Solution 3

Profile
Based in the southeastern U.S., Littlefield Oil specializes in all types of fuel service, from convenience stores and truck stops to marinas and oil fields. The company was experiencing a severe inventory management problem: its Jam Mart Convenience Store and Short Stop Truck Stop employees were manually ordering and tracking grocery inventory from its food distributor, Glidewell Distributing. This method was error-prone and time consuming. Even worse, it eroded Littlefield's profitability because the convenience stores and truck stops were often over or under-stocked, and stock levels couldn't be monitored in real time. Littlefield and Glidewell knew they had to make a change and, after careful evaluation, they turned to CipherLab reseller Scan Right Solutions and CipherLab's 8000 series mobile computers.

Deployment
Automating its inventory management process with CipherLab 8000 handhelds meant an instant return on investment for Littlefield Oil and Glidewell Distributing. Using CipherLab's mobile computers, Littlefield employees now easily scan items, determine stock levels and order groceries that need to be replenished with the click of a button. Glidewell almost instantaneously receives these new orders in its system, streamlining the pick process for faster delivery.

"Because CipherLab's mobile computers store all of the UPCs and Glidewell item numbers, and the interface is easy for any employee to use, the item scanning and ordering process is as simple as can be," said Ronnie Threet of Littlefield Oil, who oversees the Jam Mart and Short Stop Truck Stop locations. "Having an automated system with a direct pipeline to our distributor saves us time and prevents manual mistakes. Best of all, we never have over or under-stocked product, saving us money and keeping our customers happy."

"Since adopting CipherLab's technology, we've dramatically reduced the back and forth in the ordering process that generally takes up time and resources with a typical convenience store-distributor relationship," said Nick Glidewell, director of sales at Glidewell Distributing. "Simply put, CipherLab saves us time and money."

Download pdf: Littlefield Oil Convenience Stores Cash In With CipherLab Mobile Computers