know your business, now you need to get to know the flaws in your system, you know, the ones that just aren't top of your priority list, or even the ones that you have just had to put up with.

Those are the areas where you need to focus on.

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Turn Ltd.
Your workflow. Improved. Simply explained.

17/08/2026

Don't you just love it when an annoying feature actually makes you laugh?

This is my wide brimmed hat, I need it in all this sunshine! Us ginger haired people need to be very careful in the sun.

The trouble with hats is that they tend to get blown off, particularly when the wind is strong. Hence the amusing photo.

Last week I was working on an app that is so nearly ready to launch.

But wait! Just as you think that you are done, you remember that you need to go back over the entire app or website and check that it is still accessible.

Yes of course this was all part of the design but it's not just the usability that is important; navigation in the right places, thumb sized buttons and links, etc.

I need to check the code, is it WAI-ARIA compliant? It was at the start but does it remain compliant after all the snagging?

Luckily there are so many tools out there that really make surfacing the missing pieces easy.

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Hi, I'm Dorothy co-founder of Turn Ltd.
Less jargon, more solutions

10/08/2026

Do your staff know what to do if your entire system is taken down?

Don't look away! It doesn't have to be that scary.

I see many businesses that have a backup that is run every night but when you ask them what the procedure is to make use of that backup, they change the subject.
I don't blame them, who wants to think about the possibilility of your entire system is taken down by a hacker or by a software bug that you didn't even know existed.

What is the biggest threat to your business?
Not knowing what the biggest threat is!

What exactly do you know about the software the runs your business?
What software version(s) are you running?
Where are the weak points in your system?
What underlying bugs, issues does your software have that you are unaware of?

Often people offer you consultancy and then they leave you with a list of problems.
Get in touch with us if you want consultancy paired with concrete expert help.

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Climbing Turn Ltd.
Less jargon, more solutions

07/08/2026

The distributors and wholesalers we work with tend to know their business inside out.
They've built something real, and they're good at what they do.

What they're also usually aware of, without necessarily having had the time to address it, is where the systems aren't quite keeping pace.

* Stock figures that need a second check
* A pipeline that relies on someone remembering to update it
* A few manual steps that introduce the odd error and options that simply aren't offered to the customer

We work alongside businesses like that to identify where the effort is heaviest and what's worth improving first. With 25 years of experience across wholesale and distribution, we've seen most of it before; and we're good at cutting through to what will actually make a difference.

If it's something you've been meaning to look at, we're happy to start with a conversation.

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Hi, I'm Dorothy co-founder of Turn Ltd.
From stockroom to system: building the software that's right for you.

hashtag

27/07/2026

Before we rebuilt a client's e-commerce site, we suggested looking at their fulfillment process first.

It was only partially automated which had worked fine at their existing volumes. But they were about to get a lot busier and we wanted to make sure the back end system was ready for that before the customer facing end went live.

It was the right decision because when orders came in at the new level, they were in a position to handle them.

That approach, understanding the whole operation before making changes and thinking about where the pressure points will be, is something we bring to every project. It's part of what 25 years in this kind of work teaches you.

If you're thinking about improving how your business runs:
stock clarity
pipeline visibility
reducing manual effort

We would be happy to think it through with you.

23/07/2026

Build your own app?

Why would you spend money on building an app for your specific business?

In an age where apps are easily available, surely it is much better to use a subscription model?

Most apps are aimed for a wide target market which means that you often end up using just a fraction of the available functionality. It feels like your needs are a square brick in a round hole.
One solution is to mix and match; e.g. having different apps for each part of the puzzle. You can often integrate these apps, they may offer an integration natively or you can do this through a third party tool such as Zapier.

The positive side of this is that you are not tied into one supplier and you could swap out one app for another if you fall out of love with it.
The reality is that you often don't have the capacity for this disruption now that you have made such gains in productivity. So you find yourself feeling frustrated and potentially disillusioned with this choice.
It's also frustrating to pay for functionality that is not relevant, especially when that leads to a build up of subscriptions.

What other choices do you have?
You could invest in a system designed especially for your needs but how can you justify the cost of this investment before you can measure the results?

I see this often, a business knows that they need to be competitive so they plan to completely change their process and build out a suite of tools for their needs.
This is great if you have a large budget but even if you do, it's not the best way to go about things.

