Snacking on Microsoft mobile is way to go for Lance
1 min read
US snack foods manufacturer Lance says that it has improved customer service and is now tracking and managing inventory, while accessing reports on demand, since going live with a new mobile solution.
Powered by Windows Mobile and Apacheta’s RouteACE software, the system is also helping its 1,400 direct-to-store delivery salespeople to run their routes throughout the south east of the US more efficiently, says Shawn Cherry, director of applications at Lance.
He says the organisation needed a mobile application that it could deploy, change and support more efficiently. It also needed to improve device synchronisation, which was too slow.
“Device failure rates had been increasing for several years. The business couldn’t tolerate it any more. Our immediate objective was to eliminate the downtime due to failed devices,” says Cherry.
“We already had experience using Microsoft .Net technology to develop desktop and server applications, and knew that Windows Mobile would enable us to take advantage of that same skill set. We also knew that Windows Mobile would enable us to choose from a broad range of applications.
“By increasing our investment in technology, we are able to meet customer needs more quickly and improve the level of service we provide our retail partners.”
And on the specifics he adds that synchronisation of the mobile devices is now carried out wirelessly, using Apacheta middleware. Data is stored in a Microsoft SQL Server CE 2.0 relational database running on the handheld computer, and uploaded to web servers, running Windows Server 2003 and Apacheta ServerACE software. Data is then kept in a database running SQL Server 2005, connected to Lance’s ERP system.
