Reliable route accounting and direct store delivery solutions.
Relationships between beverage, snack, bakery and dairy distributors and the retail customers they serve are fast-paced and extremely time sensitive. To help improve accuracy, deliver goods faster on-time every time, reduce shrinkage, manage inventory, serve more customers in a day, reduce hand-written errors and improve cash flow, most distributors have switched from the old standby of pen and paper to highly automated computer-based systems that include handhelds, laptops and mobile printers. This has transformed the two distinct activity sets in Direct Store Delivery (DSD) operations: pre-sales operations – live visits to customers to set up orders; and full service operations for DSD – the actual delivery of ordered product to the customer and pick up of any returns.
In DSD, drivers receive order manifests and routes for each day at a distribution center, load and check the orders on their truck or van, deliver the order to the customer and pick up any returns, and provide delivery confirmations and invoices before moving on to their next stop. Most of these activities are communicated from and to the driver’s distribution center via handheld computers carried by drivers, and printed materials are generated from these handhelds typically through 4" and 8" mobile printers most often clipped on a driver’s belt or mounted in the truck or van.
Pre-sales account managers equipped with laptops or handhelds, application software, and mobile printers visit retail accounts to print and review past sales histories, current inventory levels, upcoming product and sales promos, confirm goods to be returned, and to print and confirm new orders.
The trend in mobile route accounting printers for drivers and pre-sales account managers has been toward faster, more durable devices, especially in 4" to 8.5" wide mobile printers that can be hung from a belt or shoulder strap or attached to a hand-truck, or mounted* in vehicles. Faster print speeds mean less time needed to complete transactions before moving on to the next stop. Better durability means less time lost to device issues from accidental drops or bad weather conditions.
Brother™ offers a wide range of mobile route accounting and direct store delivery printing solutions, including:
