Industry: Wine and Spirits
Employees: 550
Solution: appsFreedomTM platform
The Challenge
For more than 30 years, this marketing and distribution agency has offered a wide selection of wine, beer, spirits, non-alcoholic beverages and glassware to licensed retailers and restaurateurs in California. However, the company has never been able to track beverage demand in real-time or perform deep analysis of trends.
The company’s drivers deliver beverages and collect empty kegs along their appointed routes. Delivery sheets are signed by customers, but no data can be entered until the driver returns to the warehouse. After keying in the details on empty keg pickups, receipts are generated and payments are collected at a later time. The collection and payment cycle is, therefore, longer than necessary, and this process introduces many opportunities for errors. At the same time, the company can’t provide its drivers with current data on best-selling products, making them unable to up-sell other products.
The Solution
What this client needed was a mobile and data entry solution to tighten up collection cycles. appsFreedom delivered that solution in the form of a mobile app that connects to the client’s backend software. Drivers now carry a mobile printer to give customers receipts and receive payments on the spot. This streamlined approach results in more efficient deliveries, fewer data errors and more satisfied customers – all of which benefit the company’s bottom line.
Deployed in weeks, the application uses the appsFreedom platform’s ability to integrate with varied core systems and to marry mobile technology with other devices like a handheld printer to streamline deliveries ensuring customer delight.
The Business Benefits
More Efficient Processes
Now that drivers don’t have to spend time at the warehouse manually keying in data, they can accomplish much more during their shifts. This empowers the company to spend those saved resources in other ways, such as expanding their marketing efforts. Customers, meanwhile, don’t have to wait for a receipt for used kegs.
Fewer Errors, Less Waste
The old method of manual data entry was slow and prone to errors. Because appsFreedom enables drivers to service customer accounts immediately, there’s much less chance of a mistake. And as any business owner can attest, mistakes cost money and harm reputations.
Real-time Insights and Analytics
appsFreedom’s mobile solution reveals insights into the California beverage market that were previously invisible to the client. Data on what’s selling and where can give salespeople and drivers a heads-up on opportunities to upsell merchandise. The business as a whole can make more informed decisions with the detailed analytics now readily available.