Why Engaging a Managed IT Partner Early Helped Marnco Scale Seamlessly

From a lean start-up to a growing cross-regional business, Marnco built scalable, automated processes from day one – with Axiom IT by their side. 

When Marnco launched in 2018, it was little more than a name, a managing director, and a vision for growing a fertiliser importing and distributing business across Australia and New Zealand.  

Yet from those earliest days, Marnco’s leadership understood something many fast-growing companies overlook – that scaling without a proper operational foundation leads to inefficiencies, frustrations, and costly fixes later.  

Setting the business up for growth  

That mindset shaped how the team approached growth. They made a conscious decision to build strong systems early, ensuring that IT, processes, and workflows could expand with the business. 

As delivery volumes increased and the team expanded, it became clear that manual tasks, such as emailing delivery dockets and coordinating internal stock transfers would become bottlenecks. Without automation, they risked missed communications, lost inventory, and admin overload – not to mention needing more staff just to keep up. 

A partnership built on practical, everyday automation wins 

A Google search led Marnco to Axiom IT. Early conversations quickly revealed opportunities to automate time-consuming processes, freeing the operations team from repetitive administrative tasks and creating space for growth. What began as a simple IT support relationship soon evolved into a strategic partnership that would shape Marnco’s growth.  

“Tas [Gray, Managing Director at Axiom IT] worked with me to understand the process. He wanted to understand the full picture, to be able to give me more ideas,” says Ciara Sweeney, Marnco’s Head of Operations. “Instead of simply doing what I’d asked for, he’d say, ‘We could do that… but we could also do this.’ It opened my mind to what was possible.”  

Axiom IT took the time to map out Marnco’s operational processes. The first thing they identified was that Marnco wasn’t fully leveraging their Microsoft Office suite, relying on other third-party tools that added unnecessary complexity. They helped shape internal processes around one integrated ecosystem – streamlining operations, simplifying collaboration and boosting productivity. 

Together, they also identified automation opportunities that would deliver value as the business grew, and built: 

• Automated delivery docket processing: Incoming delivery dockets were routed, parsed, and sent to the correct customer instantly – saving up to two hours of admin time per day, eliminating customer wait times and improving workflow. “It saved about an hour or two, which is amazing. But it was more that I could set and forget. It was there, working in the background. I didn’t have to check it constantly,” says Ciara.  
• Stock transfer request and approval workflows: A Microsoft Forms-based process was created to log stock transfers between depots, trigger an approval workflow in Teams, and notify both Australian and New Zealand teams. This created a streamlined, monitored and consistent process. It improved inventory management, communication transparency and user accountability.  
• VoIP rollout across Australia and New Zealand: Axiom managed the procurement, rollout, and ongoing support of a unified VoIP system – giving Marnco’s distributed team a reliable, scalable communications platform. Managing the entire process saved Marnco time, especially since they were using two different telcos.  

Crucially, Axiom didn’t just execute tasks. They educated Marnco’s team about what was possible, often suggesting better ways of working and bringing new ideas to the table. 

“It’s a partnership. We pitch Axiom ideas and ask, ‘What do you think? What could we do? What do you recommend?’ And they never promise us something they can’t deliver on.” – Ciara Sweeney, Head of Operations, Marnco 

Saving time, lifting confidence and building operational discipline 

The process fixes, managed IT support, and automation projects had a significant operational impact: 

• Reclaimed up to two hours of admin time per day 
• Improved inventory control across multiple depots 
• Standardised communications and processes, reducing errors and delays 
• Built operational discipline and consistency, even as new staff and depots were added 
• Lifted the team’s capability and confidence in identifying automation opportunities 
• Improved process visibility and consistency across operational tasks 

Importantly, Marnco scaled sustainably, relying on technology to quietly support business-as-usual – instead of expanding headcount to manage growing administrative demands.  

Continuing the growth journey 

With a solid foundation of process automation in place, Marnco is now looking ahead. New projects under consideration include integrating third-party freight data into live dashboards and exploring AI-driven process improvements. 

The relationship remains a true partnership: Axiom continues to advise, educate, and work closely alongside Marnco as they continue their growth journey together.  

“What I really appreciated about Axiom is that they look at the full picture… And that makes more of a difference than a quick win.” – Ciara Sweeney, Head of Operations, Marnco 

If your business is growing fast and you’d rather work smarter than harder, Axiom IT can help. Start with a conversation.