Client: Silas, Emsley
Industry: Spectacles
Challenge: Changina manual system using over 10+ spreadsheets to track production of spectacles and create manual email notifications for production sent across email.
Solution: Development of a custom tool to track customers, product and shipment of spectacles.
Results: Reduced manual work of creating spreadsheets, automated notifications and auto PDG generation.
Too many processes, too many documents, too many emails
Silas and his team were overwhelmed with the amount of manual spreadsheet creation and tracking of production and shipment. Some communication was over email while others were lost.
We decided to build a solution from the ground up by first mapping out their entire workflow from order to shipment. Using our in-house framework BOOST, we quickly transformed the entire process into a digital solution. Because it was custom tailored it matched the way they currently do things perfectly so that their current workforce didn’t have to change their workflow at all.
Why Building Custom Software Beats Scaling Down Out-of-the-Box Giants
In today’s fast-paced and ever-evolving digital landscape, businesses face a critical decision when selecting software solutions: start with a large, out-of-the-box platform like SAP or Salesforce and tailor it downward, or build a custom solution tailored to their unique workflows from the ground up. While enterprise software packages boast robust features and brand recognition, they often come with significant overhead, rigid structures, and a steep learning curve. In contrast, building custom software offers a lean, agile, and highly adaptive approach that aligns precisely with a business’s needs — often faster and more efficiently.
1. Tailored Fit vs. Forced Fit
Off-the-shelf solutions are designed to serve a broad array of industries and use cases. This breadth means businesses frequently end up contorting their existing processes to fit the software, not the other way around. Custom software, on the other hand, is built to support and enhance current workflows. It adapts to the business — not vice versa — which leads to better adoption, less training, and fewer workarounds.
2. Faster Time to Value
While large platforms like Salesforce or SAP promise end-to-end solutions, the path to full implementation is long and resource-intensive. Projects can take months — even years — to deploy fully, with extensive configuration, consulting, and integration required along the way. A well-scoped custom solution, by contrast, can be launched quickly in iterative phases. With a build-up approach, businesses can prioritize the most critical features and start seeing value in weeks, not months.
3. Efficiency Through Simplicity
Monolithic systems often carry bloated features irrelevant to the business’s actual needs. These excess features create clutter, slow down performance, and add unnecessary complexity. Custom-built applications are streamlined for only the necessary functionality, which improves speed, reduces maintenance, and enhances user satisfaction.
4. Scalability on Your Terms
Enterprise software is built to scale — but not necessarily in a way that matches your company’s growth or budget. Custom software scales with your business, in the direction and pace that makes sense. This flexibility helps avoid overpaying for licensing tiers or enterprise modules long before they’re needed.
5. Control and Extensibility
With custom software, your business owns the roadmap. You’re not locked into a vendor’s release cycle or feature priorities. You can evolve your solution as business needs change, integrate with other systems easily, and adopt new technologies without waiting for corporate approval from a global provider.
6. Cost-Effectiveness Over Time
While enterprise software might appear cheaper upfront thanks to standardized offerings and attractive bundles, the true cost accumulates over time: expensive licenses, customization consulting fees, user training, and complex maintenance. Custom software has a higher initial investment but pays dividends in lower total cost of ownership, better alignment with goals, and reduced reliance on third-party experts.
Final Thoughts
The instinct to reach for big-name enterprise platforms is understandable — they offer polish, community support, and a sense of safety. But for most growing or mid-sized businesses, they often represent overkill. By taking a build-up approach with custom software, companies can focus on what’s essential, move faster, and gain a competitive edge with tools that evolve with them, not in spite of them.
Edelosoft’s BOOST Framework
Edelosoft’s BOOST framework is designed to change your spreadsheets into a proper database fast. We will add in all the necessary workflow to help your data change states and send event-driven notifications.
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