Specification subject to change without notice.Contents © 2006 CipherLab Australia Pty Ltd. All Rights Reserved
US Reference Sites
Convenience Store Chain Rings Up 70 Percent Savings Using CipherLab Scanners
Sterling™ Stores LLC
CipherLab Helps Pet Store Chain’s Order Processes Purr
Pet Supplies "Plus"®
Pepsico Bottler and Distributor Uses CipherLab Terminals to Improve Field Operations
Grupo Embotelladoras Unidas S.A. de C.V. (GEUSA)
CipherLab Receives National Award for Improving Customer Service and Inventory Control for Specialty Retailer
Emerson’s Furniture, Brattleboro, Vermont
CipherLab Solves $2 Million Order Process Problem
Associated Grocers of the South
CipherLab’s Bluetooth® Scanner Helps Furniture Wizard Revolutionize the Retail Furniture Industry
Together with Furniture Wizard, CipherLab’s CPT-8061 delivers a unique value proposition to furniture retailers.
CipherLab Customer Spotlight:
Sterling™ Stores LLC
Convenience Store Chain Rings Up 70 Percent Savings Using CipherLab Scanners
Profile
Beginning with a single dairy store in 1932, Sterling™ Stores has grown to a full-service convenience store chain with 37 outlets throughout northwestern Ohio. The company distinguishes itself from the competition through a dedication to high quality, low fuel prices and an abundance of grocery store items – making it a convenient one-stop shop for its customers. Due to its broad range of merchandise, the stores’ inventory and stock-reordering processes were increasingly difficult to manage. In late 2003, the company decided to replace its paper-based ordering system to third-party vendors with in-house distribution centers, requiring a more streamlined approach to in-store orders. The company turned to Ross Moore, now a principal with value added reseller RJM Systems, for an automated solution.
Deployment
Until late 2003, Sterling Stores managers used a handwritten, paper-based system to place orders through a long list of third-party vendors. Forms were faxed to the distribution facility, where information was manually entered into the computer system for fulfillment. The company’s initial analysis showed that an automated ordering system could save it time and money, but the cost of equipment acquisition was prohibitive. “That’s when I introduced Sterling to CipherLab and its CPT-8000 portable terminals,” Moore said. “The CipherLab terminals could be acquired for much less than the customer anticipated; additionally, the system could be customized to exactly fit Sterling’s barcode ordering process.”
As the new system with CipherLab hardware was rolled out in 2004, Sterling was able to reduce order placement time in the stores by as much as 70 percent. Time efficiencies at the warehouses also improved, enabling orders to be ready by 5:00 a.m. daily. “The CipherLab terminals were a big hit with all of the employees,” Moore said. “CipherLab gave Sterling exactly what it needed at an affordable cost.”
About the CipherLab 8000 Portable Terminal
The robust CipherLab CPT-8000/8001 portable terminals are ideal for warehouse, distribution, retail and field service deployments. The units, which can be ordered as either laser or linear scanners, offer a ruggedized design that meets industry drop standards, as well as a backlit display, small hand-held form factor and over 100 hours of battery operation for reliability in the most demanding settings.
CipherLab Customer Spotlight:
Pet Supplies "Plus"®
CipherLab Helps Pet Store Chain’s Order Processes Purr
Profile
From a single store opened in Redford, Michigan in 1988, Pet Supplies “Plus” has grown to 220 franchised stores in 20 states, the third largest chain in the specialty pet products industry. Typically 8,000-10,000 square feet, PSP stores compete with warehouse style superstores by offering an extensive product selection – but without the same back end inventory space, the stores needed a more streamlined methodology for placing orders. PSP turned to CipherLab authorized reseller RJM Systems for a solution that would enable its stores to send orders directly to distributors and suppliers.
Deployment
RJM Systems designed a unique ordering system for PSP that depends on CipherLab’s CPT-8021 & 8071 portable terminals as its backbone. “By bundling the CipherLab hardware with our DataMan PC software, we were able to tailor a program that exactly met PSP’s needs, all at a reasonable cost,” explained Ross Moore, principal of RJM Systems. “The terminals are not only cost effective, they can transmit data over standard phone lines – enabling us to smoothly integrate them within PSP’s legacy systems. In addition, the stores have an easy way to do price checking and inventory management as well as order processing.”
Today, the franchisees send orders directly to the 20 approved suppliers and vendors using CipherLab terminals, reducing delivery time while keeping full stock levels on the shelves . This more intelligent ordering system has been estimated to save PSP as much as 40 percent in labor costs and time.
