TEMPLE, Texas -- Convenience-store distributor McLane Co. Inc. has released its new direct-store-delivery (DSD) app for Android mobile devices.
Working with the company’s Premium Order Management Suite (POMS) applications and Grocery Mobile platform, DSD enables customers to manage their entire supply chain in real time from a mobile device. The app also includes a DSD “Credits” feature, which enables customers to scan and validate purchased products against the retailer’s approved pricebook at time of delivery, saving time, money and aggravation.
“DSD Credits is a game changer for retailers that formerly had no way to validate product deliveries in real time and seek credit,” Deon Johnson, vice president of customer technology, said. “When retailers take delivery of unapproved items, they must hold and track the items, place calls to the DSD supplier, verify the return and finally recoup credit—a time-consuming process that takes attention away from serving customers in the store.
“What DSD Credits does is provide retailers an instant audit trail, both electronic as well as a paper copy that can even provide data integration to the retailer’s back-of-house system. The result is the check-in process is greatly improved and efficient.”
Other features in the app include:
- DSD Label Printing: Enables stores to instantly print shelf labels for non-McLane items in response to price changes without having to go through a backoffice system or wait on vendors to supply labels.
- DSD Images: A library of more than 10,000 DSD product images allows users to scan and view a picture of what’s in the box upon delivery without opening it. Users can see exactly where a pictured item belongs on the shelf by referencing the store’s planogram directly from the app.
Five McLane customers representing 360 stores have implemented DSD, with 150 more scheduled to come on board in the next few weeks. All five customers are also current users of McLane’s Grocery Mobile platform. Today, more than 50 McLane customers are using Grocery Mobile in 3,200 locations.
Like Grocery Mobile, DSD can be used on a retailer’s existing Android devices and requires only one mobile device to manage the entire store, which represents a savings of $2,500 to $3,000 versus purchasing multiple devices for each location. Customers can download DSD directly from Google Play and be up and running in minutes, or opt in to AirWatch mobility management software that controls which apps customers download to each device. With AirWatch, customers get automatic updates directly from McLane with the latest software features and version without having to take the device offline or pay any yearly upgrade fee.
Temple, Texas-based McLane provides grocery and foodservice supply-chain solutions for convenience stores, mass merchants, drug stores and chain restaurants throughout the United States. It is a wholly owned unit of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., Omaha, Neb.
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