Orica Employs Advanced Mobile Merchandising Technology to Improve Sales

Strategic Insights -

Orica Consumer Products, a major supplier of construction hardware and retail brands such as Dulux, Cabots, Selleys, and Yates, sought to enhance its mobile merchandising capabilities. With a sales force across the country, the company recognized the need for advanced technology to improve communication and data collection. Orica chose ComOps' mobile Sales Account Management system (SAM) to provide sales staff with real-time access to product information and sales tracking.

Key Takeaways:

  • Orica plans to deploy 250 pen tablets for sales representatives, replacing four-year-old Fujitsu systems, which are no longer sufficient for new programs.
  • The new pen tablets will have 512 MB RAM, 40-60 GB hard drive, and run on Microsoft Pocket PC 2003 Phone Edition, featuring Pocket Word, Pocket Excel, and Pocket Outlook.
  • Merchandising staff will receive XDA-based smartphone PDAs, loaded with email, telephone, and camera capabilities, to aid in data collection and communication with head office.
  • ComOps created a new user interface for the XDA II, addressing the challenge of presenting existing tasks in a more user-friendly manner.
  • A 128 MB flash memory card was introduced to alleviate battery life issues, ensuring that data and programs are preserved even after battery failure.
  • Orica's sales force development manager, Doug Bell, acknowledged that the transition to new technology presented an initial learning curve but ultimately provided benefits for the majority of staff.

Statistics:

  • 250 pen tablets will be rolled out for sales representatives.
  • 512 MB RAM and 40-60 GB hard drive will replace the existing Fujitsu systems.
  • The new XDA-based smartphone PDAs will have email, telephone, and camera capabilities.
  • 128 MB flash memory cards will be added to the XDA II to prevent data loss due to battery failures.
  • The new mobile merchandising technology aims to improve communication with retailers and increase merchandisers' time spent with store personnel.

Sources:

  • Orica Consumer Products
  • ComOps
  • Microsoft Pocket PC 2003 Phone Edition