Focus on a specific need, get your staff on board with the requirements, build that one function and evaluate. In this way you can ensure that you stay on track, delivering one function, quickly and on budget. You can then measure the results whilst you begin on the next development.
This is important.
Your previous list of requirements are likely to change. This is because you have changed the work flow and with it comes new ideas and efficiencies. Your priorities may change and no doubt the market has too!

Call now to connect with business.

10/07/2026

3 tips that can quietly make a big difference to how your business operates.

1. Let your spreadsheets do more of the thinking.

Most people use spreadsheets as a place to store numbers, but formulas like SUMIF, VLOOKUP or even a simple array formula can replace a whole column of manual calculations. If someone on your team is adding up figures by hand each week, there is almost certainly a formula that can do it in a fraction of a second.
You have probably got some formulas already working for you, but when is the last time you checked to see if there is more to improve on?

2. Connect directly to your data source.

If you are regularly exporting a file from one system and importing it into another, have you checked if there is an opportunity to automate this?
Most modern systems have an API connection can remove that step entirely. Instead of a daily stock export from your warehouse system landing in someone's inbox, the data flows directly where it needs to go, in real time and without anyone having to remember to do it.

3. Automate the routine actions with a scheduled task.

A cron job is simply a way of telling your server to run a task at a set time, whether that is every hour, every morning at 6am, or once a week. Pulling in supplier data, refreshing price lists, generating reports: anything that currently requires someone to log in and click a button is a candidate.

None of these require a major project.

They are the kinds of improvements that, once in place, just quietly work in the background while your team gets on with the things that actually need their attention.

If any of these resonate with how your business operates, we are always happy to have a conversation about where the quick wins might be.

______________________________________
Hi, I'm Dorothy co-founder of Turn Ltd.
We map your workflow. Then we find where software can do the heavy lifting.

22/06/2026

Three small changes that can take a surprising amount of work off your plate:

Use formulas, not fingers.
If someone on your team is manually totting up figures in a spreadsheet, a formula can handle that instantly and accurately, every time.

Stop exporting and importing files.
If data is moving between two systems via a spreadsheet or email, an API connection can link them directly so information flows automatically, without anyone in the middle.

Let the system run the routine tasks.
A scheduled job can pull in supplier data, refresh stock levels or generate reports at whatever time suits you, so the information is just there when you need it.

These are not big technical projects.

They are the kind of thing that, once sorted, you wonder how you ever managed without.

If your business has a few of these manual steps that quietly eat into the day, it might be worth a conversation. We have been helping businesses find exactly these kinds of improvements for 25 years.

______________________________________
Climbing Turn Ltd.
We map your workflow. Then we find where software can do the heavy lifting.

17/06/2026

A question we often ask early on: where in your day are you doing something manually that you suspect could be handled differently?

For most distributors and wholesalers, the answer comes quickly.

Keeping stock levels accurate across all systems.
Moving opportunities through the pipeline.
Catching the kind of small error that only shows up when it's already caused a problem.

These are the areas where a well-considered piece of automation tends to pay for itself fairly quickly and where, in our experience, the biggest gains are often hiding in plain sight.

We're not here to sell a system, we're here to understand your operation and work out what would genuinely help. That's always been how we work best.

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Climbing Turn Ltd: Real software solutions. No buzzwords.

15/06/2026

Everything works fine until they go on holiday!

I think that we've all witnessed that phenomena at some time.

There's a system in your business that somehow fails in some way every time the person looking after takes a break.

It's so stressful for everyone who ends up running around like headless chickens trying to fix the issue. The problem is that only the person, who is now far, far away enjoying a lovely break from it all, is the only one who has in depth knowledge of the system.

Everyone blames them. They've been hiding shoddy work!

Or are they actually the hero, keeping the system running like an octopus spinning plates?

What we're all ignoring is the signs of a creaking system that urgently needs a review.

Systems should not be so fragile that they need a dedicated specialist just to keep them running correctly.

This is a headache that every business owner can do without. It affects morale and it affects your bottom line.

If your software system is showing signs of fragility, do not ignore it. The pain only gets worse.
It's not impossible to fix, you just need some help.

I love it when we fix these types of problems because our customers are so delighted.

Not all wonky systems can last as long as the crooked house in Canterbury. There's a reason why Anthony Mellor is standing there; this house is amazing!

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Climbing Turn
Plain-English software guidance for wholesalers and distributors.