Half the orders are standing, and half of those change
The cafe on the high street has the same order every weekday: ten sourdough, twenty rolls, a tray of croissants. Except this Friday, when they have a private event and need double. And next week, when they are closed Monday. The owner texts the bakery owner on Tuesday night. The driver is also told on Wednesday morning, slightly differently.
The deli leaves a voicemail. The sandwich shop sends a WhatsApp to the bakery's shared phone. One of the three changes makes it into the order book.
Why changes get lost
Standing orders are the backbone of a wholesale bakery, and they are usually held in a book, a spreadsheet or the bakery software. Changes do not arrive through any of those. They arrive wherever the customer found it easiest to send them, often days ahead, and have to be carried to the right date by someone remembering.
- Changes come by text, WhatsApp, voicemail, email and the driver.
- A change for next Friday is received this Tuesday and has to be remembered.
- Temporary changes, such as a week off, must revert on their own.
- Customers are rarely sent a confirmation of the change.
- Nobody can easily see what a customer is getting this week versus normally.
What a missed change costs
The cafe gets their usual order on the day they needed double, and they run out by eleven. Or bread is delivered to a shop that told you they were closed, and it comes back as waste. Either way, the customer rings, the owner apologises, and trust drops a notch. The cost is not only the bread: it is the relationship, with customers who can switch bakery easily.
The standing order record we build
- Each customer's standing order is held by day of the week, with products and quantities, in one place.
- Changes sent by text, WhatsApp to a business number, or email are collected into a single queue. Voicemails are transcribed. Drivers can log what they were told on their phone.
- An AI step reads each message and drafts the change: which customer, which delivery dates, which products and quantities, and whether it is one-off or permanent.
- A person checks and approves each change. One-off changes apply only to their dates, then the standing order returns to normal on its own.
- The customer gets a confirmation, by text or email, stating exactly what they will receive on which day.
- At cut-off each night, the confirmed quantities for the next delivery, standing orders plus changes, feed the bake list.
| Change type | How it is held |
|---|---|
| One-off extra or reduction | Applied to that date only |
| Closed day or holiday | Zero order for those dates, then reverts |
| Permanent change | Updates the standing order from a date |
| Told to the driver | Logged on the driver's phone, then checked |
What the bakery gets
Every change in one place, dated correctly, with the message it came from. Customers get a confirmation, so misunderstandings surface before the bake, not at the delivery. The night's totals include every change without anyone having to remember. And the owner's phone stops being the order system.
When a customer says they told you, the log shows what they sent and what was confirmed. Usually that settles it one way or the other without a falling-out.
Does this happen at your bakery?
- Customers change standing orders by text and WhatsApp.
- Changes for next week have to be remembered.
- Bread has been delivered to a customer who was closed.
- Customers do not get a confirmation of changes.
- The owner's phone is part of the order system.