Jackson

How to Know If You Need a Custom Tool (Or Just Better Process)

At some point, every growing business hits a wall. What used to work no longer does. Tools feel clunky, teams feel stretched, and those once-handy processes now feel too slow. It is the kind of slow that creeps in, barely noticed at first until one day everything starts feeling harder than it should. In these moments, it is easy to think the next step is to build something new. Maybe a slicker platform or more automation. But sometimes, the real fix is not building a new tool. It is looking under the bonnet and sorting out the mess that built…

Jackson In Articles, Business Tools

Why We Stopped Selling ‘Digital Transformation’ and Started Building Tools

Over the years, we saw the phrase "digital transformation" used so often that it started to feel empty. It showed up in sales decks, tech roadmaps, and boardroom plans, but rarely meant the same thing twice. For product-based businesses already juggling stock issues, patchy systems, and clunky handovers, it did not help. If anything, it often added more stress. We have sat in those meetings where someone says, "Let's transform the way we work," followed by six months of bloated consultancy PowerPoints or, worse, a software platform no one understands how to use. Most of the time, all anyone wants…

Jackson In Articles, Business Strategy

Escaping Legacy Database Traps in Peterborough

In Peterborough, plenty of well-established businesses are still running on systems they built over a decade ago. These were once the backbone of the company, stitched together with hard work and deep knowledge. But now, those same systems often feel more like traps than tools. They’re fragile, full of manual steps, and entirely dependent on someone who “just knows how it all works.” Legacy system modernization isn’t about upgrading for the sake of new tech. It’s about untangling your operations so things don’t fall apart when you take a few days off. It’s about building breathing space into your workflow…

Jackson In Apps, Articles

Why App Development Cost Isn’t Your Real Business Problem

When teams bring up digital systems, one of the first things that pops up is app development cost. It's often the lead item in budgets, board reports, and planning docs. But if we're being honest, the number on the quote usually isn't the problem. The real issue is often one step before that. If your business is stuck using outdated spreadsheets, single-person databases, or layers of manual steps no one fully understands anymore, then asking how much it costs to build an app might be the wrong question. Especially heading into December, when year-end planning takes over, it's worth looking…

Jackson In Business Strategy, E-commerce, Websites

What is ElasticSearch and How Can It Help Your eCommerce Website

If you're running an eCommerce website with thousands of products, you've probably noticed something start to drag. That once-fast search bar begins to feel slow. Your team struggles to find the right items. Customers type in a product name and get something totally unrelated, or worse, nothing at all. ElasticSearch can help with that. It's a search engine tool that sits behind the scenes, helping websites process fast, intelligent searches on large product listings. While it's been around for years, it's often misunderstood or overlooked by growing product-based businesses. For eCommerce in places like Peterborough, UK, where online operations are…

Jackson In Articles, Business Tools

How to Use Stock Systems to Allocate Items During a Build (Such as Making a Product That Has Multiple Components)

If you've ever tried to build a product made from multiple parts, you'll already know that it's not as simple as ticking a box that says "in stock." Whether it's a custom kit, seasonal bundle, or assembled item, those individual pieces often serve many roles across your catalogue. Getting allocation right means more than having the right number on the shelf. It means knowing what's available for use and what's already promised elsewhere. Using stock systems to allocate items during a build helps avoid nasty surprises, like finding out you've technically got the parts, but they're already spoken for. Without…

Jackson In Articles, Business Tools

Don’t Let Inventory Management Stifle Your Growth

Inventory systems aren't the most exciting part of running a business, but they're often the backbone of everything else. When your stock systems are slow, messy, or behind the curve, it doesn't take long for problems to build up. Orders get missed. Staff get stuck double-checking spreadsheets. Customers wait. If your business has grown, but your systems haven't, it's easy to feel like you're fighting just to stay afloat. We've seen this happen to all kinds of teams in places like Peterborough, growth creates stress, not because people aren't trying hard enough, but because the systems can't keep up. Don't…

Jackson In Articles, Websites

Can Your Website Handle 1000s of Products: What to Do When It Gets Too Much

Managing a small product catalogue can feel pretty straightforward. You get into a rhythm, updates are painless, and nothing feels too heavy. But once you pass the 1,000-product mark, everything begins to feel slower, clunkier, and harder to manage. Can your website handle 1000s of products without causing daily frustration? If things have started to feel messy, the issue might not be your team, it might be your setup. As we move into the quieter reflection seasons of late autumn, many established businesses in and around Peterborough are starting to look inward at what's working and what's not. If your…

Jackson In Articles, E-commerce

Shopify Too Expensive: Here Are the Alternatives (WooCommerce Mostly)

Shopify can sound like a smart choice at first. It's fast to set up, easy to run, and gets a business moving. But if you're managing lots of products or handling custom orders, you may start to feel boxed in. Things that once worked smoothly start to feel like friction. And as October rolls into the busy run-up to Christmas, you can't afford to waste hours dealing with disconnected tools or admin-heavy processes. Is Shopify too expensive? Here are the alternatives (WooCommerce mostly) that many product-based businesses in places like Peterborough are starting to consider when growth outpaces the system…

Jackson In Articles, Software

Tired of Shopify limiting what you can do?

When you first launch a product business, Shopify can be a great base to get things moving. It’s fast, simple, and fairly easy to manage. But as you grow, that once lightweight tool can start feeling like it’s getting in the way. If you’re tired of Shopify limiting what you can do, you’re not the only one. Many product-based businesses hit a point where things feel tight. Stock levels have multiplied, pricing structures have become more complex, and every small task feels harder than it needs to be. This is typically the point where entrepreneurs feel the strain of success.…

How to Know If You Need a Custom Tool (Or Just Better Process)

Why We Stopped Selling ‘Digital Transformation’ and Started Building Tools

Escaping Legacy Database Traps in Peterborough

Why App Development Cost Isn’t Your Real Business Problem

What is ElasticSearch and How Can It Help Your eCommerce Website

How to Use Stock Systems to Allocate Items During a Build (Such as Making a Product That Has Multiple Components)

Don’t Let Inventory Management Stifle Your Growth

Can Your Website Handle 1000s of Products: What to Do When It Gets Too Much

Shopify Too Expensive: Here Are the Alternatives (WooCommerce Mostly)

Tired of Shopify limiting what you can do?

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