Case Study: Guardian Animal Aftercare

Screen Shot 2019 08 07 at 94053 PM There's a special bond formed between people and their pets. They are our constant companions and our best friends. And that bond holds even after they've passed away. As such, they deserve to be treated with as much dignity in their passing as they were in life. Since 2003, Guardian Animal Aftercare has provided exemplary levels of trusted and dignified cremation services for animals and their grieving owners.

That trust and dignity are at the forefront of Guardian's business and they wanted a system that would uphold and facilitate their commitment to owners. Guardian approached Sounds Essential to help them address each of the following technical challenges faced by the business:

Establish a system that tracks every aspect of a very complex workflow
Implement quality control measures to enforce strict workflow requirements, preventing an order from proceeding to the next stage until all requirements of the previous stage have been met, reviewed and approved
Institute an accurate system for logging, tagging and tracking the physical location of the animal associated with every one of the company’s approximately 18,500 orders per year
Provide online access for hospitals to enter orders directly into the system
Increase worker efficiency by eliminating redundancies
Reduce error rates by eliminating reliance on outdated mechanisms
Integrate existing color-coded system in a visually harmonious way

Given the sensitive and deeply emotional nature of the business, it was crucial that the process be as transparent as possible, enabling Guardian’s staff to provide information to the grieving owner when requested.

Further, the system needed to provide clear and up-to-the-minute reporting for ensuring the business is in compliance with federal, state and municipal standards and regulations.

The result is an end-to-end solution that powers every aspect of the business, enabling Guardian Animal Aftercare to provide a greater quality of service by improving productivity, transparency and overall data management.

Key Features: The following features were developed and implemented in service of the meeting the business’s challenges:

Detailed dashboard providing real-time KPIs at a glance including charts utilizing Javascript
CRM functionality for complex client management
Document storage to help reduce paper waste
QR code tracking system w/ label printing for locating an animal and its order record at any given time at any given stage in the order cycle
iPad layouts featuring isolated task management for worker mobility
Syncing functionality to allow off-site interaction with the solution via iPad
WebDirect-based B2C client portal for hospitals and home vets to place orders directly into the system
QuickBooks integration to eliminate double-data entry and improve the accuracy and timeliness of all financial transactions and reporting
API integrations for credit card processing & geolocation via Google Maps
Complex user roles & privilege sets to limit visibility based on user relevance
Order logging to track when each stage in the process occurs for accuracy and transparency
Full audit log that tracks and documents all actions taken within the system, when and by whom
System notifications to communicate updates and alerts to all users