Marva Maid Dairy’s advances in route accounting and delivery confirmation help expand the company’s reach.
Executive Summary
Marva Maid Dairy was looking for new mobile devices for their route sales representatives. The devices needed to be rugged to withstand the day to day delivery schedules, and integrate with their existing software platform to allow all systems to interact and communicate effectively. Needing a better way to manage their delivery schedules and confirm receipt of shipments by their customers, Marva Maid started looking for a partner who could assist them in mobility and route accounting. Barcodes EDGE successfully developed a solution deploying a rugged mobile project that works effortlessly with the existing platform.
The Business Challenge
Deliveries of perishables are time sensitive due to the nature of the product. The drivers had scheduled drop-off times which needed to be met to ensure the safe distribution of the items. Marva Maid needed an efficient way to document and track the delivery time to minimize the amount of waste and delay in providing the goods. Secondly, Marva Maid needed the solution to work with the existing infrastructure. After already investing in a back-end system software, the customer wanted to optimize their fixed assets in place. Lastly, the customer wanted to reduce the number of returned items and disputed deliveries. Having a device which captured the information and a system that could accomplish all of these would allow the company to run more efficiently and ultimately save money through the reductions of costly distribution issues.
Solution
Barcodes EDGE was able to develop a solution which was compatible with the existing infrastructure and give Marva Maid the ability to put the power of a mobile computer in the delivery representative’s hands. Outfitted with Intermec CN70e devices, the delivery personnel have the ability to optimize their delivery schedule, deliver real-time reporting, capture images and signatures at the point of delivery, and accept delivery information. The devices are sleek, yet rugged to withstand the day to day environments of the delivery cycles. In addition, the devices work seamlessly with the backend software and provide the information needed to measure route and delivery metrics. Now, Marva Maid can make educated decisions on whether to expand to more routes and increase the reach of the delivery zones.
Benefits
The customer now has a top of the line device for its delivery drivers, which have favorably impacted delivery times. The improved efficiency has also led to new routes that they have been awarded due to the increased capacity. Lastly, company decisions based on new data from the field, are grounded in fact rather than assumptions or second-hand knowledge from the delivery personnel.
The Future
As Marva Maid’s company expands, Barcodes EDGE will continue to be a partner in search of additional ways to optimize their routes and delivery schedules. The existing platform provides the foundation for Barcodes EDGE and Marva Maid to build off and drive positive ROI projects in the future.