Griffins is New Zealand’s leading biscuit and snack food manufacturer. As anyone in the company call tell you, when your business is fast moving consumer goods, it’s crucial that your stock control, ordering, supply and distribution systems are equally fast moving. Leave an order unfilled and a customer disappointed, and you hand your business to your competitors.
Zane Rafael is one of 50 Griffins sales representatives on the road nationwide.
With a territory covering everything from country dairies to petrol stations to major supermarkets, and a portfolio of 300 individual product lines, his job could be a massive headache.
To keep their edge, Griffins needed to ensure Zane and his fellow reps had a fast, accurate and reliable way to access the company database from out in the field, send orders instantaneously to the distribution centre and have that order confirmed right there in front of the customer.
Griffins wanted two things: To develop their own sales force automation system and to form a long term partnership for their business.
Already a voice customer of Vodafone, Griffins decided that the best solution for their data needs was also Vodafone, in the form of the wireless data network.
Says Steve Hutchison, Griffins IT Manager, “We knew it would be ultra secure, with Vodafone looking after security all the way, that the circuit would always be on and we could get a decent connection even in remote locations.”
Griffins and Vodafone worked closely to develop a simple, accurate and reliable sales force automation solution which uses new generation Tablet PC’s connected via GPRS to Griffins main database.
Out in the field, Zane can use the Tablet like an electronic order pad to upload and download orders and stock information from the database. And he loves it.
“The great thing is I can confirm an order on the spot, even way out in the field. I know that an order is being dealt with as soon as I send it, and that within 10 minutes the order will be in the distribution centre being packed ready for next day delivery. If it’s not in stock, I can look and see when the next manufacturing run and delivery date will be. Now, that’s cool”
“A lot of other company reps I know still have to do paperwork. Doing it all electronically is a huge bonus for me and my customers. It lets me cover more of my round more often and do what I do best – which is build a relationship with my customers and keep their tills ringing.”
The solution has also gone down a treat at Griffins Head Office. With the new system, Griffins only pay for data sent not call times, so they save hugely on costs overall. And because orders are coming through faster and more accurately, they can adjust picking patterns, assess more orders at once and optimise truck loading and deliveries.
Secure, 24/7 online connection to the central company database so orders can be accessed anytime.
Stock availability and important promotional information can be updated regularly while reps are out in the field.
Data transmission costs can be separated from voice costs, and better apportioned to appropriate cost centres.
Griffins pays for the amount of data transmitted not call time, which has reduced costs overall.
The distribution centre can track stock order patterns, assess and process more orders at once, and optimise truck space and delivery destinations on each route.
* Subject to coverage