Additionally, RJM Systems has been able to fine-tune the installation process so that new store rollouts are conducted completely by telephone. “We can usually walk the store managers through the process of installing and using the CipherLab equipment very quickly and easily,” Moore said.
About the CipherLab 8021 Acoustic Coupler and 8071 Wireless Portable Terminal
CipherLab’s 8021 acoustic coupler terminal is ideal for the retail setting and is a particularly good choice as a replacement for older style terminals. The 8071 wireless portable terminal is easy to install with a low cost conventional 802.11 router/access point. The units can be ordered as either laser or linear scanners and offer extended usage with the lithium ion rechargeable battery option. They are completely programmable, connect to standard phone lines and include up to 2MB of data memory and 2MB of program memory.
CipherLab Customer Spotlight:
Grupo Embotelladoras Unidas S.A. de C.V. (GEUSA)
Pepsico Bottler and Distributor Uses CipherLab Terminals to Improve Field Operations
Profile
Grupo Embotelladoras Unidas S.A. de C.V. (GEUSA) is a $400M (US) manufacturer and distributor of Pepsi brand products and other bottled water and soft drinks throughout Mexico. When the company recognized its need for improved data capture in distribution and field service operations, it looked for a cost-effective solution that would stand up to heavy usage in sometimes less-than-optimal warehouse settings. Its selection: CipherLab’s 8000/8001 pocket-sized terminals.
Deployment
GEUSA established specific criteria for evaluating an Automated Identification and Data Capture (AIDC) solution. It wanted small, user-friendly, reliable devices that required minimal staff training. CipherLab’s 8000/8001 terminals were not only the perfect fit; their proven cost-effectiveness played a key role in GEUSA’s decision. CipherLab’s track record of easy IT integration also promised a smooth deployment with minimal business interruption.
Since May 2006, GEUSA has been steadily rolling out CipherLab’s 8000/8001 terminals to improve route accounting in its bottled water business and for data capture in field engineering maintenance programs for refrigerators, vending machines and beverage dispensers. With 900 units already delivered for use in the Mexican states of Jalisco, Michiocan, Nayarit and Guanajuato, the deployment will continue through the end of 2006, eventually totaling up to 3,000 units in 15 Mexican states.
About the CipherLab 8000 and 8001 Portable Terminals
The robust CipherLab CPT-8000/8001 portable terminals are ideal for warehouse, distribution, retail and field service deployments. The units, which can be ordered as either laser or linear scanners, offer a ruggedized design that meets industry drop standards, as well as a backlit display, small hand-held form factor and over 100 hours of battery operation for reliability in the most demanding settings.
CipherLab Customer Spotlight:
Emerson’s Furniture, Brattleboro, Vermont
CipherLab Receives National Award for Improving Customer Service and Inventory Control for Specialty Retailer
Profile
With a 120-year legacy in the retail furniture business, Emerson’s Furniture of Brattleboro, Vermont is the picture of tradition. The heritage-rich company, however, doesn’t ignore the power of modern technologies. When store owner Peter Johnson realized an automated inventory and point of sale system could free up more time and resources for customer service, he readily set out to identify and deploy the right solution for his business.
Deployment
Emerson’s Furniture occupies a historic six-story building with four-inch thick wooden floors, presenting a unique challenge for implementing wireless technologies for inventory control. An integrated solution combining CipherLab authorized reseller Furniture Wizard’s software with the CipherLab 8061 Bluetooth wireless terminal and scanner offered the perfect solution. The 8061 reads dual barcodes, features a back-lit display for low-light areas that can be scrolled up, down and sideways to display all item data, and has the ability to “talk” to the Furniture Wizard system from up to 300 feet away.
Emerson’s Furniture’s requirements for inventory have been reduced from two days and two people to one person in four hours. And with the immediate access to inventory information provided by the CipherLab 8061, Emerson’s staff can now determine whether an item was in stock from the showroom floor – reducing the number of trips to the ground-floor warehouse. “Having the ability to receive instant real-time inventory information, specifically the quantity in stock, is a huge advantage for our salespeople,” Johnson explained.
The CipherLab/Furniture Wizard deployment at Emerson’s Furniture captured the top spot in the 2006 Small to Midsize Retail Solution Award for Best In-Store System, sponsored by Integrated Solutions for Retailers magazine.
