Two order systems and a printer
Your shop is a member of a relay network. Orders placed with florists elsewhere in the country for delivery in your area arrive through the network's system. Somebody checks it through the day, accepts each order, prints it, and then either writes it onto a workroom ticket or retypes it into your own order list, so it appears on the driver's run.
On a quiet Tuesday, it is fine. On a busy Friday, a relay order accepted at 10am does not get retyped until noon, and the driver has already left for that area. Or a card message is copied slightly wrong, and the recipient gets 'Happy Birthday Mum, love from Jo & Sam' instead of 'Jo, Sam and the boys'.
Why relay orders end up retyped
Relay networks have their own ordering systems, built for the network. Your own website, till or order software is separate. Unless the two are connected, the only bridge between them is a person.
Networks often allow limited connections to member systems, and what is available changes over time. Many florists do not know what their network offers, or assume nothing is possible.
Each relay order also has network-specific details: a network reference, a product code with a specified value, delivery instructions and sometimes a requirement to confirm delivery in the network's system afterwards.
What double entry costs
| Problem | Effect |
|---|---|
| Orders retyped by hand | Copying mistakes in names, addresses and messages |
| Delay between accepting and retyping | Orders missing from the driver's run |
| Two places to check | Workroom and drivers working from different lists |
| Delivery confirmations done separately | Network records incomplete or late |
| Staff time on data entry | Less time for making up orders |
Relay work is often a useful part of a florist's income, especially in quieter weeks. It only stays worthwhile if handling it does not cost more time than it should.
Peak days show the cost most sharply. Relay orders surge at the same moments as your own, around Valentine's Day, Mother's Day and Christmas, and they often arrive with tighter delivery windows. The person retyping them is the same person answering the phone and serving walk-in customers, so the orders that most need to be right are the ones handled in the biggest rush.
How we bring relay orders into your list
- We check what your relay network allows: an integration, an export, order emails or only the web portal. What we build depends entirely on that.
- Where there is an integration or export, relay orders are pulled into your order list automatically with the network reference, product, value, recipient, message and delivery date.
- Where orders only arrive by email, we read the order email and create the order, with a person checking it before it goes to the workroom.
- Relay orders appear in the same list, workroom tickets and driver runs as your own orders, marked so staff know the delivery must be confirmed with the network.
- When the driver marks a relay order delivered, the confirmation is sent back to the network where it allows that, or a reminder is created for a person to confirm it.
- Outgoing relay orders, when you send an order to another florist, can be logged in the same place so you can see their status.
We work within the relay network's rules. If the network does not allow a connection, we tell you plainly and focus on making manual entry faster and less error-prone.
One order list, one run
The workroom works from a single list of orders, whether they came from your website, the counter or the network. The driver's run includes every delivery for each area. Relay deliveries are confirmed without someone remembering to do it at the end of the day.
- Relay orders in the same list as your own
- Fewer copying mistakes in messages and addresses
- Driver runs that include every order for an area
- Delivery confirmations sent or prompted automatically
Signs relay orders are costing you time
- Relay orders are printed and retyped or handwritten.
- Relay orders have been left off a driver's run.
- Card messages on relay orders have been copied wrongly.
- Delivery confirmations to the network are done in a batch later.
- You check two systems to see the day's orders.