THIS PET FOOD DISTRIBUTER WAS BARKING UP THE WRONG TREE, UNTIL TRG CAME ALONG TO SOLVE THEIR HARDWARE AND SERVICE CHALLENGES
CUSTOMER SINCE: 2016
DESCRIPTION: Major Pet Food Distributor and Online Retailer
INITIAL INQUIRY: Secure Locker Systems
SERVICES:
PRODUCTS:
THE PROBLEM
Whenever hardware and technology challenges arise, TRG finds solutions. This was the case for a major pet food distributor and online retailer in the fall of 2016. A significant number of its handheld computers were going missing or being mishandled in its distribution centers, resulting in six-figure hardware losses.
THE SOLUTION
Seeking a solution, the pet food distributor began evaluating secure locker systems, which require employees to scan a badge to access a device, return them at the end of their shift, and provide an update on its condition.
Ultimately, nearly $3 million in secure locker systems were installed throughout their facilities. These lockers helped the pet food distributor reduce the costs of damaged or destroyed devices, improve worker accountability, and streamline the device checkout process.
Growing the Relationship Alongside the Customer’s Growth
In early 2017, when the company was in the process of opening its next distribution center, our contact reached out to TRG to determine what other capabilities we could offer. In addition to its earlier challenge with device accountability, the company was having difficulty with its then-current partner on timely repair on their barcode equipment, having the equipment delivered on time, and getting quotes for new equipment. The company also had older equipment and was looking for a solution to offload those aging devices.
Ultimately, the pet food distributor decided to have TRG quote support services and hardware for the new distribution center as well as various expansions of its existing centers, which the company had started throughout the course of their conversations with TRG. In the end, TRG sold nearly $6 million in hardware and support and supported them with our buyback program to take the old hardware off their hands.
Taking Value to a New Level
TRG then built a strategic device management program in which mobile computers and other hardware were first shipped to our global headquarters in Westlake, Ohio rather than being drop-shipped to the customer’s facilities. Here, our team tagged each individual asset, staged them, and then deployed the hardware to the company’s distribution centers. Upon arrival, the new hardware was ready for immediate use.
TRG also began assisting the company with managing its mobile device management (MDM) platform. With more than 4,000 licenses, TRG is now directly involved in managing the security and support of the company’s enterprise mobility program on a daily basis.
Resolving Costly Process Challenges
A unique aspect of the company is its focus on diversifying the tasks that its distribution center workers perform each day to prevent the work from becoming repetitive. While this is a benefit to their employee retention, it unfortunately had a different effect on hardware retention. When one shift ended, an employee would put his or her device down, and the next shift worker sometimes unknowingly boxed that device up with a customer order. This eventually led to more than $100,000 in hardware losses, so the company once again called on TRG for help.
To prevent further losses, TRG developed a solution in which RFID tags would be applied to the company’s scanners and mobile devices. An RFID tunnel would be implemented that would be able to identify a mistakenly boxed-up device and shut down the conveyor system.
New Projects and Support Efforts
In the fall of 2019, TRG assisted the company with a $600,000 expansion project. This included a buyback of its outdated Windows mobile devices as part of a larger move toward Android. The company had already been an early adopter of Android for its distribution center operations and had been purchasing these devices for some time. TRG was able to remove the remaining outdated hardware from its workstream and helped with the migration to Android, which offered a number of benefits for production environments.
And when the company’s shipping provider changed the standard size of their label, TRG took action to create a new label quickly, presented it to the company, and won the contract to supply these labels going forward. TRG will also be supplying a custom label to one of the company’s subdivisions that specializes in pharmacy products.
TRG is now supporting the company’s human resources and onboarding teams with an enterprise mobility initiative involving several hundred tablets. TRG successfully negotiated with the tablet provider to obtain an extremely competitive price and will also assist with the staging, kitting, and deployment of these units.
TRG also recently developed a solution to implement mobile printers that attach to workers’ hips and allow them to print labels on-the-fly from right where they are — saving them a significant amount of time from having to walk back-and-forth to barcode printers.
THE RESULT
Throughout the past few years of our relationship, TRG has stood by our pet food distributor client as it grew from only a few distribution centers and three managers to 10 total facilities and nearly 20 managers today. We’re grateful for the trust they have placed in us for such a significant portion of their distribution center operations, which are critical to maintaining their own service levels for their customers. We look forward to continuing to support this company with its hardware and software needs now and into the future.
If your organization is facing similar challenges as this company, we’re here to help. Contact us today to learn how we can support your enterprise mobility goals.
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About TRG
TRG is a global managed solutions provider focused on mobility, point of sale and payments. With facilities across the United States, Canada and Europe, we provide the most comprehensive suite of lifecycle management services – from warehouse to boardroom and deployment to retirement. Our mission is to Make Technology Simple, helping customers accelerate projects, drive application success, improve employee/customer experience and maximize ROI. We’re relentless in our drive to find innovative, effective ways to enhance customer operations and challenge conventional thinking along the way. Learn more about why The Difference Is Us at www.trgsolutions.com.