About the CipherLab 8061 Bluetooth Wireless Terminal
CipherLab’s hand-held, pocket-sized 8061 Bluetooth wireless terminal is ideal for retail applications. Class 1 connectivity to a Bluetooth-enabled wireless access point makes the terminal effective within a 300-foot radius. Lightweight yet durable, the unit offers more than 100 hours of battery operation, 2MB of data memory, and 1MB of program memory. The units easily integrate into existing networks and crosstalk with other Bluetooth-enabled devices, such as printers, PCs, and laptops.
CipherLab Customer Spotlight:
Associated Grocers of the South
CipherLab Solves $2 Million Order Process Problem
Profile
Headquartered in Birmingham, AL, Associated Grocers of the South is one of the oldest wholesale grocery store cooperatives in the U.S. and handles more than 16,000 SKUs, including the widely recognized private label, Shurfine. The company wanted to streamline its ordering process and eliminate discontinued items requests, costing AG South an estimated $2 million annually in lost sales.
Deployment
AG South selected CipherLab’s 8021 acoustic coupler terminals for their rugged design, ease of use, reliability and affordability. Because some of its member stores are located in rural areas, AG South needed to take into consideration the availability of high-speed Internet connectivity when selecting a data capture system. The 8021 is a perfect hardware choice since it has the capability of transmitting data over the Internet or acoustically over standard phone lines, and has the added benefit of requiring very little investment in staff training time.
Ron Burke, vice president of information technology for AG South, explained that the company was experiencing an estimated loss of over $2 million annually in sales due to discontinued item orders. “The CipherLab terminals completely eliminate this problem,” he confirmed. “Additionally, they reduce employee errors, eliminate doubles orders through a verification system and allow order requests to be transmitted almost immediately, shortening our response time.”
A key piece of AG South’s new ordering process is CipherLab’s CipherXpress software system. It automates the entire chain, from data capture to order processing, and provides current product information on the 8021 handheld terminals.
About the CipherLab 8021 Acoustic Coupler Terminal
CipherLab’s 8021 acoustic coupler terminal is ideal for the retail setting and is a particularly good choice as a replacement for older style terminals. The units can be ordered as either laser or linear scanners and offer over 100 hours of battery operation for reliability in the most demanding settings. The units are completely programmable, connect to standard phone lines and include up to 2MB of data memory and 2MB of program memory.
Case studies
CipherLab’s Bluetooth® Scanner Helps Furniture Wizard Revolutionize the Retail Furniture Industry
Introduction
In 1997, Martin Fischbein had a problem. A 20-year furniture retailing veteran and a self-confessed computer geek, he could no longer tolerate the inefficiencies he experienced in the day-to-day operations of his business – particularly when it came to inventory management. After searching for software that could help automate some of these tedious processes, he soon realized that none of the off-the-shelf offerings he tried took into account the unique needs of the furniture industry. By necessity, he became the creator of Furniture Wizard, the retail furniture market’s only specifically designed software for inventory management, point-of-sale, tagging and delivery systems.
By 2005, Furniture Wizard had evolved beyond usage in his establishment to a packaged product that was assisting more than 800 furniture retailers. Fischbein had taken the next step in the evolution of his business by offering an integrated (software and hardware) solution to his customers; however, he hadn’t been satisfied with the hardware vendors he had initially selected. He eventually chose to work with CipherLab, a world leader in the design, manufacture, marketing and support of AIDC (Automatic Identification and Data Capture/Collection) products and systems. The company’s handheld wireless Bluetooth portable terminal for capturing/reading barcode images was the perfect complement to the Furniture Wizard software, enabling Fischbein to deliver a workhorse system to customers that was affordable and easy to use.
Today, Fischbein attributes part of the uniqueness of the Furniture Wizard solution to the capabilities of CipherLab’s CPT-8061.
Outdated Sales Methodology
Before the birth of Furniture Wizard in the late 1990s, the retail furniture industry was stuck in a time warp. While many other retail sectors had introduced barcoding and other computer-based technologies to help automate inventory and sales processes and to improve the customer experience, most of the 20,000-plus furniture stores in the U.S. were still using systems that had been in place for more than 50 years. Salespeople wrote customer tickets by hand, and proprietors had to rely on their thoroughness to capture inventory control information such as color, size and lot number. Meanwhile, customers had to wait for this laborious process to end…and even then, they weren’t immediately informed whether or not their selections were even in stock.
