Case Studies Selector


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Summary
Name :
Trade Tools
Business :
Specialist in cutting tools
Reps :
18 Field Sales Engineers
Comms :
Telecom New Zealand
Financials :
n/a
Device
18 Telecom Treo 650 smart-phones utilising wireless 3G Network, processing sales orders to Head Office.
Business Situation
Trade Tools carry over 20,000 products and were printing a 400 page price book 3 times a year. Reps were hand writing orders and either returning to their branch or faxing through orders at night.
Solution
Our estimate is 12 months based on the annual savings of printing 100,000 pages of price books, 200 hours of re-keying data and improved margins achieved by updating prices immediately.Intangibles include increased customer responsiveness, reps time management and re-work that’s been eliminated by reducing errors.
Return on Investment
SalesLink Mobile interfacing with Trade Tools’ IMAS ERP provides up to date stock and stock on hand information and allow orders to be taken out in the field and sent wirelessly back to head office/branches for immediate picking and despatch.
Introduction
Trade Tools set up business in 1955 – as New Zealand’s first specialist in cutting tools and threading equipment.
A wholly owned New Zealand Company, Trade Tools carries an extensive range of product, backed up with prompt delivery and solid after sales support. Employing twenty engineers as their sales team, Trade Tools call on a vast range of businesses throughout all of New Zealand.

Company Background
Trade Tools and their subsidiary Total Trade Supplies have seven locations in Auckland, Hamilton, Rotorua, Palmerston North, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin. Based out of these seven locations, their field sales engineers are making up to 20 calls per day.

Carrying approximately 20,000 stock items and purchasing additional products when required, Trade Tools is a complex business that requires up to date information and streamlined systems to operate at maximum efficiency.
Price books of up to 400 pages were printed 3 times a year and distributed to all reps, however they were cumbersome and became out of date when prices changed and items were no longer available.

Business Operation

Trade Tools purchased SalesLink Mobile in 2004 to address a number of operational areas. The price books have become a thing of the past – today the reps download the entire stock, stock on hand (listing head office and their local branch) and pricing file to their handheld devices.

Reps take orders in the field and use the wireless network to transmit their order back to their base branch. Operations Manager, Matthew McMenamin said that this allows Trade Tools warehouse picks to be smoothed out, as orders are coming in throughout the day.
Other key benefits are that prices can be changed immediately – no delay in passing on overseas price increases. Reps based in locations situated away from the branches aren’t required to call in at the branch each day.

Trade Tools call centre has been freed up – over 5000 orders annually no longer have to be faxed through and re-keyed into their system. Reps choose the correct products and can add notes on their orders – therefore reducing errors and eliminating hand writing that, at times, could not be deciphered.

 

Testimonial
“We’re very happy with the product and I.T. Link have been brilliant to deal with.” McMenamin said.