Greentree Sales, Inc. is a manufacturer's rep company based in Copiaque, Long Island. The company's business is split, roughly 50-50 between home centers and traditional businesses with a primary focus on millwork products (especially doors). Their main home center clients sell their products in Home Depot and Lowes stores, two of the largest retail chains in the North-east.

Greentree's essential mission is to make the retail home center a more effective environment for selling their client's products. Ultimately, Greentree is responsible for things like updating the manufacturer's displays and literature, making sure the product is displayed properly,  and teaching home center personnel how to more effectively sell their products.

The Solution Required an Entirely New System of Information Transfer!

Like all manufacturer rep companies, Greentree generates massive amounts of information validating the almost 800 monthly sales calls that company store reps make each month, not to mention the 200 field service calls. To Greentree's president, Vincent Valentino, it seemed as though company sales reps were spending as much time with the mundane work of hand-writing call-reports and faxing them in as with meeting client needs.
On the other end of the process there was the huge amount of office work needed to collate and organize the information that came in from the reps, not to mention the 60 to 80 hours a week retyping the data into the corporate data-base. Inevitably, there were also the mistakes that hand-writing and rekeying invariably cause.

The Goal was to Lighten the Reps Paperwork Load.

Valentino felt sure there had to be a way to free his reps from the paperwork - and his office staff too! He stared to think about how a hand-held system might potentially improve the way his company collected and transferred information.

Armed with some computer background himself, he spent nights and weekends researching the internet to find potential vendors that could undertake such a project. After narrowing the field, he started interviewing the companies he found.

He settled on Paladin Enterprises, a software and systems developer whose business is primarily focused on hand-held computer solutions and Aether Systems of Vienna, Virginia, manufacturers of the ScoutSync. He choose the Palm 3 as a platform, "because it was effective yet simple to use," even though Paladin said their software would work on any platform. Early in 2000, palm technology utilizing Paladin's MarketMaster software was introduced to the home center division of the business. Of choosing OrderMaster Vincent says, "I felt the introduction of hand-held technology would most certainly change the way our industry transfers information. We wanted to find a certified vendor who had software and systems experience and saw the same potential for the system that we did. They had to be willing to go the extra mile to make our installation a success. Paladin was eager to be involved."
The first thing Paladin did was to convert the paper- based information gathering mechanisms (generally paper forms to be filled out by hand) to the hand-held solution set of the MarketMaster software solution to be used on the palm unit. This was done by setting up pull-down menus and check lists -
effectively eliminating all paperwork filled out and faxed in by the rep and then re-organized and re-keyed in the Greentree office. 

A Dramatic Company-wide Transformation!

Now the information would transfer directly from the hand-held palm unit into a server linked to Greentree's corporate data-base. The Scout server functions as Paladin's data-base connection and allows multiple hand-held units to simultaneously send information into the system.
How have things changed since the system has been on line? Mr. Valentino says, "the system has changed almost every aspect of our business. It has virtually eliminated all the paperwork aspects of our information system. It's been a dynamic transformation! Now when our rep walks into a store every thing he/she does is preprogrammed into the hand-held. We see it as a silent reminder...a sort of check list to an effective call. And, it goes far beyond that. We're now able to track more information, effectively.

"As part of our commitment to the system, everything is being transferred to the hand-held, no matter how trivial. Our rep now has an on-the-spot reminder, and an action plan. They know exactly what needs to be done on every sale call. "Did you clean off the display? Did you train at least two store personnel how to read the manufacturer's catalog?" "Now," says Valentino, "Our
reps are free to effectively do the job at hand, nothing will be forgotten and no time will be wasted on paperwork."

Everything is Done Automatically!

Vincent also points out that all check lists are interactive. "For example, when the rep is reminded to check each display for damage, he knows that the product list for the manufacturer is preprogrammed into the palm-unit. If the product's condition is noted on the hand-held as being "poor," a display order form automatically pops up. A t the end of the call the rep sends back the call report to Greentree's system over the phone lines. A store replacement order is automatically sent from Greentree's computer to the factory via email. Virtually no time is lost re-keying a replacement order for the display. Everything is done automatically, without error and the replenishment cycle is dramatically shortened!

The same is true for literature orders. The rep no longer has to look up the correct product designation for replacement literature. It has all been preprogrammed. No time wasted, no errors!

