New Merchandising And Consignment Capabilities For Leopard Delivery Cloud

by | Mar 12, 2018 | Enterprise Mobility Solutions, Software trends

Leopard Systems are pleased to announce new development updates to their well-established enterprise mobility solution, Leopard Delivery Cloud.

These Leopard Delivery Cloud updates offer, not only couriers and delivery drivers, but all consignment-based distribution networks, much greater flexibility and superior task management.

 1. MERCHANDISING

First, and most relevant to wholesalers and retailers, is the integration of a cutting-edge merchandising subsystem.

In short, Leopard Delivery Cloud will now enhance and streamline activities related to selling on consignment, for both the consignor and consignee. These include:

  • Managing and recording stock orders and stock replenishment, at retail outlets and warehouses
  • Monitoring retail stock changes for seasonal trend adjustments and sales tracking at individual outlets
  • Stock scanning in stores for automatic stocktake and stock reconciliation
  • Adjusting merchandising workflows with useful custom prompts and task checks

In addition to the current Leopard Delivery Cloud’s proof of delivery, proof of pick-up, smart routing, delivery tracking and control centre features – you’ll now be able to;

  1. Restock products on store shelves in real time, on the spot; no pre-ordering and waiting for stock to be delivered, thus resulting in more sales.
  2. Offer dynamic vending services; supply more or new products to retailers when you deliver their regular consignment based on current and changing stock levels in their specific store or customer demands, thus saving time and money.
  3. Collect data at each retail store for future ordering and stock management; send valuable information back to your supply chain operators or modify the product order for the next warehouse pick-up, on the spot.

Without Leopard Delivery Cloud for merchandising, you could be wasting valuable time and losing business.

Without knowing the type and amount of stock selling (or not selling) from consignee outlets, and/or not having real-time details of stock locations in your supply chain, you’re essentially ‘in the dark’ about what is where. Being slow to supply, replenish, modify and retail stock, will result in poor performance compared to wholesalers and retailers who have a robust system for mobilising their merchandising and consignment tasks.

The new Leopard Delivery Cloud merchandising system accurately records product and delivery information, and stock locations, which enables distribution networks to monitor, adjust and control thousands to millions of products delivered to thousands of retail outlets every day.

Plus, the system can now be configured to perform price calculations with discount codes for diverse clients (e.g. based on consignee volumes) or other similar actions, all while integrating with your business software and enterprise resource planning systems such as SAP, JD Edwards, Pronto, JDA or a simple spreadsheet.

With this innovative tool, your delivery person becomes your salesperson during each store interaction, making back and forth ordering, and the inherent delays, a thing of the past.

BETTER MERCHANDISING

Let’s say… you sell bread on consignment to multiple supermarkets. Your delivery van visits a supermarket to replenish the loaves sold. Traditionally, your driver would drop off a fixed standing order of bread and pick up the unsold loaves.

Now, with the new merchandising features of Leopard Delivery Cloud prompting future order information, your driver can modify that supermarket’s standing order from 300 loaves to 400 loaves, because the supermarket sold out of loaves early last week.

Instead of the supermarket waiting for your salesperson to visit and write up a new order, your delivery driver can proactively and promptly adjust the order to increase sales for the bread consignor and consignee.

The power of merchandising with Leopard Delivery Cloud is knowing what’s on the shelves, what’s selling, how fast, then adjusting in near real time to meet customer demand. Which means less waste of perishable products, in this example, and more sales.

Deployed on BYO devices and smartphones, thus reducing the need for internal computing infrastructure, there are enormous CAPEX savings enabled by Leopard Delivery Cloud. Contractors on your delivery and merchandising team using either iOS or Android devices, are happier using a device they’re familiar with, which leads to a more efficient and productive performance.

Completely managed and supported by Leopard Systems, Leopard Delivery Cloud offers a revolutionary OPEX model that allows your fleet user base to expand or contract, and you only pay for the current users of Leopard Delivery Cloud. Scaling up or down in cycles as your market demands is advantageous and extremely cost effective.

 2. TAILORED REPORTS

The next Leopard Delivery Cloud software update includes an enhanced reporting subsystem.

