Driving to Faster, Dependable Delivery
Bon Appetit® Bakery is a California-based wholesale bakery manufacturing facility, specializing in gourmet baking and distribution of top-quality Danish, cakes, muffins and a vast assortment of other fine gourmet products to the retail and convenience store industry throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
The Challenge
The company’s network of 400 delivery drivers had previously been using consumer-grade PDAs to help track their delivery distribution operations, however the demanding delivery environment caused nearly 5% of their PDAs to need repair or replacement each week – which equated to nearly 200% each year. They looked to upgrade to a rugged, more innovative hardware technology that could with withstand the rigors of the delivery environment and that could grow with them in the future.
The Solution
Expanding Innovation
Since they already had an existing internal software and ERP system, Bon Appetit® Bakery turned to Intermec partner MSA Systems, a provider of turn-key field mobility solutions, warehouse management solutions, barcoding and RFID software and hardware and wireless infrastructure services, to help implement a hardware solution that would seamlessly integrate with their software.
After testing multiple devices, Bon Appetit selected the Intermec CN3 handheld mobile computers and the Intermec PB51 mobile printers.
Using the new solution, distribution drivers use the CN3s each morning to know which items and associated quantities to load into their trucks, as well as to learn their route for the day. At each store, they key in how many items they are unloading of each product. Then, using the PB51 printers, they create a pre-invoice to ensure everything is correct, and have the store manager sign the invoice directly on the CN3s. They then simply print a signature copy invoice using the PB51 printers and move onto their next location.
“The Intermec solution had all the capabilities we were looking for, and was something we could grow into,” said Marc Sy, IT Manager, Bon Appetit Bakery. “Employees especially liked the long battery life, which lasts a whole 12 hour shift without any issues.”
Sy also noted the ruggedness of the Intermec solution was something they definitely needed.
“Our distributors are rough, and we were replacing between 15 and 20 of our old PDAs each week. Even though we had them under warranty, we were still constantly on the phone working to get them replaced. On top of that, the repair or replacement took a two-week turnaround,” said Sy.
With the new Intermec solution, Sy noted, this is no longer an issue.
“We’ve already had a CN3 get run over by one of our trucks, and it’s still working. The screen wasn’t even cracked, and all the keys still worked – it’s amazing,” said Sy. “We also have Intermec’s Medallion Gold Service package, and so now our repair turnaround time has gone down from two weeks to two business days.”
Since deploying, Sy said they’ve seen impressive results that make them excited for the future.
“We’ve seen a lot of time savings, reduced user error and we now spend much less time on the back and forth involved in product replacement and repair,” said Sy. “The new technology has really just made life a lot easier. Drivers can now get in and out of the stores much faster and in a more efficient way.”
For the Future
In the future, Sy said they hope to further expand upon the capabilities of their technology. They currently use their own proprietary software system and internal ERP system, but plan to revisit in the future now that their hardware solution has advanced capabilities.
“Our hope is that we can expand upon our total solution in the future to help with faster data processing and a better invoicing system,” said Sy. “This will help us offer better, more efficient service to our customer network, which is one of our most important goals.”
The Results
- Less repair and replacement needs due to rugged nature of Intermec products
- Two business day repair turnaround when repairs are needed
- Time savings, decreased user error, improved driver efficiency
- Long 12 hour plus per day battery life
- Platform to support future growth