The desk at a glance
Internal: RelayWorks partner operations 2 referrals to review 1 commission to approve Average review 1 day
How RelayWorks partner operations reviews a partner referral, decides who holds a company, handles offered leads that lapse, and approves commission only from the signed order. Owned by Mei Tanaka, partner operations lead, who decides referrals and approves commission lines. Devon Acheampong, partner manager, offers leads and hears disagreements. Ruth Adebayo, finance manager, confirms signed values. Marcus Wynn, account executive, keeps RelayWorks' own pipeline current.
The desk on Oct 5
| Item | Partner | Detail | Since | Next step | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medford Cold Storage | Northgate Operations Advisory | Enterprise, $72,000, 60 people on the service floor | Oct 2 | Conflict found | Mei Tanaka |
| Oriel Pet Supply | Brightwater Fulfillment Consulting | Team, $31,000, order changes lost between web team and warehouse | Oct 2 | To review | Mei Tanaka |
| Pinecrest Parcel | Northgate Operations Advisory | Question on team size, asked Oct 2 | Oct 1 | Waiting on partner | Owen Pryce |
| Fenwick Distribution, lead | Northgate Operations Advisory | Respond by Oct 5 | Oct 2 | Waiting on partner | Lena Marsh |
| Ambrose Wholesale, lead | Brightwater Fulfillment Consulting | Offered again Oct 5 after it lapsed | Oct 5 | Waiting on partner | Grace Okonkwo |
| Brindle Home Delivery | Northgate Operations Advisory | Commission $3,300 on the signed $22,000 | Sep 30 | Approve | Ruth Adebayo |
The partner view of the same desk is the count of open referrals and leads. Northgate has four open and one lead waiting.
Reviewing a referral
Before deciding
- Company, contact with authority over the service team, product, team size, handoff problem in the customer's wordsopen
- Not in RelayWorks' own pipeline: check with the account executive's open opportunitiesopen
- Not held by another partner under an accepted referral or leadopen
- A fit: 15 or more people handing work between shifts or sitesopen
- Decision and one sentence of reason recorded the same dayopen
If a fact is missing, ask one question and let the referral wait. Two Northgate referrals arrived without the team size this year; review stalled until Mei asked. Since then a referral needs the team size and the problem in the customer's words before review starts.
Who holds a company
Case: Medford Cold Storage
- Held: Cascade Freight Advisors referred Medford Cold Storage on Sep 14; accepted Sep 15 and credited until Dec 14, Enterprise at $70,000. - New: Northgate Operations Advisory referred the same company on Oct 2, Enterprise at $72,000, with the same general manager as contact. - Check: one company, one buying team, inside Cascade's credit window. - Decision: not accepted for Northgate. The reason Northgate sees: "This company is already referred by another partner." Nothing more. - Owner: Mei Tanaka, by Oct 6.
Case: Lakeshore Parcel Network
Tidewell Supply Chain Partners referred Lakeshore Parcel Network on Sep 28, Enterprise at $95,000. Lakeshore is in RelayWorks' own pipeline at the proposal stage with Marcus Wynn, so the referral was not accepted on Sep 29 with the reason "This company is already in RelayWorks' own sales pipeline."
Leads that lapse or are declined
Leads go to the partner admin and the named referral contact, so a lead never waits on someone on leave. A lead not answered by its respond-by date returns to RelayWorks the next morning and is offered to another partner in the region.
| Lead | Offered to | Respond by | Outcome | Then |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ambrose Wholesale | Tidewell Supply Chain Partners | Sep 28 | Returned Sep 29, no answer | Offered to Brightwater Oct 5, respond by Oct 8 |
| Juniper Freightways | Pallet & Pine Systems | Sep 20 | Declined Sep 18 | Outside the partner's region; the customer is in Alberta |
| Tolliver Freight | Northgate Operations Advisory | Sep 24 | Accepted Sep 22 | Credited until Dec 21 |
Approving commission
A commission line is approved only on the value in the signed order. Brindle Home Delivery reduced its seats before signing, from an estimated $26,000 to $22,000, so the line is $3,300 and waits for the signed order to be filed.
| Customer | Partner | Signed value | Commission | State |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calder Freight Services | Northgate Operations Advisory | $48,000 | $7,200 | Paid Sep 4 |
| Wexford Fulfillment | Northgate Operations Advisory | $36,000 | $5,400 | Approved Sep 10 |
| Harlow Outfitters | Brightwater Fulfillment Consulting | $64,000 | $9,600 | Approved Sep 25 |
| Brindle Home Delivery | Northgate Operations Advisory | $22,000 | $3,300 | Waiting for approval |
| Greystone Distribution | Pallet & Pine Systems | $88,000 | $13,200 | On hold: signed order form missing |
Service level
Referrals decided within one business day, 10 of 10
The last ten reviewed referrals were decided in one day on average against a target of one business day. Time waiting for a partner's answer is not counted.
"A partner forgives a no that arrives the next day with a clear reason. What it does not forgive is finding out after a sales call that someone else held the company all along."
Mei Tanaka, Partner operations lead, RelayWorks
Owners and dates
- Decide Medford Cold Storage for Northgate. Owner: Mei Tanaka, Oct 6open
- Review Oriel Pet Supply for Brightwater. Owner: Mei Tanaka, Oct 5open
- File the Brindle signed order and approve the line. Owner: Ruth Adebayo, Oct 9open
- Get the Greystone signed order form from sales. Owner: Marcus Wynn, Oct 9open
- Return Ambrose Wholesale again if Brightwater does not answer by Oct 8. Owner: Devon Acheampong, Oct 9open
- Not accept Lakeshore Parcel Network for Tidewell. Owner: Mei Tanaka, Sep 29done
- Mei TanakaPartner operations lead, RelayWorks, decides referrals and approves commission
- Devon AcheampongPartner manager, RelayWorks, offers leads
- Ruth AdebayoFinance manager, RelayWorks, confirms signed values
- Marcus WynnAccount executive, RelayWorks, keeps the own pipeline current