A forward deployed engineer, or FDE, is a software engineer who works alongside a customer's team to understand a business problem and build a working solution. A recent video about the role inspired this post. It reinforced what we're already working towards at Calo through a fractional version of that approach.
An invoice is ready to go, except nobody can find the job details. The office is chasing timesheets again. A customer asks for an update, and the person who knows the answer is away.
In a growing business, these jobs can consume more time each week. The owner becomes the person everyone checks with, while experienced staff spend part of their day moving information between systems.
You might know where the frustration is without knowing what to change. Perhaps you've already bought software, but someone still has to fill the gaps between it and the way the team works.
At Calo, we work alongside teams to understand those gaps and build practical improvements. We're developing an ongoing version of that relationship, supported by Calo Connect, for businesses that need technical help regularly but don't need a full-time software team.
Start with the process holding work up
Consider a contractor whose office spends part of each week collecting timesheets, checking job numbers and preparing invoices. When information is missing, invoicing waits and someone has to chase it.
We'd follow that process with the people doing it. We'd look at how staff record work and what the office needs before it can send an invoice. That helps us understand which checks prevent mistakes and which steps create extra work.
An improvement might connect the existing field app to the accounting system, with incomplete entries flagged for someone to review. AI might help interpret written job notes. A clearer form could be enough for another part of the process.
The result we'd look for is less chasing and fewer delays before invoices go out. We'd compare the time spent preparing invoices and the number of entries needing correction before and after the change.
That's an illustrative example. The work would start with your process and the systems you already use. We'd check what those systems can support before recommending a change.
How a fractional version could work
Fractional means engaging that expertise on a part-time basis, with agreed responsibilities and cost. We'd spend time with your team to understand the work, then stay involved through regular check-ins and agreed development and support time. Closer involvement during a rollout or a difficult problem would be planned together.
The technical work might include connecting systems through their APIs, the interfaces that let software exchange information. It can also involve writing custom software or setting up automation, then checking it against actual work.
Why working alongside the team matters
During a Rotaform bin rollout in Rotorua, I helped with deliveries and saw how the RFID scanning fitted into the operation. The original plan assumed much of the scanning would happen in the warehouse. As bins were separated for delivery, scanning moved closer to the trucks.
That changed where the software needed to support the team. A system designed only around the warehouse could have left the delivery crew working around it. Being there helped us understand the constraint before treating it as a software requirement.
I wrote more about that experience in You can't improve a process you haven't seen. It informs how we want to work through Calo Connect. The rollout itself used Ledger.
What you would engage Calo to do
We'd begin with one problem worth addressing. Before build work starts, we'd agree the scope and cost, what we need from your team and how we'll judge the result. We'd also plan how to introduce the change around daily operations, including any staff training.
Our responsibility would include the technical implementation and checking that people can use it in their work. Your team brings the operational knowledge and decides whether the improvement meets the need.
If there's worthwhile work to continue, we could agree an ongoing arrangement. We'd review priorities together and tackle the next improvement using what we've already learned about your business. Development time, support and response expectations would be explicit, so you know what the ongoing cost covers.
Where Calo Connect fits
We're developing Calo Connect to coordinate work between business systems. In the contractor example, it could move submitted job information through checks and approval before passing it to the next system.
For the office, the aim would be to see what's ready and what needs attention without checking several places. We'd agree which actions can happen automatically and which need a person's approval. Where AI helps interpret information, we'd test its output and decide how to handle uncertain results.
Connect is part of the service we're developing. The engineering team would remain responsible for understanding the process and implementing the agreed changes.
Keeping the improvement working
Once a process changes, staff will find exceptions. A software supplier may change how its system works, or the person who normally approves a job may go on leave.
An ongoing relationship needs clear responsibility for those situations. We'd agree how failures are reported, who responds and who maintains the connections. You should understand your access to the systems and data, with documentation that someone else can use if responsibilities change.
We'd also check whether the original problem has improved. If the office still spends the same time chasing information, a connection running without errors isn't enough. We need to understand what is still getting in the way.
Bring us one process
If you're looking at business process improvement, start with a recurring frustration. Choose the task that keeps an invoice waiting, interrupts the owner or depends on one person remembering what happens next.
Talk to us at Calo about how that process works today and what you'd like to change. We can help assess where to start and agree a manageable first piece of work.
