A Total Solution For Direct Store Delivery
Seymour Weiss, president of Ross Computer Systems, says 80% of his customers are looking for complete direct store delivery solutions. Are you providing a total solution for your customers?
"What makes us stand out from our competitors," says Weiss, "is that we provide the host computer software in combination with software on the handheld computers that delivery drivers use in the field. We also provide the necessary integration software to bring the host and handhelds together as a complete solution. In our field, companies don't usually provide the entire package. We see this as a competitive way of approaching the market."
Making Deliveries Accurate
DSD is a form of distribution that delivers products from the manufacturer almost directly to the end user retail store – like a supermarket – instead of a warehouse. "Dairy and bakery are a good examples of DSD," explains Weiss. "These products generally have short shelf lives. The products are put on a truck and delivered directly to supermarkets, convenience stores, schools, hotels or restaurants. Dairy products, beverages like beer and soda, snack foods and even magazines or uniforms are also examples of DSD. Each delivery truck is like a ‘rolling warehouse.'"
Ross' host computer software, called RAMS (Route Accounting and Manufacturing System) keeps track of every aspect of the order going into or out of the manufacturing facility. DSD manufacturers rely on the accuracy of drivers to anticipate product orders. Each driver has a route of specific customers they deliver products to on a daily, or weekly basis. They are responsible for determining the correct load for their trucks to fill as many as 40 customer needs for any given day. This includes existing orders, orders called in, and estimated requirements for customers to whom the driver sells from the truck.
"The difference in inventory between what the driver started with and what is left on the truck must be accounted for on all of the delivery documents created throughout the day," explains Weiss. "In order to put this information in a logical order," he says, "we use a process called ‘route accounting,' which balances the inventory on each vehicle. This balancing is done on a product-by-product, daily or weekly basis, depending on the customer," he adds. "Route accounting lets the manufacturer know what has been loaded on each truck each morning. And, in the evening, it subtracts the amount delivered during the day, as well as how much product was left on the delivery truck at the end of the day."
Because of customers who don't place orders, it is possible for the driver to have products remaining on the truck at the end of the day. A supermarket that doesn't place pre-orders may have a standing order for 100 loaves of wheat bread delivered each Wednesday, but may only need 80 loaves one week because of weather conditions. The driver anticipates the 100 loaves for the delivery, but ends up with 20 extra at the end of the day.
Ross Computer System's initial goal in 1986 was to provide in-house host software to DSD manufacturers. Those products consisted of order entry, route accounting, warehouse inventory, billing, accounts receivable and sales analysis. The host software analyzes and prepares a record of what each truck needs to have for delivery on a daily basis. "Products are put on trucks in anticipation of what the driver will deliver that day," says Weiss. "Every driver has a pattern delivery. The software keeps track of these pattern deliveries and any other information needed to determine customer needs and the total load on each truck."
Handhelds Make Work Easier
Telxon handheld computers help drivers accurately load their trucks and deliver the correct shipment at each stop. Ross Computer Systems' handheld software, STORS (Sales Tracking, Ordering and Route Settlement) is designed to help the driver determine the correct quantity of products to be sold to each customer. These sales are based on previous history, percent of returns and promotions.. "When drivers pick up their handhelds in the morning," Weiss explains, "delivery information has been downloaded from the host computer for every stop the driver will make that day. There is no guesswork involved."
As drivers go from location to location, they create a specific directory record on the handheld, and an invoice of each delivery is printed on a portable printer in the truck. This is a cost-effective solution because it eliminates the need to hire employees to manually enter data from a stack of delivery invoices and produce route settlements. Drivers simply dock the handhelds after the shift, and the handheld uploads the sales information the driver gathered in the field that day. It also downloads sales information for the drivers' routes the next day.
Evolving Into Pen-Based Computing
"We felt that pen-based technology would be an improvement over the earlier handheld computers," says Weiss. "It's all about building a better mousetrap. Drivers today should be able to do more with their handhelds then just collect sales data." The pen-based system makes the operation as simple as writing down the numbers on a piece of paper. Large video graphics array (VGA) screens display graphic information pertinent to each sale, which drivers can access or add information to by simply writing on the screen. The driver no longer needs to memorize product numbers as well as with the old-style handhelds.
Let's say, for example, that a driver is delivering bread to a supermarket. Ross Computer System's software (STORS) on Telxon's pen-based product creates a grid called a planogram, which is an exact replica of the shelf the driver sees. The supermarket's planogram contains information specific to the supermarket's delivery for that day. The driver writes the amount of each type of bread delivered in the appropriate area of the grid. This grid can display up to 18 products at once. This information is translated by the software in the handheld to a delivery document. It is also stored on the handheld and uploaded at the end of the day to the host computer.
Making The Move From Batch To Real Time
Right now, the primary communication to pen-based computers is done through a batch method at the beginning or end of the day. "It's an additional communication process that must be done every day to make sure information is reliable. Wide area networks (WAN) are a much more efficient methodology." (WANs are geographically dispersed telecommunications networks.)
By working online in real time, the handheld could communicate orders as they are being placed as often as needed. It's also cost effective, because some of our customers keep second shifts in order to prepare the data that is uploaded to the host system from the handhelds. These employees also retrieve the data from the handhelds to prepare the next day's order. Working in real time is much more efficient for drivers, because it gives them much more accurate data to work with.
Be Proactive When Dealing With Technology
Weiss doesn't see much of a reason to change the basic technology direction of Ross Computer Systems. But that doesn't mean he isn't prepared to blaze a new trail if necessary. "Within the market, the greatest movement is still relative to handhelds," says Weiss. "Pen-based mobile computing has substantially changed the industry, and it is still the newest technology in our market. This is promising for us because we lead the field in pen-based computing. It gives us a chance to expand and show customers what they can really get out of a handheld unit."
Weiss is also taking a serious look at what the Internet could do to his business. "A salesperson out in the field might be replaced with a customer using the Internet to place an order," he explains. "It's still hard to tell what kind of impact the Internet will have on our industry, but I think it is a mistake not to take the idea very seriously."
Ross Computer Systems is somewhat cushioned from a serious blow from the Internet because the need for host computers won't go away. "When a customer places an order through the Internet instead of a handheld computer, the host computer still needs to be there to handle that information." As an option, Weiss says, his company is developing pilot Web sites for a few customers to allow them to order directly.
Finding New Customers And Keeping Old Ones
Ross Computer Systems increases its customer base through advertising and word-of-mouth. "We maintain relationships with customers from the first time we do business with them," he says. About 50% of new sales leads come from existing customers.
"We are not a company that just sells our software and no longer associates with the customer," says Weiss. "Our software is constantly changing and growing. Once a customer works with us, they generally continue the relationship through the life of the software, which is usually the life of the business. I would estimate that we are still doing business with 98% of the DSD customers with which we started."
Ross doesn't provide custom solutions. "However, if a customer requires something different than what is already provided, and we feel it would enhance our existing package," says Weiss, "we'll add it to our overall software offering."
Weiss expects 1999's revenues to increase by $2 million to $3 million. While he admits some growth can be attributed to the Year 2000-compliance, he says the customers that Ross Computer Systems has gained from Y2K made the decision because they needed to upgrade their systems. "I can't think of a customer that we have gained because they pressed the panic button," he says. "Nobody has said, ‘I don't care what your software does. I just need a Y2K fix."