Please & Thank You Bakery is a beloved coffee shop bakery based in Louisville, KY, with three local cafes and an additional Indianapolis location.
Since 2011, the bakery has expanded both its retail presence and wholesale program. To support daily deliveries and reduce operational complexity, Please & Thank You Bakery decided to utilize BlueCart more than five years ago, originally influenced by their coffee roaster, Good Folks, who was already using the platform.
"BlueCart was the solution for our cafes to order from our commissary in a simple, effective way. I can build the catalogs and order guides, and managers can easily place orders every day. It’s streamlined, accurate, and reliable.” – Cameron Cousins, Director of Operations, Please & Thank You Bakery
The Challenge
Before BlueCart, Please & Thank You Bakery relied on handwritten notes and calls to manage orders, which created frequent mistakes. Cameron described the process as “very analog” and noted that BlueCart was “extremely helpful” in moving them to a digital workflow.
This created:
- Orders prone to errors due to handwriting and manual entry.
- Time-intensive workflows for both staff and managers.
- A lack of traceability across order adjustments and communications
Key Takeaway: BlueCart helps Please & Thank You Bakery streamline internal ordering, reduce errors, and improve accounting efficiency across multiple locations, all while laying the foundation for future growth through features like Endless Aisle and Predictive Ordering.
Solution: BlueCart Implementation
Please & Thank You Bakery now uses BlueCart as its internal ordering platform, connecting the commissary bakery (seller account) to its four cafes (buyer accounts).
Key Features in Use by Please & Thank You Bakery
- Internal Ordering System: Cafes place orders daily with cutoff times; a Please & Thank You Bakery manager fulfills via BlueCart and dispatches with an in-house delivery team.
- Order Guides & Catalogs: Custom catalogs make it simple for the bakery managers to place consistent orders with minimal errors. “The main thing is order accuracy due to preset SKUs which leaves little room for error.” - Cameron Cousins
- In-App Messaging: Used occasionally by Please & Thank You Bakery for clarification, offering valuable traceability compared to phone calls. “It’s just a great way to streamline orders from all of your different customers.” - Cameron Cousins
- Order History & Reports: Helps with forecasting, budgeting, and supplier tracking, even without advanced inventory features fully integrated.
- QuickBooks Integration: Saves time on accounting, streamlining reconciliation across multiple systems.
- Endless Aisle (Still Exploring): Please & Thank You Bakery began offering wholesale cookie dough via Endless Aisle, but is still exploring further adoption of this feature. Cameron said the app overall is “extremely useful and very simple.”
Results & Impact From Using BlueCart at Please & Thank You
Since adopting BlueCart, Please & Thank You Bakery has transformed the way its commissary and cafés work together. What was once a manual, error-prone process is now streamlined and reliable. As Cameron put it, “It was a solution for our cafés to order from our commissary in a simple, effective way… it’s streamlined, accurate, and reliable.”
- Order Accuracy: Dramatically improved due to preset SKUs that eliminate errors from handwritten or typed notes.
- Time Savings: The exact time saved is hard to quantify, but Please & Thank You Bakery managers emphasized the simplicity and efficiency of daily workflows and it improved by roughly 30-50%.
- Scalability: BlueCart supports growth across multiple cafe locations while keeping ordering processes standardized.
- Accounting Efficiency: The QuickBooks integration reduces manual reconciliation work, saving valuable back-office time.
- Reporting Insights: Order and purchase history reports provide visibility into product movement and seasonal demand trends.
By streamlining ordering and improving accuracy, BlueCart has become an essential partner in Please & Thank You Bakery’s continued growth and success.
If you want your business to excel, similar to Please & Thank You Bakery, book a demo now to see how BlueCart can help.