Service 03 of 04
Bespoke systems and platforms
Some jobs are not done well by any package you can buy: a pricing rule nobody else has, a portal for your trading partners, a scanning step that has to fit the way your warehouse actually runs. We build software for that job, connected to the systems around it, and either hand it over or run it for you as a hosted service.
Who it is for
- A business with a process its ERP or WMS cannot handle, currently run on spreadsheets, email and memory.
- A business with a bespoke system that has outgrown its original builder, and needs a change made by someone who will read what is already there first.
- A business that wants a system run for it, with someone accountable for keeping it working, rather than a codebase it has to staff.
Two ways to have it
Delivered as a whole (form C). One party responsible from design to handover. Your business owns the code and configuration built for it, on payment; our pre-existing tools built into it are licensed to you, not transferred. Our subcontractors are inside our price and I remain responsible for their work. Your own suppliers stay under their contracts with you; I coordinate them against the plan and report on them.
Run as a hosted service (form D). We build it and run it: monitoring, updates, support and someone accountable when it stops. You pay a setup fee and a subscription, with availability, support hours and response times written into the statement of work. You own your data and the outputs produced from it. The platform stays ours, and continuity cover (source-code escrow or an exit licence) is available if you need it.
What you get
- the design, from a solution pack or as the first milestone of the statement of work
- the working system, built against written acceptance criteria and tested with the people who will use it
- wireframes agreed before screens are built
- documentation, a runbook and a recorded handover (delivered as a whole)
- a monthly availability and incident report, and a named route for faults (hosted)
What you don't get
- An open-ended build. Scope, deliverables, milestones and price are fixed in the statement of work. Anything outside it is a change request, priced before it is built.
- A product roadmap we decide for you. What gets built is what you agree in writing.
- AI features. Where a system needs a model to read, decide or write, AI UVD provides that part under its own terms: https://aiuvd.com/
How it runs
Design first. No build starts without an agreed design: flowcharts, wireframes and a decision note.
Build in milestones, each with its own acceptance criteria.
Test with real users on realistic data, and in shadow alongside the current way of working where the change replaces one.
Go live only with a written yes from your decision-maker, and a rollback route written down.
Hand over, or start the service. Runbook and recorded walkthrough, or the service levels begin.
What we need from you
- A sponsor, a day-to-day contact who knows the process, and time from the people who will use the system.
- Sample data, or agreement on realistic test data.
- For hosted services: a decision on whose cloud account the service runs in — ours, on AWS, or your own, on AWS or Azure. If you already have a tenancy you want used, we use it rather than opening a new account for you.
What can go wrong
| What can go wrong | What we do about it |
|---|---|
| The requirement changes once people see the screens | What we do about itWireframes are agreed before building. Later changes are written up with their price and date effect before any work. |
| The data to seed the new system is poor | What we do about itData quality is checked in discovery, and cleaning is priced as its own milestone rather than discovered at go-live |
| Users keep the old spreadsheet going | What we do about itShadow running with an agreed exit point, and the people who use the system test it before go-live |
| You need to leave a hosted service | What we do about itData export in a format named in the statement of work, and transition help at an agreed rate. Escrow or an exit licence if you chose continuity cover. |
| The person who built it is not available | What we do about itDocumentation, runbook and recorded handover are deliverables, not extras, so your people or another supplier can carry on |
Languages and platforms
We choose the tools from what your systems already run, not from what we prefer.
Price
| Form | Pricing basis | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Delivery of the whole | Pricing basisFixed price or priced milestones, set after the design. Licences, hosting and hardware shown separately at cost, agreed in advance. | PriceQuoted after the solution pack |
| Hosted service | Pricing basisOne-off setup fee, plus a monthly or annual subscription driven by users or sites, volumes, connected systems, data retained, support tier and hosting | PriceSetup from £4,000; subscription from £800 a month |
Prices exclude VAT. Terms, service-level structure and ownership options: /engagements/.
Why the price is what it is: it is a price for the outcome, a working system on an agreed date, not for the hours it takes. AI agents I direct write and test much of the code under my review of every design decision and every deliverable, so fewer engineering hours go into each deliverable and the build reaches go-live sooner. It is build capacity you do not have to recruit for. They never touch your live systems or credentials. How it works: /how-we-work/.
Every engagement is architected by me, and I'm the person you deal with.
We take on a small number of clients at a time.