Supply Chain Management Case Studies
Mid America Distributors
Mid America sells consumer fireworks seasonally at contractor operated
tents located throughout Tennessee. They were experiencing heavy inventory
losses as their product travelled from their main warehouse to the tents and
then as unsold units were returned from the tents to the warehouse. They had no
fixed business process making their ability to monitor inventory and the tents
ability to reorder product extremely slow. Soltus sought to solve those problems
by creating a custom inventory management system.
Soltus defined the business process and implemented it via MS SQL Server,
web pages and handheld wireless barcode scanners. The fully customized inventory
management system that Soltus created enables Mid America to track the inventory
from their warehouse to the tents and back again through the use of the wireless
barcode scanners. Specifically, the scanners help to provide accountability in
order to achieve reductions in lost inventory and manage thousands of products
across all of their point-of-sale locations. The scanners also provide mobility
in the warehouse for shipping, receiving, and inventory audits. Also, the
solution gave Mid America the capability to utilize existing barcodes or create
their own to match any unique packaging requirements. Each item that is bought
and sold can also be set up for multiple distribution units (case, gross, each,
etc) and prices.
The reporting tools that are a part of the system provide immediate access
to the information Mid America needs for making critical business decisions. All
screens are accessed as web pages allowing flexibility when entering orders and
access to their data from any computer on their network. Real-time and
historical reports enable them to respond to changing conditions with speed and
accuracy. Every packing list includes running totals on a per item basis so that
each location can easily monitor their current sales activity and inventory
counts.
The time savings that the solution provided allows the key players to
focus on the business and its growth rather than addressing inventory
emergencies. The system also made it easier to train seasonal employees
therefore reducing training costs. Overall, the increase in efficiency that was
achieved allowed the client to respond to customer demand more quickly.
Software Applied
- Visual Studio .NET
- Compact Framework
- Microsoft SQL Server 2005
- Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services
- ASP.NET
- Pocket PC 2003
Hardware Utilized
- Symbol Wireless Barcode Scanners
- Dell Server
- Linksys Wireless Routers
Who We Worked With
- Local Owner
- Local Business Office and Warehouse Staff
- Manufacturers
