Data Collection and Labelling - Plant Importer/Wholesaler

Introduction

A wholesale importer of plants and trees from Europe supplied major garden centre's throughout the UK. Their order system was paper-based, which caused many manual tasks such as order entry, shipping lists, and label printing. They approached us to develop a system that would automate their data collection and labelling process.

Initial Challenge

The existing paper-based order system was time-consuming and caused a lot of manual effort. The labelling process was particularly labour-intensive, as each plant had to be labelled by hand with the garden centre name, plant description, barcode, and retail price.

Process

We developed a completely automated system that used handheld barcode scanning devices. The trade customer would select the products they required while walking around the nursery. The device would then scan the barcode of each plant, which would be added to the customer's order. When the customer returned to the office, the order would be automatically downloaded to the back-office system. The system generated despatch notes and invoices immediately and printed individual labels for each plant. These labels included the garden centre name, a plant description, barcode, and retail price. The plants could then be sent straight to the garden centre fully labelled and ready for display.

Impact and Result

The new system significantly reduced manual effort and time, especially for the labelling process. The entire order processing cycle was streamlined, from order entry to shipping and labelling. The system provided increased accuracy, consistency, and efficiency, which improved customer satisfaction and reduced errors. The client's operations became more efficient and scalable, and they were able to handle more orders with the same resources. Overall, the system helped the client reduce their costs and increase their profits.