Amamus uses Workhorse for batch traceability and annual machine service plans

About Amamus

Founded in 2018, Amamus supplies speciality coffee and commercial coffee equipment to workplaces. The business combines freshly roasted coffee with equipment, maintenance and ongoing customer support.

Amamus roasts its coffee at its Hampton site in west London and also has a showroom in Clerkenwell, where customers can arrange equipment demonstrations and coffee tastings. The company became B Corp certified in 2020, reflecting its commitment to responsible business practices.

As its coffee supply and equipment services grew, Amamus needed a better way to manage orders, trace coffee batches and keep track of the service plans attached to customers’ machines.

Bringing orders into one system

In the early days, orders arrived through various means, including WhatsApp and were entered into spreadsheets. This meant time spent transferring information between places and made it harder to get a clear picture of orders and stock.

With website orders now flowing directly into Workhorse, the team no longer needs to enter every order manually. Previously, this could take three to four hours of a working morning. As the business grew, keeping up with that work could have become a full-time job.

Orders and service plans are also invoiced from Workhorse into Xero, keeping the operational and accounting processes connected.

‍Tracing coffee from green beans to finished batches

For a coffee roaster, knowing where each batch of coffee has gone matters. Amamus needs to be able to trace the green beans it buys through roasting and into the orders supplied to customers.

When green beans arrive, the team records the lot number. Once the coffee has been roasted, it is assigned a batch number, and purchase orders are linked to the relevant batches.

The team can then look up a batch number to see which orders it was used for, and which customers it went to, as well as check the expected balance in the warehouse. Workhorse includes a dedicated module that brings this information together, making it easier to follow the coffee through the process and see what has happened to each batch.

‍Bringing annual machine service plans together

Alongside its coffee supply, Amamus provides commercial coffee machines and ongoing maintenance and care. Each machine has a 12-month warranty and an all-inclusive annual service plan.

Customers with several machines installed on different dates could have renewal discussions spread throughout the year. One care home group, for example, has 17 machines, which previously meant dealing with multiple renewals.

Workhorse was configured to group service plans into a single annual proposal. Customers can review and approve the proposal once, usually through their finance team, rather than handling each renewal separately.

The plans can then be invoiced together at the start of the year. This saves time for both Amamus and its customers and makes the renewal process easier to manage.

‍Keeping track of the machines Amamus supports

Amamus also needs a clear record of the machines installed across its customer base.

The business previously relied on a spreadsheet and chart created from a CSV export to review its equipment estate. Workhorse can now produce an asset report, giving the team a more straightforward way to review the machines it supports.

Leased machines are tracked separately for now, with a dedicated leasing module planned for a future release.

Supporting food safety and traceability‍

Food safety and accurate records are important to Amamus, particularly as a coffee roaster handling ingredients from different sources.

The business worked towards SALSA accreditation, which required evidence of its daily procedures, including fridge temperature records, probe calibration and full ingredient traceability. The process took around 12 months, with Workhorse helping the team maintain the information it needed.

Amamus explained the importance of this support:

“Without Workhorse and the support there, we wouldn’t have been able to achieve that.”

Support that works with the business

Amamus values having responsive support from Workhorse and a team willing to work through its requirements to find practical solutions.

Larger changes are quoted separately, allowing Amamus to decide which developments are worth pursuing. The business has found the support responsive when help is needed.

As Amamus put it:

“Never once the Workhorse team said, no, it can’t be done. The Workhorse team has always found a way to do things.”

What comes next?

Amamus is looking at ways to make better use of its operational data and simplify reporting. With the continued support of Workhorse, there will be further discussions about how the system can support Amamus as it grows, while making reporting more straightforward.

The priority remains to keep improving how Amamus manages its coffee supply, equipment and customer service operations as the business grows.