MIDLAND, Texas -- The 39-store Kent Kwik chain is now handling its receiving, counting, auditing and reviewing of scratch-off lottery tickets via an automated solution, having completed the rollout of PDI software.
The PDI/Lottery solution also enables store personnel to manage inventory in vending machines while also reconciling deliveries and activations for books loaded in the machine. The move to electronic processes reduces time spent on inventory, officials with Temple, Texas-based PDI said.
“Our old method, which required us to count using pen and paper, would take about 30 minutes,” said Ross Gentis, information technology manager for The Kent Cos., Midland, Texas. “With the lottery software, we use the PDI handheld to scan the bar code on each ticket. The process has been reduced from 30 minutes to less than two.”
The bar code on each ticket provides all the information a convenience store needs to track the inventory in more detail than traditional item inventory, including game, book and ticket number. Since personnel are not required to manually enter data, there are less opportunities for human error.
“The biggest problem we had was that we were spending thousands to recoup 5 cents. From accounting to store-level staff, we had several people trying to track just one inventory item,” Gentis said. “Since shifting to this method, the tracking is done every shift, and we have a more accurate view of sales and losses in real time.”
“We are thrilled to serve our customers with this new product,” said Greg Gilkerson, president and CEO of PDI. “Scratch-off lottery tickets are a notoriously high shrink, low-margin inventory item. Giving managers the tools to more efficiently and accurately manage that entire process—from receiving to audits—is a huge win, and we’re happy to deliver it.”
The Kent Cos. is also using the new wireless capabilities introduced with PDI/Enterprise 8, which allow managers to post counts from the sales floor directly to the back office. The West Texas convenience-store chain began beta-testing PDI/Lottery earlier this year and recently completed implementation for all 39 Texas-based Kent Kwik sites.
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