Measuring success
The MiniMate handheld solution has paid for itself in four months by saving the company money in several areas. The solution saves LinCo staff time by eliminating paperwork. It has eliminated 10,000 tickets per month that the company previously generated to do route deliveries. LinCo has reassigned two full-time positions since MiniMate was fully implemented due to the reduction in paper handling.

The handheld solution has also improved invoice accuracy and inventory control. By giving drivers the ability to correct and generate invoices on site, invoices rarely, if ever, need to be corrected, saving LinCo the expense of processing, printing, and mailing corrected invoices after deliveries are made.

The Palm OS MiniMate solution also puts detailed customer information in the hands of LinCo route drivers, so they're more in touch with customers and better able to complete accurate orders quickly. For example, with a few screen taps, drivers can view the last four deliveries made to a customer, as shown in Figure D.

FIGURE D

Drivers can view the last four deliveries made to a customer.

Having this information on hand allows the driver to make purchase recommendations on site and potentially increases sales.

"There is always someone that is cheaper than you are, but giving [the customer] a level of customer service that meets or exceeds their expectations and makes money too is what makes you successful," said Linneweber. "Palm handhelds are helping us do just that."

Lessons learned
LinCo management knew handheld technology might be the answer to its paper problems, but they also worried about how LinCo's drivers would react to the tiny computers. In working to avoid any resistance, LinCo management learned just how important training can be.

"At least half of our drivers had never used a computer before," said Linneweber. "So it became a top priority to achieve the right combination of ease-of-use and functionality with whatever solution we chose. To further ensure high acceptance, we had representatives from MiniMate's developer, Prism Visual Software, implement the solution and then conduct training sessions on site with the drivers. This investment in personal attention made the transition to handhelds easy for our drivers and resulted in rapid, widespread acceptance of the solution. It also enabled us to achieve efficiencies faster than if we had not taken such care to train our drivers individually. Even though this application is extremely intuitive and easy to use, giving serious attention to training paid off."

LinCo also learned that planning for the future when deploying a handheld application is critical. Even though current wireless coverage doesn't reach all the remote areas where LinCo drivers deliver, Prism Visual Software recommended LinCo use wireless Palm handhelds. That way, LinCo Services has ensured that it can easily provide service as new areas get coverage. Having this option protects LinCo's investment in training and implementation, so the transition to wireless is also less expensive.