.KEYWORD latin
.FLYINGHEAD THE WORLD VIEW
.TITLE Latin American beverage companies get a taste of Palm computing
.FEATURE
.SPOTLIGHT FIGALT cover.gif
.SUMMARY Starting with this issue of PalmPower’s Enterprise Edition, we’re expanding our coverage of Palm enterprise solutions to get a perspective on how the technology is being adopted by corporations around the world. This month, Steve Niles takes you on a trip to Latin America to see how three beverage manufacturers have integrated Palm solutions into their businesses.
.AUTHOR Steve Niles
Starting with this issue of PalmPower’s Enterprise Edition, we’re expanding our coverage of Palm enterprise solutions to get a perspective on how the technology is being adopted by corporations around the world. This month, we’re going to take you on a trip to Latin America to see how three beverage manufacturers have integrated Palm solutions into their businesses.
.H1 Ambev
Since it’s May, that means it’s time to start planning my annual Cinco de Mayo bash at the local Chi Chi’s restaurant. Granted, I’m not Mexican, but that’s no reason to pass up a chance to get together with friends and get that cerveza flowing.
Speaking of beer brewed south of the border, to visit one of the latest companies to introduce Palm computing into their production line, we need to journey a bit further south than Mexico, to Sao Paulo, Brazil. Lying on the Tropic of Capricorn, Sao Paulo city, pictured in Figure A, is Brazil’s main industrial and business center, as well as the capital of Sao Paulo state.
.FIG A Sao Paulo has a population of over 15 million people.
The industrially developed, culturally diverse state of Sao Paulo is home to Ambev (at http://www.ambev.com.br), the third largest beer manufacturer in the world. Their portfolio includes such brands as Antarctica, Brahma, Caracu, Skol, Carlsberg, and Miller Genuine Draft. An ad for Skol appears in Figure B.
.FIGPAIR B Ambev is the maker of Skol Cerveja Pilsen.
Ambev has incorporated Palm handheld technology to simplify the data entry processes in key stages of its beverage production. Ambev makes use of over 300 Palm IIIe handhelds at 100 bottling lines throughout Brazil.
A special application was developed for Ambev by Palm developer, Compusol Informatica (at http://www.compusol.com.br). According to Rodolfo Testa, president of Compusol, "Compusol’s objectives were twofold: increase productivity and improve quality."
Compusol chose the Palm IIIe as the most adequate device to meet Ambev’s needs because of its common data collection capabilities. "Palm handhelds are tools that offer infinite possibilities and are capable of capturing most any task with amazing mobility and efficiency," commented Testa.
To design the software, Compusol needed to find a way to create an interface with Excel and to define how the operator was going to interact with Ambev’s quality system. They actually went ahead and added an extra button to the Palm IIIe to conduct file sharing and data transfer into the system.
"Before incorporating Palm devices into our quality control processes, data was collected on hundreds of sheets of paper and then entered into the system, whereas now it is collected directly onto a Palm computer," commented Washington Dutra, Ambev’s engineering and packaging manager. "We have gone from hundreds of reports to just one and improved security and reduced costs in the process."
At Ambev’s request, Compusol also developed three software applications that would aid in the data download from the handhelds. The first one involved increasing productivity within data collection; the second focused on quality performance of the system; and the third created a link with the Intranet.
"We have benefited from introducing Palm devices into our bottling lines because now we are confident that our supervisors receive consistent and precise information," commented Dutra. "In addition to achieving uniform data collection, we have saved time in the digitizing of information."
According to Dutra, "The mobility provided by the Palm devices is amazing and particularly useful in an environment such as a bottling line. The level of satisfaction and positive reaction we received from the staff using the devices has been impressive."
According to Gianfranco Coppola, territory manager for Palm, Inc. Brazil, "More and more Brazilian companies are using Palm devices and benefiting from the solutions offered by the Palm Powered platform because the technology is easy to develop applications for, easy to deploy, and the devices themselves require little user training."
Coppola is right about the proliferation of Palm computing in Brazilian companies. In fact, our next beverage manufacturer is another native of the plateau region of Sao Paulo state.
.H1 Carma Industria e Comercio Ltda.
Carma Industria e Comercio Ltda., the manufacturer of Casquinha soft drinks, is headquartered in Ipero. The company has recently automated its sales force by implementing wireless enterprise management software that runs on Palm handhelds.
