Case study / A Grendesign platform
Grenconnect: a custom CRM and customer portal for agency operations
Customer information, project work and service management were spread across several systems. We built Grenconnect to bring them together, giving Grendesign’s team a single place to manage customer operations.
The platform is now used internally. Its customer portal is being piloted with selected customers ahead of a wider release.
The starting point
An agency running on disconnected systems
Grendesign manages a mix of project work and ongoing services. A customer might have a website project underway while also paying for hosting, maintenance or monthly marketing support.
The information needed to manage that relationship lived in different places. Customer records sat in the CRM. Jobs and tasks were managed separately. Subscription billing, manual invoices, domain renewals and hosting details each had their own system.
Routine work often meant finding a customer’s details, logging into another two or three systems, making the required updates and drafting an email to explain what had changed.
Customers experienced some of that fragmentation too. They used separate systems to manage subscription payments and domain renewals, with a limited view of their overall relationship with the agency.
The brief
Make the customer account the centre of the workflow
We set out to build a platform around how the team actually works.
An agency team member needed to open a customer account and quickly find the information required to handle a request. From there, they needed to manage the work and update the connected systems without repeating the same steps across several interfaces.
For customers, the aim was a portal that brought their services and ongoing work into one place.
The existing systems would continue to handle their specialist functions. Grenconnect would connect them and provide a shared interface for the activities the team and customers needed most.
The internal platform
A clearer view of each customer’s services and work
Grenconnect brings customer records together with project tasks, recurring jobs and service information.
The team can manage work ranging from a new website or branding project to ongoing maintenance, marketing and AI automation support. Having those activities available within the customer account makes it easier to understand what is happening and act on a request.
Connected workflows update the relevant systems and notify customers through the platform, reducing the separate administrative steps previously needed to complete an activity.
Hosting management in the same workspace
Hosting administration regularly took the team into a separate system. Grenconnect gives them access to bandwidth consumption, server performance and exceptions alongside the customer record.
The team can review an account and make supported adjustments, such as adding bandwidth, from within the platform.
The customer portal
A single place to manage the agency relationship
The customer portal brings together services and project information that were previously spread across separate interfaces.
Customers can view their services, update payment details and explore upgrades or additional subscriptions. They can also request quotes and provide feedback on ongoing projects and jobs.
The portal is currently being piloted with selected existing and new customers. Their experience will help shape further improvements before it is introduced more widely.
System integration
Connecting the systems behind the service
Grenconnect integrates customer records and job management with domain administration, subscription billing, manual invoicing and hosting management.
Each connected system continues to perform its existing role. Grenconnect brings the relevant information and supported actions into a shared customer platform.
The integration work focused on the complete workflow: what information the team needs, which system needs updating, and what the customer should see when an activity is complete.
How we built it
AI-assisted development with experienced human review
We developed the solution end to end, using AI-assisted design and development alongside no-code building tools.
An experienced designer reviewed and refined the interface. Engineering verification and code review supported the development process, with both human expertise and AI tools used for quality assurance and fixes.
An independent online penetration test identified security issues, which were addressed during development.
The approach helped us move quickly while keeping design review, engineering checks and testing part of the work.
The change in day-to-day work
Less time spent moving between systems
The team can now find customer information and carry out connected activities from one place. Work that previously involved several logins and a separate customer email can be handled through Grenconnect with fewer steps.
Time saved on routine work
| Activity | Before: minutes | Now: minutes | Monthly hours saved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Find customer information | [Before] | [Now] | [Hours] |
| Resolve a bandwidth exception | [Before] | [Now] | [Hours] |
| Complete a service update and notify the customer | [Before] | [Now] | [Hours] |
[Add measurement period, task sample and whether measured or estimated. Avoid overlapping workflows.]
In use internally. Customer access in pilot.
Grenconnect is used by Grendesign’s internal team. The customer portal is being tested with selected customers while we refine the experience and identify any further improvements needed.
A wider customer rollout is planned following the pilot.
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