Limited design-partner cohort
Find the failures between storefront, support, fulfilment, and finance.
Forma turns bounded, read-only evidence into an owned, sequenced Operations Map and helps the team run one human-reviewed improvement pilot. This private cohort is for US/USD Shopify-first physical-goods brands.
Application only · no automatic acceptance or booking
A US/USD physical-goods brand using Shopify
One merchant and legal entity per Forma client
An accountable founder, COO, or head of operations
Willingness to compare bounded source evidence with the upstream systems
Gorgias and ShipBob are preferred; Xero is useful and Stripe is optional
The first wedge
A read-only commerce exception brief.
The brief can surface bounded observations about stuck orders, fulfilment exceptions, unanswered support, stock risk, and finance reconciliation. Every observation keeps its source and coverage limitation. An operator confirms it upstream before it enters a pilot decision.
Evidence boundaries
What the current read paths can support.
These connector paths are code-live but not real-account verified in this repository. Each intended account needs a credentialed smoke comparison before its evidence can support a pilot.
Shopify
Paid-order activity, recent orders, and current tracked-variant stock.
Normal order access is limited to Shopify's available window unless separately approved; routed reads are paginated and partial coverage stays marked incomplete.
Gorgias
Recent email/chat ticket and reply observations.
The newest bounded ticket window is read; spam, trash, unsupported channels, and unproved replies are excluded.
ShipBob
Recent orders and shipments plus current active component inventory.
The default order window is recent and bounded; component inventory does not prove sellable bundle availability or incoming stock.
Xero or Stripe
Receivables observations from Xero or a bounded net-balance activity snapshot from Stripe.
These slices do not create a complete revenue ledger. Currency is fixed to USD and unexpected currency fails closed.
Illustrative only · no client data
Example Operations Map excerpt
This example shows the evidence structure, not measured results or a recommended intervention for any brand.
Storefront → fulfilment
A paid order appears unfulfilled beyond the operator's agreed review threshold.
Verify status in Shopify and the fulfilment source before assigning an owner.
Support
A recent inbound ticket has no qualifying public agent reply in the bounded message history.
Confirm channel coverage and assign human review; do not send a response automatically.
Stock → finance
Current component stock and finance activity leave a reconciliation question for the operator.
Record the limitation, compare upstream, and decide whether it belongs in the pilot.
Explicit exclusions
What this offer does not promise.
- No abandoned-cart recovery, outbound messaging, refunds, inventory writes, or other write automation
- No promise of autonomous execution, live ROI, or a production media provider
- No public self-service install or marketplace-approval claim
- No multi-currency conversion or multi-entity consolidation
- No connector is called real-account verified until its intended account passes the recorded smoke attestation
Managed sequence
- 01
Audit
Map the current operation and evidence coverage.
- 02
Operations Map
Agree priorities, ownership, and assumptions.
- 03
Exception review
Compare the bounded brief with each upstream source.
- 04
One pilot
Run one approved intervention and decide whether to continue.
Apply for the cohort
Request an operator fit review.
Share only what is needed to assess fit. A submission enters the protected operator queue; it does not create an account, connect a provider, book a call, or authorize paid work.