Route Delivery Solution Improves Accuracy

By Sarah Howland, Integrated Solutions Magazine

Producer's Dairy is an independent dairy that has been in business for more than 75 years. The company supplies fresh dairy products that distribution personnel deliver directly to clients across the western United States. Imagine you are a grocer receiving a delivery of a Producer's Dairy product. What do you expect at the time of delivery? You probably expect to be able to verify that your order is correct, pay for your order, and obtain a receipt.

Producer's Dairy operates from 10 locations throughout California, and has more than 2,500 customers. To be able to satisfy customer expectations, the company began using handheld computers and portable printers about 10 years ago. The handhelds had a lifespan of about two to three years, and Producer's Dairy spent approximately $56,000 every two to three years to replace the equipment. In addition,the handhelds had a failure rate of 8% to 10% per day, mostly due to the non rugged nature of the devices. "These failures were causing us to waste valuable time while waiting days for a replacement," says Frank Sewill, director of administration at Producer's Dairy, "More importantly, the failures were causing customers to be dissatisfied because they were unable to pay or obtain a receipt at the point of sale."