02
Client report automationrevived a stalled project, built in two weeks
Sole owner: taking over and driving the project, data audit, solution design, development, cross-team coordination, training and rollout
Background
Account teams deliver a monthly social media report for every client, each taking about 35 hours from data pull to revisions. The project had failed to ship for nearly a year before I took it over.
Challenges
The company ran three databases, some built in-house and some licensed, with overlapping data but no connection between them, and most staff were unaware they existed; every client required a custom layout; the end users had no technical background.
Solution
- Data audit: over one to two months, used AI to map the data assets account teams rely on and identify what needed regular refreshes, then worked with the data team to update them and consolidate access through a single Brand Knowledge MCP.
- Development: built the tool solo with Claude Code, from kickoff to working version in two weeks; an engine-plus-client-config architecture handles each custom layout, with automated QC on every output.
- Launch and rollout: delivered in parallel with the company-wide AI programme and launched at the end of September; trained the full account team, coached them through adoption, and handed day-to-day use over to the business.
Impact
A single instruction produces a pptx + pdf report, cutting each one from about 35 hours to 10–20 minutes; the tool covers more than ten clients in China and every current client’s monthly and quarterly reports; the three databases now sit behind one company-wide entry point.