Valentino points out that the system has also been a very effective tool for capturing and retrieving signatures. "We need to validate our calls at the various stores that we service." At the end of the call a screen automatically pops up with a sign-off. It says,  "I have met with the Greentree rep and I am satisfied with the service he has provided for the following products. "He signs right there, on the spot, right across the screen." The system captures the signature as JPEG file which can then be called up and sent out with our summary call reports, either to the manufacturer or store personnel.  It's an important feature because it establishes our credibility with the manufacturer and with the store personnel who often forget when we last visited their store." 

Unanticipated Benefits Please Management

The capture feature is also a very useful part of Greentree's on-site training programs. The training programs are loaded into the hand-held system as a reminder and aid to the trainer's effectiveness. The Quick Pk (Product Knowledge) Class is an on-the-spot, in-the-aisle, five-minute update of the 10 top reasons why to buy a specific product when compared to a given competitive product. They're automatically programmed into the system. At the end of the in-store training classes the units are used to capture the names of the trainees, the course they participated in and the date of the class. The system automatically adds the information to the data-base. It helps Greentree keep abreast of how training is progressing at a given store or in a given region.

Uses for the System Continue to Grow.

Additionally, Greentree uses the hand-held to track the total amount of space that is dedicated to a given product in a given store. It records the amount of selling space, the amount of promotional space and how much storage space dedicated. "This gives us an idea whether or not a given product category is growing," says Valentino. "When we do a product survey we can record the information that day, instantly compile all the reports at the end of the day and have a summary report to the client the next day!"

As to the future of the system, Greentree has some truly innovative applications that they want added to the system in the near future. One addition that is being looked at is a feature that will allow clients to access data directly, via password, on the internet. Other possible modifications include the use of barcode scanning and wireless data transfer. "The system is constantly growing," says Valentino. "We feel we're going to be a much stronger company in the future because we implemented this system. Paladin has been great and continues to work very closely with us adapting the system to our changing requirements."

Solution Recap

Enterprise
Greentree Sales inc.  / Copiaque, Long Island

Industry
Retail Service Representatives

Problem
Current paperwork information transfer systems causing backlogs, wasted time, errors.

Solution
Implement customized, hand-held, software link from field service rep to corporate data-base.

Result
Errors and re-keying eliminated, information transfer speed-up, rep effectiveness enhanced, client satiPaladinction increased.

Vendors
Paladin Technologies inc. – MarketMaster Software
Aether Systems - ScoutSync
Palm Computing – Palm 3 and Palm 7

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From PALECEK


According to George Van Ess, V.P. of Marketing and Sales at PALECEK, "We selected working with OrderMaster Corp. because it afforded us the opportunity to be involved in the development, thus allowing us the possibility of customizing our program specific to Paleceks needs. The system has allowed us to scan all show orders at our company showrooms and download these orders directly to our AS400. OrderMaster is quicker, more accurate, and the customer loves being able to actually read their copy of the order. The convenience and speed of the OrderMaster System enables our sales reps to spend more time selling which allows them to write (scan) larger orders at the shows. We have been scanning our orders for three years now and I certainly would never consider going back to writing orders at shows. The OrderMaster System has met Palecek's needs for an electronic order taking system with EDI capability and I would highly recommend OrderMaster to friends and business associates."
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From National Sales Representative Agency

According to Ms. Lavonne Harbinger, Sales Manager, for a National Sales Representative Agency, "The OrderMaster System has given me a life again. After spending 12 hour days at the showrooms, I used to take reams of orders back to the hotel with me in order to extend, correct, and total before the next morning. Now that we are using the OrderMaster System, I go back to the hotel and relax, call home, and then go out for a leisurely dinner."

Continuing she states, "I spend the majority of my time on the road for a week at a time. I never used to be able to spend any real quality time with my family on the weekends, because the more successful my week was, the more time was involved in all the necessary tasks associated with those orders. Now, a typical week on the road ends with electronically receiving new product and price information, and electronically sending all my orders to the respective factories. The weekends are mine again. I am rejuvenated by the time I start again on Mondays and with the OrderMaster System I am able to call on more customers during the week. I am earning more commissions because my orders are up an average of 20%. I really never realized how much time I was spending compiling orders until my laptop computer had to be sent to the vendor for repair. I requested, or should say demanded, a loaner PC while mine was being repaired because I just could not live life again with hand written orders."