How One Wall Bed Taught Us the Magic of Checklists and Automation

John Gallagher
Nov 9
3 min read

by John Gallagher, Nesting Systems Co-Founder

A while back, a Sales Manager of mine at a mid-sized closet company made a seemingly simple decision: switch to a new wall bed mechanism vendor. The pricing was better, the mechanism functioned smoother, and it could be shipped much faster than the previous vendor's mechanism. He added to the price book and told his Designers that it was ready to sell. So I sold one, singing the new mechanism's praises to my client.

But that’s where the problems began.

Engineering had never seen the mechanism before. No tests. No info.
The door face was drilled wrong.
The installers didn’t have the right pistons.
A go-back was scheduled… but even two weeks later, the parts still weren’t right.
The client had bought the wall bed for their granddaughter’s annual visit. It wasn’t ready in time.

Everyone looked bad.

Sales. Engineering. Install.

No one felt supported. And the client didn’t feel cared for.

All because a product was approved to be sold before it was integrated.

So Nesting Systems built a better way.

Introducing the New Product Integration Checklist — a free download from Nesting Systems to help closet companies launch new products without the chaos.

This checklist covers:

Internal approvals
Photos and marketing prep
CAD/drafting readiness
Engineering instructions
Production and install training
Vendor setup and pricing
Launch communication

It’s a simple tool that ensures you never forget a step—and your whole team is set up for success. Link below this next section... but you will want to read about this mind-blowing possibility first!

Wait… this can be automated?

If you’re like most closet company owners or managers, you’re probably juggling task lists across emails, sticky notes, maybe a whiteboard, and a prayer. But here’s the game-changer:

Did you know that your computer system can actually run this checklist for you—automatically?

That blew our minds, too.

Modern platforms like Microsoft Power Automate and Zapier allow you to connect the tools you already use—like Forms, SharePoint, Outlook, or even a simple spreadsheet—and trigger entire workflows.

So instead of remembering to assign tasks, send reminders, create folders, or notify the team… your system can do it for you.

For example:

A manager submits a request for a new product via a form
→ a checklist is generated,
→ a communication email is sent to all members of the team,
→ folders are created,
→ a SharePoint library is linked,
→ and each team member gets their tasks auto-created for them in Microsoft Planner or Trello.

It’s like having a silent project manager in the cloud.

And the best part? Many closet companies already have access to these tools through Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace—they just haven’t tapped into them yet.

You can reverse this new product automation too! You can build an automation that helps you handle removing products from your offering. All with just a few clicks, and all in one place.

Bonus: Manual or Automated

You can save this checklist in your files for the next time you are ready to roll out a new product.

Or, if you’re a Microsoft Teams user, we also suggest:

Consulting with Nesting Systems on a DIY Kit to set it up in your system
A Done-For-You option where we get it fully ready to install into your company’s system for you

That way, each time a new product is approved, the system can auto-create tasks, folders, and documentation checklists for your team—automatically.