Level 4: Optimizing - The ArchiTECH Ascent

Connect Tools, Teams & Workflows

You’ve got the structure. Now it’s time to improve the flow. Optimizing means moving from manual to managed—connecting your tools, teams, and data to streamline operations and scale more efficiently.

Level 4 Snapshot

You’ve built something strong. The backend isn’t broken—it’s just slow, disconnected, or redundant. Your team is growing. You’ve moved past spreadsheets and are layering in platforms. But everything still feels stitched together. You’re tired of running multiple versions of the truth and fixing the same fires week after week. This level is about improving flow—across tools, across roles, and across the business.

Key Characteristics:

• Multiple teams or departments using the tech stack

• Processes documented, but not yet automated

• Hand-offs between tools and people causing friction

• Growing investment in tools and training

• Disconnected or duplicate data

• Reporting exists—but still requires manual compilation

• First efforts toward process mapping and systems thinking

Common Product Types:

• Electronics with accessory bundles and compatibility filtering

• Furniture with custom options and made-to-order configurations

• Nutraceuticals or subscription-based products with loyalty features

• Home goods with inventory syncing across marketplaces

• Multi-brand or multi-channel operators moving into wholesale

Level 4 Business Profile

You’ve outgrown ad hoc workflows. Your business has people, processes, and momentum—but those things don’t always sync. You’ve got good tools, but they don’t play nicely. The team is smart, but they still operate in silos. Your job now is to reduce friction across the whole system.

Trait	Typical Scenario
Revenue	$750K–$2M
Team	8–15 people across operations, marketing, support
SKUs	1,000–5,000+
Tools	10–15 tools across 3–5 departments
Fulfillment	Multiple 3PLs or warehouses, potentially international
Operations	SOPs + partial automations + platform switching

The friction isn’t in what you’re doing—it’s in how it’s getting done. This is where optimization pays off.

Mindset: “Make the system flow.”

You’re not rebuilding—you’re refining. Your business is scaling up, and now the focus is efficiency. You want clarity, visibility, and consistent output across every channel. You’ve proven the business model—now you want it to run smoother, faster, and smarter.

Estimated Expenses at Level 4

You’re investing in both software and smart implementation—working toward seamless processes across the board.

• Estimated monthly revenue: $100,000

• Monthly tech budget (10%): $10,000

• Stack tools: $4,000/month

• Technical Labor: $6,000/month

• Split: 40% stack tools / 60% Technical Labor

Your budget is going toward systems—process mapping, integrations, implementation, and training. You’re not just hiring help—you’re building a machine.

The high labor investment reflects implementation, cleanup, and team enablement. You’re improving what you already have—and laying the groundwork for future scale.

Typical Tech Stack at Level 4

At this level, your stack expands into departments. Different teams are using specialized tools—but those tools don’t always talk. You’ve invested in functionality, but not necessarily integration.

Category	Tools Used at Level 4	Monthly Cost Estimate
Ecommerce Platform	Shopify Plus or BigCommerce Pro	$299–$499
Inventory Management	Inventory Planner, in-house system, or Katana MRP	$150
Order Management & Fulfillment	ShipHero, ShipBob, ReturnLogic, consolidated OMS	$200
Product Information Management	Plytix, custom metafields integrations, CSV imports	$100
Enterprise Resource Planning	Starting ERP evaluation (DEAR, Odoo, Acumatica)	N/A or trial
Customer Relationship Management	Gorgias, HubSpot (basic), Klaviyo segmentation	$200
Accounting Systems	QuickBooks Online, Xero with custom integrations	$80
Automation Tools	Alloy, Zapier, Make (more advanced logic & mapping)	$200

Technical Reality at This Level

You’ve outgrown plug-and-play setups. The real work is connecting your tools and structuring your data. Your team has evolved—but every time a platform hands off to another, things get bumpy. Reporting is possible—but only if you know which source of truth to trust. You’re ready to shift from "it works" to “it flows.”

How Technical Labor is Typically Allocated

The $6,000/month technical labor budget is meant for specialized implementation help—not your full team. Most businesses at this level fund 1–2 of these roles at a time, depending on what needs to be built, connected, or maintained.

Role	Type	Typical Cost Range
Founder or CEO	Payroll	Included in ownership draw/salary
Head of Marketing	Payroll	$4,000–$8,000/month (full-time)
Warehouse or Fulfillment Lead	Payroll	$3,000–$5,000/month (full-time)
Customer Support Staff	Payroll	$2,500–$4,000/month (per rep, 1–3 reps total)
Digital Ops Manager	Payroll	$3,000–$3,500/month (FTE)
Freelance Developer	Contract	$1,500–$3,000/month (20–30 hrs)
Systems Integration Agency	Contract	$1,000–$2,000/month (retainer/project)
Automation/Reporting Specialist	Contract	$500–$1,000/month (as needed)

Note: Not all of these roles are active or paid simultaneously. The technical labor budget is generally allocated across 1–2 of these contract roles at a time based on current initiatives.

Real-World Example

A fast-growing home décor brand has scaled to 3,000 SKUs and multiple warehouses. They run Shopify Plus, Klaviyo, and Gorgias, but reporting is still done via spreadsheet. Their warehouse uses ShipHero, but customer service still relies on screenshots to track shipments. Marketing creates great campaigns, but operations can’t support spikes.

The founder hires a digital ops lead, who maps out all workflows and begins implementing Alloy to sync order statuses and inventory levels. They standardize their product data using Plytix and run training for all departments. Eventually, they reduce returns, improve pick accuracy, and gain confidence to launch internationally.

Level 4 Pain Points:

• Slow or manual handoffs between departments

• Duplicate data entry and errors

• Platform switching causing delays or confusion

• Marketing growth limited by ops constraints

• Analytics depend on one person’s spreadsheet

• Onboarding new staff is time-consuming due to tribal knowledge

• Automations fail under complexity

Signs It's Time to Level Up:

• You’re manually reconciling order or inventory data across tools

• One department’s actions regularly disrupt another

• Your team spends hours fixing recurring issues

• Reporting is siloed or out-of-date

• You need tech expertise to build and maintain automations

• Growth is limited by inefficiency, not demand

Bottom Line

You’re not fixing problems—you’re preventing them. Level 4 is about connecting your people, platforms, and workflows. You’re creating a smarter, smoother business—not by doing more, but by doing it better. Optimization isn’t optional anymore—it’s your ticket to real scale.