PSALES-REP - A Case Study Mobile Computing for SALCO's Sales Reps
"We just couldn't write order forms as quickly as the customer was adding items to the list!"
Nigel Ovens one of the directors at Salco describes the log jam they used to face
at exhibitions when taking orders.
Salco is a major importer of giftware
whose customers are wholesalers, large retailers and cash and carry stores.
"The giftware market has become trend or fashion led, so our
three to four thousand active product lines are being constantly changed"
, says Nigel.
A typical sales order would average a hundred different items, about all of which price
and availability needs to be know when taking the order; hence the log jam.
Salco
was established in 1866, but the focus of the management team is forward rather
than back. There is a sense of urgency and dynamism at the Harlow HQ, which led to
the search for a quicker way to carry out remote sales order entry.
Salco selected the Psales-Rep system from BAC, because it was very easy to use
and covered all the required functions.
Psales-rep
runs on the Psion Workabout
handheld unit with it's in-built barcode scanner
and allows the rep to enquire on price/availability of items and the credit status or
outstanding orders for a customer. Orders can be entered or amended and an acknowledgement
printed.
These are then sent to the main computer at HQ via a modem with no need to re-key them.
The system is used by Salco for all order taking at Exhibitions, in the show room
and at customer sites and the reps and agents think it is great.
They look professional, work quicker and have more or less eradicated order taking errors.
Nigel Ovens has the last word -
"At the first exhibition that we used Psales-Rep we took 25% more
orders, because of the speed of order entry. Instead of concentrating on writing an order
form we are able to listen to what the customer is saying and we now know the show stats
for each day on the day, instead of waiting more than a week".
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Psales-Rep handheld order taking system for sales reps on the move.
Salco selected the Psales-Rep system from BAC, because it was very easy to use
and covered all the required functions.
