Dhanush Deva Reddy, Business Intelligence Analyst

Greater Manchester's publicly funded business support service (150+ staff), which has helped 90,000+ businesses access funding, innovation support and expert advice.

Now, as Delivery Support Coordinator

• Built 8 Dynamics 365 dashboards from 10 custom reports, used across 8 teams. They save each user 7–8 hours a week and flag OMFs, ORFs and contract reports that are past their SLA, so late work gets caught early.
• Cleaned up 50,000+ CRM records, so the KPI and contract reports everyone relies on run on accurate data.
• Process and reconcile 30–50 funding claims a year, worth £500K–£1M, alongside purchase orders and sales invoices.
• Act as the team's go-to for data and CRM: shaping CRM changes and getting new starters comfortable with our systems.

Before, as Team Support Coordinator

• Coordinate support for a 30-person innovation team across two funded programmes that help Greater Manchester businesses grow.
• Keep contract reporting and KPIs on track, so the team can see where each programme stands.
• Look after Microsoft Dynamics 365 for the team: training advisors one to one, fixing data issues and answering CRM questions.
• Build Excel tools that make the work visible, like the automated client tracker for the Access to Finance team.

The storyThe new CRM kept tripping people up, mostly because nobody had been shown how it worked. Nobody asked me to fix that, so I sat with advisors one to one until it clicked. Then came a polite argument: CRM changes were being designed from the final report backwards. Now they start from the customer journey, and advisors and coordinators get asked too.

Silica sand trader supplying foundry-grade sand from mines to steel and casting manufacturers; under 10 staff.

• Tracked stock and deliveries across eight suppliers so customer orders weren't held up by shortages.
• Lined up purchase timing, supplier payment terms and customer collections to free up cash.
• Built monthly stock and demand reports, and reset reorder levels from them to cut waste and holding costs.

The storyIn a small trader, cash stuck in sand is cash you can't use. Getting purchases, supplier payments and collections in step freed it up.

Six-person design practice delivering around 80 mainly residential projects and $1M+ revenue a year.

• Ran four or five residential and commercial projects at a time, from renovations to large new builds.
• Produced 3D visuals, renders and walkthroughs in Rhino and Lumion for client presentations.
• Helped launch the firm's online home-plan service, using SEO and Google Analytics research on regional demand to shape its pricing.

The storyThe job was 3D visuals and walkthroughs in Rhino and Lumion. Somehow I kept drifting into the client and pricing conversations, and enjoyed those more than the drawings. That told me something.

Family start-up importing combine-harvester tyres and spare parts from China for resale to agricultural dealers across Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

• Found and vetted suppliers in China, then took over negotiating prices, warranty and delivery terms.
• Ran finance, pricing, import paperwork and customer correspondence, much of it remotely from the US while studying.
• Grew the dealer network across Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, taking on two full-time staff along the way.

The storyDad had the idea and the drive. I was 16 and had the English. At first he told me what to type to suppliers; somewhere along the way the negotiating became mine. Later I ran the paperwork from Nebraska between architecture classes. When the 2018 trade war and higher import duties ate the margins, we sold the last of the stock and stopped. Years later, my MSc dissertation at Liverpool studied exactly that: how trade wars reshape supply chains.