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KEY IMPACT SALES IS A FOOD BROKERAGE FIRM OPERATING IN THE MID-ATLANTIC STATES. TO PROVIDE ITS MOBILE SALES REPRESENTATIVES WITH AN EASIER WAY TO COLLECT INFORMATION AND FILL SALES ORDERS, THE COMPANY IS DEPLOYING A SOLUTION USING WINDOWS MOBILE-BASED POCKET PC PHONE EDITION DEVICES FROM SAMSUNG AND SYNCHRONIZATION SOFTWARE FROM MICROSOFT PARTNER SYNCHROLOGIC.
Overview
Key Impact Sales Systems, Inc. is a food brokerage company that provides food service establishments, retail dairies, delicatessens, bakery chains, and other outlets with a variety of services, from creation of menu programs to in-store merchandising sales and display assistance. The company, based in Columbia, Maryland, has field representatives who operate in several Mid-Atlantic states including Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey, and New York.
Situation
Like many organizations with a large number of field-based representatives, Key Impact wanted to find an automated solution that could provide mobile employees with the most efficient and cost-effective tools for keeping track of essential customer data, while offering fast, easy access to important data such as customer sales history, corporate communications, and important e-mail from customers and coworkers.
Solution
Working with Synchrologic, a Microsoft Mobility Partner Advisory Council (MPAC) member, Key Impact implemented a mobile solution using wireless-enabled Samsung SGH-i700 Pocket PC Phone Edition devices and Synchrologic's Email Accelerator. A proprietary solution enables Key Impact sales representatives to access a secure corporate intranet to view customer information and inventory and to enter on-site sales orders, while Synchrologic Email Accelerator delivers critical e-mail, contact, and calendar information from the backoffice Microsoft® Exchange application.
A Unified Package with Pocket PC Phone Edition Devices
DeLaine Carrington, IT Administrator for Key Impact, says that, prior to the current solution, the company had deployed a system using several different components including PDAs that linked to cell phones using data cables.
"It was cumbersome. Our sales representatives had to manage three separate pieces of equipment. They almost needed three hands to juggle the equipment and place the orders from a customer site," Carrington says. "We wanted a solution that would be simple yet powerful--a solution that could provide wireless connectivity combined with the productivity of a PDA as well as a fast wireless connection for data transfers."
Key Impact found a key component for the solution in Samsung's recently introduced SGH-i700 device, a Pocket PC Phone Edition that works on GPRS and CDMA wireless networks and provides the standard productivity applications that come with Pocket PCs, including Microsoft Pocket Outlook®, Pocket Word, Pocket Excel, and Pocket Internet Explorer. The device is equipped with 64 MB of RAM, an SD card slot for expandability, and a built-in digital camera capable of taking--and transmitting--640 x 480 pixel images, which Key Impact sales agents can use for activities such as reporting on the appearance of displays at trade shows or in retail outlets.
Easy Synchronization and 'Push' Capabilities with Email Accelerator
For synchronization tasks, Key Impact chose Synchrologic's Email Accelerator because it would seamlessly integrate with the corporate Microsoft Exchange system. Synchrologic was recommended to Key Impact by Verizon, which provides Express Network, a wireless plan that offers both voice and data connectivity of up to 144 Kbps.
"Our solution had to provide relatively fast wireless data throughput so our reps could easily access a customer Web-based application on our intranet," Carrington says, adding that by the end of the deployment later in 2003, Key Impact expects to have about 140 devices in use in the field. "Additionally, our employees are very familiar with Windows®, so we wanted a Windows-based solution. The Samsung devices and Synchrologic's Email Accelerator were an ideal fit because we can use the 'push' capability to proactively send information to the people in the field, while allowing them quick access to information that we maintain on our SQL Server™ database.
"With the Synchrologic component, I was very impressed with how the software is able to easily grab all the information from the information store residing on our Exchange server, collect that information, and expeditiously push it to the Pocket PC devices," she continues. "Graphically, the Synchrologic software is well laid out, user friendly, and easy to install on the Pocket PC devices. Additionally, the Synchrologic support team is extremely responsive and knowledgeable. The prompt service they have provided Key Impact Sales Systems has made this undertaking a pleasant experience."
"Deploying a solution using Synchrologic software on Windows Mobile™ devices is a powerful combination that can help the efficiency and competitiveness of companies like Key Impact Sales," says John Dancu, president and Chief Operating Officer of Synchrologic. "Providing an easy-to-use and seamless solution for mobilizing corporate information means mobile representatives can focus more on providing better customer service and increasing the number of orders filled at the end of the day."
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