Background: A New Challenger in Bermuda's Grocery Market
Pronto Limited (now Pronto City Market) was born out of necessity and vision during the COVID-19 pandemic. Co-Founder Colin Rego seasoned in e-commerce and logistics, saw an opportunity to support Bermuda’s largest grocers as consultants. When their roles were sidelined, they decided to build their own modern grocery business, facing off against five entrenched brands dominating the market for over half a century.
The Challenge: DIY Tech Chaos and Costly Inefficiencies
Pronto’s journey began with a scrappy, do-it-yourself approach:
- Launched in December 2021 with a basic Wix website and a storefront on the Sargasso app (Bermuda’s Uber Eats equivalent).
- Built their first warehouse from 2x4s and plywood, using plug-and-play refrigeration.
- Started with 800 SKUs, hand-picking and fulfilling orders manually.
Key Pain Points
- Fragmented Systems: Juggling Wix, WordPress and a patchwork of APIs.
- Manual Processes: Order picking, substitutions, and tracking were all done by hand.
- Lack of Scalability: No logs, no real-time inventory, and no way to efficiently manage or scale operations.
- Financial Drain: “We were losing tens of thousands of dollars every single month for the first two years of business.”
The Search: Finding the Right Tech Partner
Pronto spent 12–18 months searching for an end-to-end solution:
- Evaluated major platforms (Manhattan, SAP, Odoo) but found them cost-prohibitive (often $1–2 million).
- Needed a system that could handle everything: warehouse management, inventory, packing, delivery, and customer experience—at a startup’s budget.
Enter Eddress
A chance call introduced Pronto to Eddress. Initially, Eddress was a young product, but its founders’ experience (having built tech for Gorillas in Europe) and a consultative sales approach stood out.
Affordable and Flexible: More expensive than Saraso but a fraction of enterprise alternatives.
Partnership Approach: The Eddress team listened, adapted, and worked closely with Pronto’s feedback
Affordable and Flexible: More expensive than Saraso but a fraction of enterprise alternatives.
Partnership Approach: The Eddress team listened, adapted, and worked closely with Pronto’s feedback
The Solution: Eddress Powers Pronto's Transformation
Despite a rocky start—bugs, missing features, and a lack of user management—Pronto stuck with Eddress due to the team’s commitment and rapid improvements.
How Eddress Made the Difference
Integrated Operations: Unified online and retail sales, inventory, packing, and delivery in one platform.
Scalability: Enabled Pronto to move beyond manual processes, supporting growth and new sales channels.
Continuous Improvement: Eddress brought on a new CTO, restructured teams, and prioritized user feedback, leading to a dramatically more stable and capable system.
Retail Expansion: Supported Pronto’s move into physical retail, adding a butcher corner, deli, and more.
Integrated Operations: Unified online and retail sales, inventory, packing, and delivery in one platform.
Scalability: Enabled Pronto to move beyond manual processes, supporting growth and new sales channels.
Continuous Improvement: Eddress brought on a new CTO, restructured teams, and prioritized user feedback, leading to a dramatically more stable and capable system.
Retail Expansion: Supported Pronto’s move into physical retail, adding a butcher corner, deli, and more.
| Before Eddress | After Eddress Implementation |
| Manual order picking | Automated, trackable workflows |
| No real-time inventory | Unified, real-time inventory |
| Fragmented tech stack | Single, integrated platform |
| Tens of thousands lost/month | Cost savings and operational control |
| Limited scalability | Multi-channel growth (retail + online) |
Results: Tangile Impact and Business Growth
Operational Efficiency: Dramatic reduction in manual labor and costly errors.
Financial Turnaround: Eliminated tens of thousands in monthly losses.
Growth: Expanded retail footprint, diversified product offerings, and improved customer experience.
Agility: Ability to launch new initiatives and respond to market needs quickly.
Operational Efficiency: Dramatic reduction in manual labor and costly errors.
Financial Turnaround: Eliminated tens of thousands in monthly losses.
Growth: Expanded retail footprint, diversified product offerings, and improved customer experience.
Agility: Ability to launch new initiatives and respond to market needs quickly.
Lessons Learned & Next Steps
- Invest Early in Scalable Tech: DIY can prove a concept, but real growth requires robust systems.
- Choose Partners, Not Just Vendors: Eddress’s willingness to listen and adapt was crucial.
- Continuous Feedback Drives Innovation: Pronto’s hands-on involvement helped shape the product.
