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Field Data Collection, Field Sales Automation ,
Field Service Automation , Warehouse / Inventory Management , SR & ED Claims Following completion of the audit, the auditor would transcribe the information from the working copy to a finish copy and courier the final version to the Head Office. Periodically, auditors would record hand write the VIN numbers of what would turn out to be customers cars that were on the lot for service etc. This created a major problem at H.O., trying to determine where the additional inventory came from. One of the challenges is that the audits have to be completed on the specified date, therefore any solution would have to operate in any type of weather conditions including rain, wind, snow and extremely low temperatures. It was important to maintain the original "look" and format of the audit report to shorten the learning curve and assist with merging to established internal practices and formats.Solution ~ We recognized that all of the vehicles came from the manufacturer with with the VIN number bar coded on the dashboard, inside the front windshield. The challenge was that due to the varying angles of the windshields and reflection, conventional scanners would not consistently read the bar code. A member of our team located a Symbol bar code terminal, (PDT 6800) with a high visibility scanner capable of reading through windshields and of operating in all types of weather. Importantly it also was an "Ergonomic Fit" for it's use and also allowed for keying in the VIN number in the rare occasion that the bar code was not accessible. Our programming team went to work and wrote a program for the scanner and for the auditors lap tops. The programming allowed the continued use of the excel sheets from the H.O. to the auditors, but mapped the data from the sheets to the hand held scanners.The audit is now e-mailed to the auditors, who up -load the audit data to the scanner making it in effect a mobile computer. Now, the audit is simply a matter of shooting the bar code to collect the VIN number and selecting from a drop down menu to pick any comments that should be entered. The program notifies the auditor if they have attempted to record a VIN that's not on the audit. Upon completion, the audit is then transferred back from the scanner to the laptop and e-mailed to head office where it can be reviewed, printed if desired and stored electronically. Results
ACI / Starcase are a rapidly growing wholesaler of products to Canada's leading retailers. They are noted not only for their extensive fashion product lines, but also for their high level of service and commitment to customer satisfaction. The sales staff are actively involved in managing their accounts, assessing inventory at store levels, re-ordering and merchandising the inventory. Conventional paper order forms were filled out, a copy left with the purchasing, collated and faxed daily to H.O. for key order entry and fulfillment. ACI's internal system did not allow for connection to automated field sales or support the reading of bar codes and management did not want to replace the core system if possible. Solution ~ Selecting a Symbol (SPT1550),with a built in Bar code scanner and a PALM OS, we replicated ACI's order forms on the hand held device. Sales staff now select the account that they are servicing, shoot the UPC code on the merchandise which automatically indexes directly to the product. They can enter the re-order quantity, total the order, obtain a Purchase Order # and signature directly on the mobile. The hand held also calculates the total amount of the order and indicates the Suggested Retail Selling Price. Since ACI carry a number of different product lines we also facilitated a total order quantity for all products that would now only require one signature per location, rather than a signature per product line. During the day, the sales reps connect to the Internet and download the orders directly to the system at the Head Office. We facilitated the internal process by integrating Abaci's Sales Order and Inventory modules to their core system at a very low cost. Now as the orders arrive from the Internet, they are fed directly into the system and processed to the warehouse for picking. E Mail, new product information, specials and all other time sensitive information are up-loaded back to the sales rep. during the connection.Results Field Service Automation Wayco Multi-Lift Inc. is a company specializing in the leasing, rental and sales of fork lifts and material handling equipment to industry. We were originally contacted to explore installing a new ERP system for them as a way to manage the business in total and deal with the unique requirements of the materials handling industry. ( Repetitive cycle billing, preventive maintenance schedules, field asset management, labour etc. While systems existed that were "Industry Specific", in the view of management they were either not complete or ran on a platform that was not acceptable. Selecting our Abaci ERP solution and working with Brian Wood, (General Manager of Wayco) we tailored the software for the requirements of the company and the industry in general. By the time we were finished, we had created a fully functional "Industry Specific", Windows based solution for the Materials Handling business that we call "EquiTrac".. But Brian had a broader vision. One of the biggest problems the company faced was the management of the field service side. Tracking parts inventory onto the service trucks,allocating the parts to specific field assets, recording the labour component for each repair, determining time spent waiting at customers and the amount of travel time involved. Plus the fact that all the work orders were paper based meant that quite frequently the paper was slow returning to the office for invoicing resulting in a delay in cash flow. Solution ~ Using a Symbol Mobile SPT 1800 with a built in bar code scanner and a program we wrote for the mobile, Wayco have far greater control of their field service side. Wayco bar coded their inventory and their assets in the field. Now inventory is scanned from the central warehouse onto the trucks, creating each truck as an independent warehouse. Service technicians, sign on to their mobile, travel to their service call and shoot the bar code on the machine they are working on. This initial scan time stamps the beginning of the maintenance and begins the labour tracking process.The tech also enters the meter reading of the equipment. This begins the process of Preventive Maintenance scheduling and also allows for the accurate adjustment of service and lease contracts that are based on the numbers of hours of usage. After analyzing the equipment, the Service Tech. scans the required parts from the truck, (truck inventories are now automatically adjusted and parts automatically re-ordered) and the parts are assigned to the specific asset being serviced. Upon completion of the work, the asset is scanned once more, closing the time stamp on the labour. The data is now batch transferred back to the main system, where invoices are automatically generated , inventories re-ordered, labour tracked in total and to each asset and all of the accounting/financial management aspects are automatically calculated and generated. Results Warehouse / Inventory Management A distributor of 10,000+ sku's of hardware has inherited technology they fail to utilize. Along with the inheritance came an opportunity. They have a reasonably up to date main business system and orders are directed to the order desk either by telephone or fax by both customers and sales staff. Some of the sales staff are dedicated to new business and as a result rarely if ever have the requirement of writing or placing orders. Once an order is entered it is sent to printers in the warehouse, where a paper picking ticket is issued. Warehouse staff fill the order and return the picked items and picking ticket to the shipping area where shipping assembles the order, attaches the packing list and ships the order. At the receiving doors, inbound goods are checked in, inspected and entered against the matching PO on a computer terminal. The shipment items are then moved to the warehouse and re-stocked to their allocated bins. Problems
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