|
By 2000, Ali recognised that the
only way to grow the business
was to be able to monitor the
stock levels, stock delivery and
sales prices more closely. He
started to investigate readily
available software solutions,
but found that they didn’t meet
his needs. He needed a solution
that relied on barcode data to
ensure the correct products were
being sold, picked and distributed,
whilst also needing to use
a back-end system that could
monitor the sales prices of over
1500 products to 1000 customers.
The complexity of the
requirement led Ali to look for
a software developer to design
a package to suit his specific requirements.
He enlisted the help
of Mesut Gencer, a programmer
who had experience developing
solutions on Casio hand held
terminals for a variety of industries
and IKA retail a CASIO
dealer, to develop a bespoke
solution.
Solution
The mobile sales solution
involves 5 CASIO IT-3000 hand
held terminals carried by each
of the companies sales representative.
The terminal is fitted
with a barcode scanner and
GPRS card, allowing the sales
reps to submit orders remotely
from the customer’s site. And
because the IT-3000 has an
integrated receipt printer, they
are also able to print a receipt
for all orders and a receipt when
payment is received.
Benefits
By remotely submitting orders,
the speed of shipment is increased.
Another advantage is
that the pricing can be monitored.
With a set price range
programmed into the database
for each product, if a sales representative
tries to sell a product
below this range an alarm will
sound and the order will be
blocked. The database stores
each customers pricing for every
product they buy. And with a
"My sales reps
are now more
efficient and
the IT-3000
system has
considerably
increased my
profitability."
receipt printed after every order,
no future pricing disputes can
occur, as the customer is given a
record of what they bought and
for what price.
These efficiencies save time and
mean the sales representatives
can now visit up to 15 stores
a day, an increase of 5 store
visits a day, making them much
more profitable. To maximise
time spent on the road, a route
planner is generated to plan
their journey, ensuring more
effective territory and account
management. Ali commented,
“My sales reps are now more
efficient and the IT-3000 system
has considerably increased my
profitability.”
|
