An investment of R10.6 million by South Africa's biggest specialist tile and bathroom retailer, CTM, in a handheld point-of-sales solution, implemented by Britehouse Mobility, has resulted in a 50% increase in sales volume per salesperson and an 80% reduction in the time needed for stock taking.
The implementation, rolled out to 86 CTM stores nationwide during 2011, is the first of its kind in the local retail industry.
“The business case was clear,” says Tim Meara, IT manager for CTM parent, Italtile. “Our stock is heavy and often bulky. Customers can't easily push a trolley around the store, picking items off the shelf as they would in a supermarket.
“Also, our salespeople fulfil a consultative role, advising customers on, for instance, how much tile adhesive or grout they'll need.
“In addition, our salespeople need to know how much of a particular product we have in stock and, if there's not enough in that particular store, where it can be sourced from other CTM stores in the region or in the rest of the country.
“In the past, they've had to scurry to and from computers at the front of the store, to look up stock levels and prices and do the calculations on grout and tile adhesive. The process has been time-consuming and inaccurate, because one incorrectly typed-in figure can cost either us or the customer money.
“A handheld device, however, enables the salesperson to do everything right there with the customer on the shop floor in a fraction of the time. Scanning the bar codes on the products ensures accuracy and eliminates mistakes.
“Customer satisfaction soars, CTM benefits by being able to process more sales in less time, and our salespeople are equipped not only to give better service and increase sales but also cross sell.”
Additional cost savings and efficiencies have been achieved in stock taking, with the handheld devices scanning the bar codes on items, automatically checking variances, and posting the data directly into CTM's SAP system.
The mobile sales and stock taking solution is the first phase of CTM's planned evolution to enterprise mobility.
“CTM's first mobile project proves that if you optimise your top line strategy, which, in CTM's case, was improvement of the customer's experience by providing information where he or she needs it, the benefits to the bottom line are enormous,” says Gerard Sofianos, managing director of the mobility division of Britehouse.
“Mobility is the next big technology for business in general, simply because it exponentially increases the efficiency, speed and accuracy of the collection and use of data. Also, a simple, easy-to-use handheld device enables an organisation to easily enforce processes related not only to the collection and management of data, but also the standardisation of the ways in which, for example, customers are serviced, products are positioned, and brands and reputations are conveyed.
“Which is why, at Britehouse Mobility, we approach mobility strategically, by defining all the operational elements in an organisation that can be enhanced with mobility, designing together a common architecture founded on appropriate technology capable of embracing and supporting them all, and then deploying modular solutions in order of priority, so that, as with CTM, organisations can get significant benefits quickly.”
CTM chose WiFi as the platform for its handheld sales devices, rather than using the national cellular system.
“It meant implementing a WiFi network in each store but, because you have to be in the store to use it, it cuts down on security risks,” Meara says. “Also, the in-store WiFi is free. There are no service provider contracts to manage. And, because no data is stored on the devices, we needed always-on connectivity. That could not be guaranteed at some of our more remote stores, were we to have depended on the cellular networks, where, occasionally, there is neither the penetration nor quality of services guarantees.
“We used Britehouse Mobility as our implementation partners, once the WiFi network was installed, because they have been our SAP partner for some years and had the knowledge needed to integrate the mobile solution into our SAP system. But, Britehouse Mobility doesn't look at enterprise mobility simply from the SAP perspective. They have a solutions-centric approach. So they design a solution based on what the customer needs.”
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