Fischbein initially determined that there were a couple reasons why the retail furniture industry was resistant to technological change. First, many of the retail establishments across the U.S. were independents, meaning that the owners would also need to act as in-house IT managers for implementing an automated sales system. Admittedly, most owners were not technologically-savvy; some were even intimidated by creating and maintaining computer networks. Second, furniture stores were facing an increasingly competitive market that was resulting in leaner profit margins, requiring any technology purchase to deliver an immediate return on investment. Third, no one had taken the time to develop a solution that addressed issues unique to the furniture industry, such as dual bar codes (UPC codes from manufacturers/suppliers and ones created by the system).
In order to tackle these issues, he needed to create a product that was cost-effective, easy to implement and, even more importantly, easy to use. CipherLab delivered the hardware that matched the criteria established for Fischbein’s software, enabling Furniture Wizard to mature into the furniture industry’s leading integrated system offering.
Delivering the goods
CipherLab’s CPT-8061 leads the industry as a hand-held, pocket-sized terminal with integrated scanner that offers Class 1 connectivity to a Bluetooth-enabled wireless access point. Bluetooth is a wireless technology that enables short-range communications between mobile and stationary devices; Class 1 connectivity is more robust and offers greater transmission distance than Class 2, which is commonly used in cell phones.
Class 1 connectivity enables the CPT-8061 to deliver a great deal of flexibility to retailers, as it can be used within a radius of as much as 400 feet – making it ideal for transitioning from the retail showroom floor to the warehouse and loading dock. Additionally, CipherLab’s CPT-8061 is easily integrated into existing networks, including those running Microsoft® Windows® applications. It can also crosstalk to other Bluetooth-enabled devices such as printers, PCs, and laptops. This adaptability gives retailers the maximum flexibility for managing sales and inventory activities with just a modest hardware investment (the average retail operation installs 3-4 terminals).
Although small in size and lightweight, it delivers more than 100 working hours per battery recharge. It also supports SMS communication between field units and the base terminal or system.
Together with Furniture Wizard, CipherLab’s CPT-8061 delivers a unique value proposition to furniture retailers:
the ability to handle multiple tasks, such as point-of-sale, inventory, receiving, tagging and product transfers
the standard capability of scrolling up and down combined with the new flexibility of side-to-side visuals, enabling furniture retailers to include lengthy product descriptions into their systems that can then be read on the unit
the unique ability to utilize either UPC codes automatically generated by Furniture Wizard or a supplier’s UPC code scanned, it immediately translates it into the corresponding retail code within the Furniture Wizard system
a versatile backlit display that is easily viewed in more dimly lit warehouse settings
an empowering sales force tool that enables the delivery of superior customer service through immediate inventory access and the ability to request an invoice from the sales floor, reducing customer wait time at checkout
the replacement of handwritten tags for sale merchandise or sold merchandise with ones that are professionally generated through the computer system
In the field
A long-time Furniture Wizard customer, CG Sparks of Salt Lake City, Utah, recently expanded its use of the product through the addition of CipherLab’s CPT-8061 hand-held terminal to its system. In a recent letter to Furniture Wizard staff, store manager Michael Hennessey testified to the immediate ROI he experienced through the time he saved conducting inventory tallies. “After receiving and installing your Bluetooth scanner, we tested it on a few things, then a few more things, and a few hours later we had done a full inventory of our store,” he wrote. (Previously, inventory took four people two days of work.)
Another customer, Emerson’s Furniture of Brattleboro, Vermont, is the oldest furniture retailer in the state, with a history that goes back more than 120 years. While proud of its heritage, the company doesn’t use tradition as an excuse to ignore the potential of new technology. The retailer recently installed Furniture Wizard, enhanced with CipherLab’s CPT-8061, as a POS and inventory system. “Having the ability to receive instant real-time inventory information, specifically the quantity in stock, is a huge advantage for our salespeople,” commented owner Peter Johnson.
Going forward
To date, Furniture Wizard’s $1 million-plus annual sales have come primarily from customers who learned of the product through word-of-mouth. However, the Furniture Wizard package was recently judged the grand prize winner in Vertical Systems Resellers’ 2005 Specialized Retail Solutions Awards competition. More accolades are sure to follow as Fischbein executes his plan to aggressively expand his customer base. And with 95 percent of the retail furniture market within the U.S. alone left to be tapped, he’s got plenty of room for growth.
US Reference Sites
Specification subject to change without notice.Contents © 2014 CipherLab Australia Pty Ltd. All Rights Reserved