Florida's Premier Electronics Distribution Center,
Streamlines and Saves with Unibar Barcode Printing Software
A Simple Barcode Saves Significant Money
and Keeps Customers Smiling
 Audio
America, Florida’s premier distribution center for Home
and Car Electronics is keeping customers smiling while adding
to company coffers. Audio America is the exclusive Florida distributor
for such well-known electronics names as Pioneer, JVC, Panasonic,
Audiobahn, JVL, MTX, Sanyo, and Audiovox -- and the list goes
on. Becoming the top distributor for these important lines implies
excellence, and that term is only attributed to a company that’s
focused on continued improvements.
One recent improvement resulted from thoughtful planning on
the part of Audio America’s C.T.O., Bob Albert, who incorporated
the use of a simple barcode throughout operations. Using Unibar,
Inc.’s BARZ_OUT to streamline Audio America’s paperwork
has resulted in more efficient support and bottom line savings
through elimination of errors, and more importantly, elimination
of expensive unauthorized returns.
From order taking through fulfillment, shipping, invoicing and
returns, Unibar’s easy and affordable BARZ_OUT has kept
information at the staff’s fingertips and enabled easy
tracking from start to finish.
“A few years ago we decided to improve our support by,
of all things, reducing the amount of returns that were never
purchased from us initially!” explained Albert. He then
described how Audio America’s bottom line had been impacted
by Gray Marketers -- people who aren’t even legitimate
distributors.
“Gray marketers ship unauthorized parts that can’t
be returned, because they are not true distributors for the manufacturer
and have no means of getting the units replaced by the manufacturer,” said
Albert. “In the past, these people would try to return
the part to us, even though is wasn’t purchased from us.
These extra unauthorized returns eat at the bottom line.”
To correct this problem, Audio America started tracking all
serialized inventory outbound through use of a simple barcode.
This enables the company to now require that when a part is returned,
the customer must supply a serial number. This way the staff
knows immediately if the part was purchased from Audio America.
Albert designed a system that works much like a grocery store
system from the mechanics side of it, he explained.
It begins with an order placed to one of the dozen inside salespersons.
The salesperson creates the packing slip, which also serves as
an invoice printed into the accounting department. The Unibar
BARZ_OUT Pro enables the system to easily integrate a barcode
onto this document, and the invoice number printed as a code
39 barcode.
After passing through the company’s credit check, the
order is sent out to the warehouse for picking. The warehouse
staff then picks the parts, placing them on a conveyor.
 “At
this point, Unibar kicks in,” said Albert. “The Scan
and Pick Operation takes over.” The staff member scans
the bar code on the invoice, which was used to pull the parts,
then scans the items on the belt. The software knows to ask for
the appropriate quantity of serial numbers for all serialized
items. If an item is scanned that was not on the invoice – For
instance if a $1.50 radio harness is ordered, whose inventory
number is EX. 71-1677, and EX. 70-1677 is scanned instead; the
system will beep and present an error message, locking the system.
At this point a manager is required to review the error, see
who caused the error, and use his bar-coded manager’s card
to release the lock on that order so that the correct item can
be scanned.
When the invoice is completed, the staff member scans another
bar code that basically says “END” and defines that
the order is completed. At this point, the software checks that
all the items required to fulfill the invoice have been scanned.
If all items have not been picked, the system displays a list
of what items are still required to fill the order.
From here, the items are sent down the belt to another person,
who boxes them for shipping. The boxes are then sealed and placed
in the shipping area with invoice attached.
Once again the invoice is scanned, this time by one of Audio
America’s four UPS Worldship Computers. These computers
are customized to read the invoices and retrieve all the pertinent
shipping information, such as shipping level (Red, Blue, Ground,
Saturday Delivery, etc.). This process also loads the addresses
from the invoice into these computers to avoid errors. Even email
addresses are loaded and the customer is emailed the shipping
notifications.
Audio America’s new efficient distribution practices lead
to measurable savings through elimination of shipping errors.
For example, consider if that part previously mentioned, the
$1.50 radio harness, was not picked correctly and the wrong one
was packed.
“If the wrong one is packed, you’d not know it until
the next day when an unhappy customer couldn’t complete
his install because the wrong part got there,” said Albert. “Needless
to say, his customer is not happy because his car is not finished.”
Before the Unibar bar code system was installed, the Audio America
customer would call customer service to complain about an error
like that. The customer service representative would check the
documentation and then check inventory counts to verify that
the wrong part must have been picked. Then the correct part would
be picked, and go through the shipping cycle.
“That mistake probably cost us at least two man hours
when we combine customer service and warehouse staff plus shipping
time. That means that a $1.50 part just cost us $35 to $50 dollars.”
 Significant
cost savings go beyond the obvious gleaned from efficient practices.
In addition to the reduction in errors, Audio America’s
system has helped cut down the gray marketers’ unauthorized
returns. “The bar code system also helps us weed out the
transhippers in the industry – those distributors that
sell into territories without authorization – or a gray
marketer (not true distributors, who can’t replace parts
through the manufacturer,” explained Albert.
The simple barcode has proven to be the silver bullet of savings
for Audio America, and has kept the large distributor’s
many customers happy. Albert’s thoughtful design has proven
to be well worth the implementation time.
For more information on Audio America, access www.audioamerica.com.
For more information on Unibar’s bar code printing software,
access www.unibar.com.
Note: Albert designed his system using BARZ_OUT Pro software
on top its FACTs application software by Apernum, written in
Providex by Best Software. The software runs on an SCO Open
Server 5.07 and an Open Server 5.05. Unibar products support
most forms of UNIX.
Written by Sally S Smith, SSSmith Public Relations
|
