Many smaller shops and consumer outlets, like spaza shops and shebeens, are dependent on quick responses from their suppliers to replenish stocks as an alternative to them visiting the wholesaler or Cash and Carry.
For distributors to meet these needs, they must have vehicles stocked with a selection of goods that call on these outlets regularly to perform the required functions and regain or retain the opportunity to influence the sale and stockholding of their products, and manage the risk of cash collection.
Due to the nature of these smaller outlets, many of the transactions are cash based, requiring drivers to collect payment and issue invoices and receipts, leaving administrators at the distribution point with the task of cash and stock settlement later.
To simplify the process of selling products from vans and other vehicles, Mac Web has developed a solution combining mobile devices and a hosted cloud application to give distributors and their drivers better control over the products, cash collected and cashless banking on a real time basis.
Using the MACmobile Drop’nBank Van Sales Solution, stock loaded onto a vehicle is recorded on a Web-based management system. The stock list is then downloaded onto the Driver/Salesman’s mobile device, along with the route he is to take that day.
Once the driver has checked that the stock in the van matches the list on his device, a stock list is printed from the mobile via a Bluetooth printer and signed by the driver as acknowledgement of receipt of the load.
“Before leaving in the morning, the driver records the starting mileage of the vehicle, and then follows the route planned for him,” explains Andrew Birch, Mac Web’s MD.
“At each drop the driver logs in to confirm that he is at the specified location. The system automatically records the time and GPS coordinates, and requests mandatory submission of the mileage reading.”
All transactions are then recorded on the mobile device, whether deliveries or returns, and a priced invoice receipt is printed on the in-cab Bluetooth printer for the shop owner and driver to sign. The amount of money collected or the cashless payment amount is also recorded to provide the real–time reconciliation of cash, cashless payments, stock issues and stock on hand.
When the transaction has been completed, the driver then closes the outlet’s account on the device and moves to the next drop destination. If any delivery is unable to be made for any reason, this is noted via a dropdown reason code list and he moves to the next one.
In the event that a customer needs supply in an emergency, the driver can receive the instruction on the device to deviate from his route and add in an “Emergency Call”, noting the time and other required details, as well as the reason for the emergency deviation.
After each stop, all data is uploaded to Mac Web’s servers to ensure realtime information on every driver. If the vehicle is in an area with no cellular coverage, the driver can work offline until he enters a coverage area when the system will synchronise automatically. When the driver finishes his day, reconciliation is simple as there is a real time summary of all sales and transactional activities and balances.
Using the MACmobile ‘Drop ‘n Bank’ dashboard, distributors can keep track of each driver’s movements and transactions during the day and call up a range of reports for any timeframe desired. These reports can include details on outlets, products and drivers, and provide the capability to drill down for more specifics.
Birch says that reports can be created to show any detail in the database, allowing managers to better plan and control the distribution operation. These reports are also downloadable as Excel spread sheets at the click of a mouse.
Irrespective of the type of product sold, Birch says that from a governance, compliance , risk and productivity perspective, all manufacturers, marketers and their distributors will need to keep track of sales from their vehicles on a realtime basis, which the MACmobile‘Drop ‘n Bank ‘Van Sales solution allows them to do accurately and cost effectively. Moreover, the system is easy to operate so that any competent driver can learn to use it.
“MacWeb will advise on the optimal device hardware for the specific solution, and will provide the software and behavioural change management assistance in order to facilitate the business process and reporting, so as to extract the considerable benefits that automation offers.
“In summary, the solution enables real time management of stock, delivery sequence adherence, sales execution, invoicing and pricing compliance, debtor cash and cashless payments. It obviates delays, paper usage, and
administrative duplication and it eliminates credit notes, payment discrepancies and settlement delays.
“The solution is equally effective on presold orders as it is on consignment stock , and is well suited to all classes of trade including Modern Top end, Local and Traditional and HoReCa (Hotel, Restaurant and Catering), in addition to any other delivery destination.
“At each drop the driver logs in to confirm that he is at the specified location. The system automatically records the time and GPS coordinates, and requests mandatory submission of the mileage reading.”
