.KEYWORD linco
.FLYINGHEAD PALM IN THE REAL WORLD
.TITLE LinCo Services drives efficiencies with handheld route delivery application
.OTHER
.SUMMARY Route delivery, traditionally a low-tech enterprise, is in a time of transition–thanks to new Palm OS handheld applications that are improving efficiency and providing route drivers unprecedented access to customer information. Christine Harland Williams will show you how LinCo Services has improved its route delivery business by deploying the MiniMate handheld solution on wireless Palm handhelds.
.AUTHOR Christine Harland Williams
Route delivery, traditionally a low-tech enterprise, is in a time of transition thanks to new Palm OS handheld applications that are improving efficiency and providing route drivers unprecedented access to customer information. LinCo Services (at http://www.lincoservices.com) recently migrated its route delivery business away from paper-intensive processes by deploying the MiniMate handheld solution (at http://www.prismvs.com/index2.htm) for route delivery on wireless Palm handhelds, shown in use in Figure A.
.FIGPAIR A LinCo Services has deployed the MiniMate handheld solution.
In addition to the many cost savings the handheld solution has generated, the use of handhelds has helped LinCo Services provide a superior level of customer service that is setting the company apart from its competition.
.H1 Background
Indiana-based LinCo Services, Inc. was established in 1978 as a coffee services distributor. Today, LinCo distributes over 41,000 items to over 3,200 customers at offices, convenience stores, and institutional customers such as restaurants, hospitals, and nursing homes in Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky. The 36-person company achieved $10.5 million in sales in 2001.
"Our diverse product line made us an excellent place to put a handheld route delivery application to the test," said Greg Linneweber, vice president of operations at LinCo Services. "We deliver traditional coffee service items such as coffee and teas, cups, cream and sugars, as well as less traditional items like Coca Cola syrup, salad dressings, portion packed items, cleaning supplies, paper items, and a full line of office products and furniture."
.H1 Buried in paperwork
With so many customers and such a diverse product line, LinCo Services was buried in paperwork. LinCo’s ten route drivers generated an average of 20,000 paper invoices each month. The company tried to alleviate the problem by implementing a desktop routing and scheduling software called Visual BeverageMate (developed by Prism Visual Software). The software integrated LinCo’s operational software with its Visual AccountMate accounting software to help manage its routes and streamline operations. But even with this software, it took LinCo staff up to one hour per day to print and manually create each delivery route.
Once the routes were created and printed, drivers made deliveries, leaving paper tickets with customers and returning to the office with tickets full of hand-written changes and payment information. These notes had to be manually entered into the accounting system. What’s more, Illinois has a complex sales tax system where each city can have its own rate. This created plenty of room for errors on invoice calculations performed manually by route drivers. LinCo usually processed and sent out three or four corrected invoices per day with this paper-based system.
.H1 Finding a better way
The company knew it needed to find a more efficient way to manage its routes, collect customer data, and process invoices. The provider of its desktop AccountMate software, Prism Visual Software, suggested LinCo consider their new Palm handheld application.
By November 2001, LinCo deployed Prism Visual Software’s MiniMate for Route Delivery, a handheld application for LinCo’s existing operational and accounting desktop software. With MiniMate, LinCo’s ten drivers can quickly make deliveries, access customer information, correct orders, and print invoices at a customer location using wireless Palm handhelds with Seiko IR printers (at http://www.seikoprinters.com/html/mobileprinter.htm) that hook right onto their belts.
.H1 How MiniMate works
Using a customer order template, the desktop application Visual BeverageMate allows customer service personnel to rapidly take orders for next day delivery. The orders are downloaded via a HotSync operation to each Palm handheld. To optimize driver routes and avoid backtracking, the route is listed in stop sequence order for each driver/route, as shown in Figure B.
.FIG B The route is listed in stop sequence order for each driver/route.
The handheld also stores all current customer-specific prices and taxes as well as detailed information including a customer’s current balance, aging, and purchase history.
With all their scheduled delivery tickets stored on the wireless Palm handheld, drivers go out for the day. As drivers make deliveries, they can look up customer information and even adjust a delivery ticket right on the Palm handheld. For example, if a customer wants more of one product or needs to make a substitution, the driver can adjust the ticket on the handheld, as shown in Figure C.
.FIG C The driver can adjust the ticket on the handheld.
Once all adjustments are made, an invoice is generated on the handheld, and with the touch of a button, the invoice is sent via IR from the handheld to a printer on the driver’s belt. The printed invoice is given to the customer on the spot, avoiding errors and expediting the payment process. Drivers can also indicate, on their handheld, any customer payments made during the delivery. This means billing is correct for customers and for LinCo’s accounting department.
.CALLOUT LinCo has reassigned two full-time positions since MiniMate was fully implemented due to the reduction in paper handling.
After all deliveries are complete, the driver returns to the office and synchronizes the handheld by setting it into a HotSync cradle. Updated information collected throughout the day is uploaded to LinCo’s accounts receivable accounting system. If the driver indicates that a customer has paid the exact amount of the invoice, that payment is automatically applied to the invoice and recognized throughout the system, all the way to general ledger. If the amount paid is different than the invoice, payment is put on the customer’s account to be applied appropriately by LinCo’s accounting staff.
.H1 Measuring success
The MiniMate handheld solution has paid for itself in four months by saving the company money in several areas. The solution saves LinCo staff time by eliminating paperwork. It has eliminated 10,000 tickets per month that the company previously generated to do route deliveries. LinCo has reassigned two full-time positions since MiniMate was fully implemented due to the reduction in paper handling.
The handheld solution has also improved invoice accuracy and inventory control. By giving drivers the ability to correct and generate invoices on site, invoices rarely, if ever, need to be corrected, saving LinCo the expense of processing, printing, and mailing corrected invoices after deliveries are made.
The Palm OS MiniMate solution also puts detailed customer information in the hands of LinCo route drivers, so they’re more in touch with customers and better able to complete accurate orders quickly. For example, with a few screen taps, drivers can view the last four deliveries made to a customer, as shown in Figure D.
.FIG D Drivers can view the last four deliveries made to a customer.
Having this information on hand allows the driver to make purchase recommendations on site and potentially increases sales.
"There is always someone that is cheaper than you are, but giving [the customer] a level of customer service that meets or exceeds their expectations and makes money too is what makes you successful," said Linneweber. "Palm handhelds are helping us do just that."
.H1 Lessons learned
LinCo management knew handheld technology might be the answer to its paper problems, but they also worried about how LinCo’s drivers would react to the tiny computers. In working to avoid any resistance, LinCo management learned just how important training can be.
"At least half of our drivers had never used a computer before," said Linneweber. "So it became a top priority to achieve the right combination of ease-of-use and functionality with whatever solution we chose. To further ensure high acceptance, we had representatives from MiniMate’s developer, Prism Visual Software, implement the solution and then conduct training sessions on site with the drivers. This investment in personal attention made the transition to handhelds easy for our drivers and resulted in rapid, widespread acceptance of the solution. It also enabled us to achieve efficiencies faster than if we had not taken such care to train our drivers individually. Even though this application is extremely intuitive and easy to use, giving serious attention to training paid off."
LinCo also learned that planning for the future when deploying a handheld application is critical. Even though current wireless coverage doesn’t reach all the remote areas where LinCo drivers deliver, Prism Visual Software recommended LinCo use wireless Palm handhelds. That way, LinCo Services has ensured that it can easily provide service as new areas get coverage. Having this option protects LinCo’s investment in training and implementation, so the transition to wireless is also less expensive.
.H1 Down the road
Eventually LinCo intends to take advantage of Palm handheld’s signature capture capability to capture customer’s signatures electronically upon delivery. Although MiniMate offers this capability, LinCo is currently getting these signatures on paper. "We felt it was most important to perform our deployment one step at a time," said Linneweber. "Once we’re absolutely convinced that our drivers are comfortable with this stage of the deployment, we’ll move to signature capture, which will allow us to reduce our paperwork and related labor costs even further. We also hope signature capture will help us reconcile customer payment inquiries faster than ever before."
LinCo Services is also planning to deploy Prism Visual Software’s MiniMate for Service handheld application as soon as wireless service is available in the rural areas where its trucks travel. LinCo has seven service technicians who daily repair coffee makers, coke machines, and more. With the MiniMate for Service handheld application, these service technicians can complete work tickets, receive additional ones during the day, and upload information to LinCo’s central system without requiring data entry. The MiniMate for Service also works in conjunction with the MiniMate for Route Delivery handheld application, so that route drivers can alert service technicians if a service visit is required at one of the locations on their route. Customers will benefit from these efficiencies, and the application will also help LinCo track the time and productivity of its service team.
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.H1 Product availability and resources
For more information on LinCo Services, visit http://www.lincoservices.com.
For more information on the MiniMate handheld solution, visit http://www.prismvs.com/index2.htm
For more information on Seiko IR printers, visit http://www.seikoprinters.com/html/mobileprinter.htm.
For more information on Palm handhelds, visit http://www.palm.com.
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