This series uses Dingli, a Patisco demo account. Every system screen and all the data shown here came from real operations in the system, including the exchanges between buyers and suppliers; they are not mock-ups. The people and dialogue are dramatized, and the illustrations are for illustration only. Screens are shown in the system's Chinese interface; Patisco is also available in English and other languages.
In the story: the day before "next Wednesday," a Tuesday afternoon
Three hundred
A-Mei's phone holds fourteen supplier groups. One for Hongtai, one for Yongchang, one for the packaging supplier, and one called "Dajia Screw Group Buy." She can't remember who added her to that one.
This is where the chasing happens. "Ms. Chang, next Wednesday for sure?" "For sure!" "Morning or afternoon?" "Afternoon~" Then a sticker.
The trouble is that these conversations live only on A-Mei's phone. If A-Zhe wants Hongtai's delivery date, he has to ask A-Mei. And A-Mei has to scroll back three hundred messages to find what Ms. Chang said last week.
"Once you go on leave next month, what happens to these groups?" Chairman Lin asked.
A-Mei froze for a second. She hadn't thought about that.
How it used to go
There used to be two ways to handle this.
One was to do nothing. Whoever's phone had the LINE had the business. When that person went on leave or moved on, the delivery dates discussed with suppliers and the terms they'd promised went along too.
The other was screenshots. Grab the important bits, post them to the company group, or paste them into Excel. Plenty got captured, but when you needed one, that was always the one you couldn't find.
How it goes in Patisco
Add the company's LINE official account to the group
First, Dingli's system administrator linked the company's LINE official account in the company settings. Then A-Mei added that official account to the Hongtai group.
Nothing else in the group has to change. Ms. Chang keeps chatting and sending photos and stickers there; A-Mei keeps replying on her phone. The only difference is that the group now has a "record-keeper."
Bind the group to the document
Once the official account joins, the Hongtai group shows up on the [LINE groups] page in Patisco, under [To bind]. A-Mei clicks [Bind] and picks the discussion on PI-0411.
From then on, every message in the group appears in the PI-0411 discussion, labeled [LINE · Ms. Chang]. Photos can be opened with [View larger]. If Ms. Chang unsends a message, it's unsent here too, leaving just one line saying a message was unsent.
A-Zhe wants Hongtai's delivery date? He opens PI-0411 and scrolls up. No asking A-Mei, no scrolling through three hundred messages.
The first time someone speaks in the group, the system doesn't know them yet. A-Mei clicks [This person is from…] and matches Ms. Chang to Hongtai Chain. After that, the group's conversation also shows up under [Conversations] on Hongtai's company page.
Back from Patisco to the group
A-Zhe types a line in the PI-0411 discussion and clicks [Send to LINE group], then [Send]. The message appears in the Hongtai group, automatically starting with 【A-Zhe】, so Ms. Chang knows at a glance who's talking.
The AI can read these LINE messages. It can help sort them out, or answer "What date did Hongtai last give us?" But it won't post to the group on its own. Sending is a person's click.
What it doesn't catch
There are a few things the record-keeper doesn't receive: employees' private one-on-one chats, old messages from before the official account joined the group, and replies typed directly in the LINE official account's back end. So Dingli set one rule: when you talk business with a supplier, do it in a group that has the record-keeper.
"So when I message Ms. Chang privately to chat about kids, that won't get recorded, right?" A-Mei asked.
"Nope," A-Zhe said. "Chat away."
Before vs. With Patisco
| Before | With Patisco | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the chasing lives | A-Mei's phone | The group works as usual, and messages sync into the PI-0411 discussion |
| A colleague needs a delivery date | Ask A-Mei, or scroll back three hundred messages | Open the document and it's there |
| Does the supplier have to change anything | — | No, they keep using LINE |
| After A-Mei goes on leave | The conversations go with her | The record stays with the company |
A word for the boss: LINE belongs to the employee, but what was discussed with customers and suppliers belongs to the company.Moments in Trade #17｜Inspection dayWednesday afternoon, Ms. Chang posted a photo in the group: forty-some cartons, neatly stacked on pallets."Goods are ready! Come inspect on Thursday."A-Mei cleared her schedule for the next morning.