TORONTO, ON and BURNABY, BC – Located in Burnaby, British Columbia, United Flower Growers (UFG) is a Dutch-style auction that serves an estimated 600 customers per year, selling over 50 million stems of flowers and more than one million potted plants. Each morning, truckloads of fresh flowers and plants produced by local growers arrive at UFG's 26 loading bays. All products are visually inspected for quality before being offered for sale. Once accepted, pertinent sales data is scanned into UFG's custom-designed software using Microsoft® Windows®-based Motion® F5v Tablet PCs.
Tweet this: United Flower Growers increases accuracy by 90% w/ @MotionComputing rugged #tablets http://bit.ly/i5SaXR
The growers enter all information electronically at the greenhouses and transmit the data to UFG as well as provide a printed sheet with a barcode in each shipment. The staff uses the Motion F5v Tablet PCs’ integrated barcode scanner to scan the barcodes, pull up the information, make any edits using drop down menus and save the changes to the database.
According to Dennis Lawson, general manager of operations, United Flower Growers, the Motion Tablet PC-enabled process has helped dramatically reduce manual input errors by 90 percent, which translates to a considerable cost savings.
“The tablets’ integrated cameras were an added bonus, and now we can take a live picture of the product and include it with the information presented to our customers,” said Lawson. “This is a considerable benefit when colors, size and overall look of the flower are the main determining factors for establishing price.”
UFG has also been able to reduce the time of the overall process, with the data entry now down to two and a half hours from what previously took four. “With data in the system faster, we can deliver it to the customer faster – our customers can see more of the inventory sooner, which allows them to make better buying decisions,” explained Lawson. “The tablets have definitely helped us enhance our customer service.”
UFG is excited to further the tablet deployment and has several new use cases in development that will further increase efficiency and streamline processes. Motion Tablet PCs will be issued to the security staff at the exits to scan customer invoices as they leave, ensuring all payments have been made. UFG also plans to streamline its bucket return system.
“With the Motion Tablet PCs, the staff will be able to go to the customer and process the return on the spot, remotely printing the invoice, and the customer can pick it up when they’re ready. We expect to increase efficiency by up to 40%,” said Lawson.
Web Resources
F5v Tablet PC: http://www.motioncomputing.ca/products/tablet_pc_f5.asp
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/12982
Twitter: http://twitter.com/MotionComputing
Facebook: http://facebook.com/MotionComputing
About United Flower Growers
Located in Burnaby, British Columbia, United Flower Growers (UFG) has been a cornerstone of the floral community in the Pacific Northwest for nearly 50 years. As one of only three Dutch-style auctions left in North America, the company serves an estimated 600 customers per year, selling over 50 million stems of flowers and more than one million potted plants.
About Motion Computing
Motion Computing is a leading global provider of tablet PCs and supporting mobility solutions, combining world-class products with services customized for the unique needs of mobile professionals across vertical markets, such as field service, retail and healthcare. The company’s enhanced line of rugged tablet PCs as well as mobile point of service solutions and accessories are designed to increase mobile productivity while providing portability, security, power and versatility. For more information, visit http://www.motioncomputing.ca.
Source: United Flower Growers