The software was developed by Microsiga (at http://www.sigaabc.com.br) to run on Palm IIIe handhelds. Since the program was instituted, the atmosphere at the company has changed. According to Refrigerantes Casquinha’s financial director, Sandra Regina Vieira de Campos, "Before Palm handhelds, the situation was stressful. Everything was written down on paper forms and faxed in by our salespeople. The forms were handwritten during field visits and passed to the data entry team at the end of the day. That system required a great deal of work on the part of our team who worked two shifts."
According to Vieira de Campos, the company invested approximately R$25,000.00 in the project, including software, solutions, and handhelds. This a relatively low amount, compared to the benefits it has brought to the company.
The Casquinha sales team serves a region covering a large part of the state of Sao Paulo. Because of the newly implemented program, when the sales team visits their clients to take orders, they can offer faster service since all the information is stored in their Palm devices. In the afternoon, the data is sent to the company headquarters for order processing.
Vieira de Campos explains that the Ipero company now has the advantage of accessing additional information about a specific client, such as their financial status, amounts ordered, and payment due dates, among other things. Using Palm handhelds has facilitated the gathering of orders and improved the work of the sales team. "After 4 P.M., they send the data from wherever they are, and we deliver the soft drinks shortly thereafter," says Vieira de Campos.
.H1 Coca-Cola Argentina
Sadly, we must now leave lovely Sao Paulo to visit our third beverage manufacturer. But fear not, for next we journey to the popular vacation destination of Buenos Aires, Argentina, pictured in Figure C.
.FIG C Argentina’s capital is situated on the banks of the Rio de la Plata.
Buonos Aires is home to Coca-Cola Argentina (at http://www.coca-cola.com.ar), producer of such popular beverages as Coke, Fanta, Sprite, and Quatro, a grapefruit-flavored soft drink that Coca-Cola Argentina developed in 1994 especially for the local market.
Coca-Cola Argentina has three bottling and distribution companies, Grupo Yege, Reginald Lee, and Grupo Guerrero. The Reginald Lee plant is pictured in Figure D.
.FIGPAIR D The Reginald Lee Coca-Cola bottling plant was appointed the first distributor in December of 1942.
All three companies have implemented the corporate use of Palm devices in order to collect data in the sales process and to provide an easy business management tool (with surveys, sales statistics, sales force visit monitoring, and stock monitoring, etc.).
Palm Solutions, Inc. was in charge of system implementation and staff training to optimize the application’s utilization.
Since Palm devices were implemented, distributors have increased the company’s sales force efficiency, making the order taking process faster and more effective. At the same time, the paper used in the sales process has been eliminated, inventory time has been reduced, and the company’s stock monitoring has improved.
"Since we integrated Palm devices at the Company, the sales force has been operating with excellent results, and at very affordable costs," said Jose E. Tagliarini, Gerente de Sistemas (CTO), Grupo Yege.
"Palm Solutions has made it possible for the 500 employees in the distributing companies to precisely monitor the sales process, through a simple application in their Palms, and has helped in identifying those key areas in the company which require the application the most to increase added value."
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.H1 Conclusion
So ends our whirlwind tour of Latin America and some of the interesting uses beverage manufacturers are finding for Palm devices.
"The Palm solution allows any company, regardless of their industry, to use more and more solutions for Internet or mobile computing," says Claudio Bessa, marketing and alliances director at Microsiga. Not only can Palm solutions work for any company, they can work in any country, no matter what language is used. For more information on how Palm applications can be programmed for various languages, check out my article on localized applications elsewhere in this issue of PalmPower’s Enterprise Edition. Then pop open a bottle of Coke, kick back, and think about how Palm technology can enhance your business, too.
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.H1 Product availability and resources
For more information on Ambev, visit http://www.ambev.com.br.
For more information on Compusol Informatica, visit http://www.compusol.com.br.
For more information on Microsiga, visit http://www.sigaabc.com.br.
For more information on Coca-Cola Argentina, visit http://www.coca-cola.com.ar.
For more information about Palm computers, visit http://www.palm.com.
.H1 Bulk reprints
Bulk reprints of this article (in quantities of 100 or more) are available for a fee from Reprint Services, a ZATZ business partner. Contact them at reprints@zatz.com or by calling 1-800-217-7874.
.END_SIDEBAR
.BIO
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