You’ll now enjoy greater flexibility to create your own reports from the web portal Control Centre responsible for collecting and compiling all your delivery jobs and runs. You’ll be able to easily edit how the report is laid out and select what data is complied, plus make changes to your reports within a new user interface.

In short, the update will allow Leopard Delivery Cloud users to make better use of their data. For example, smaller operators who don’t have an integrated business reporting system, can now independently access and analyse their data to improve business outcomes.

Leopard Delivery Cloud is now set to raise the bar on intelligent selling-on-consignment, by harnessing the predictive power of your delivery data for maximum efficiencies.

Leopard Delivery Cloud is now set to raise the bar on intelligent selling-on-consignment, by harnessing the predictive power of your delivery data for maximum efficiencies.

3. FRESH USER INTERFACE

Lastly, the user interface (UI) of Leopard Delivery Cloud has received a complete revamp. As mobile devices and operating systems advance at a rapid pace, the UI of this mobility solution is continuing to evolve with a fresh modern look, upgraded functionality and improved usability.

Now’s the time to leap ahead of your competition. Using Leopard Delivery Cloud technology to anticipate end-consumer needs, collaborate with retail outlets, plus proactively manage stock in both supply chain and stores, will create win-win relationships between consignors and consignees, resulting in lower costs (on staff, non-sellable stock and inventory) and a faster time to market.

Leopard Delivery Cloud is a rapid solution for your merchandising and consignment needs. Offered as a monthly subscription – ranging from Starter to Advanced accounts – plus, you’ll enjoy the ease of cloud-based data management with no restrictive license fees because there’s no major IT infrastructure investment.

 

 

 

Mobile Device Management: When to stop wasting resources & outsource to a cost-effective MDM monitoring service

by | Mar 5, 2018 | Enterprise Mobility Solutions, Hardware trends

With the end of financial year fast approaching, now’s the time for Australian enterprises to review their mobile device management (MDM) expenses, resources and capabilities.

Do you know your company’s total spend to manage your enterprise mobility fleet including hidden costs? Do you suffer a loss when it takes too long to resolve an MDM issue? Is your in-house IT or current MDM service adequately equipped – in skills, knowledge and processes – to handle your current MDM demands?

Depending on your MDM complexity, business goals and company resources consumed by MDM, there’ll be a tipping point when it makes more sense (and dollars!) to outsource to a cost-effective proactive MDM monitoring service.

COST vs VALUE

The main reason to use in-house IT for mobile device management is that your IT employment costs are known and steady. Adding MDM monitoring tasks to your IT team’s current workload may help to control costs; particularly if fleet device numbers are low, fleet work is non-critical, and your mobility system is straightforward to troubleshoot and fix issues.

If fleet management distracts your IT team from core business responsibilities, then employing additional staff for MDM may suit.

From a cost versus value perspective, applying in-house resources to MDM raises several matters. Will your IT staff feel under pressure addressing MDM problems they don’t fully understand? Will your IT team fix the problem correctly or use a ‘Band-Aid’ solution with negative flow-on effects? How much did it really cost in lost time, lost data, lost revenue, as well as staff stress and frustration?

The value of outsourcing MDM is in enhancing efficiencies and creating more business, not cutting costs. MDM outsourcing becomes valuable when it reduces your spending on staff recruiting, training, salaries, employee benefits and other hidden costs of staffing.

Plus, an outsourced MDM monitoring service accurately assesses the health of your fleet remotely; with effective 24/7 surveillance detecting issues before they. become larger costly problems.

Outsourcing MDM monitoring is valued when it improves mobility device productivity and increases your service uptime and reliability for improved customer engagement, which in turn, secures your supply-demand with greater recurring revenue.

TIME vs RESPONSIVENESS

Who’ll respond fastest when you need it most? An IT staff member who may know how to solve your MDM issue, but who’s away for the next week? Or a 24/7 contracted MDM monitoring service, available to respond on demand to address your emergency issues?

If your mobility fleet tasks are non-critical and time is not a factor, then in-house IT support or accepting a slower MDM monitoring service may be adequate.

Responsive MDM monitoring service providers will rapidly escalate problem resolution. They’ll offer different levels of technical support based on your budget. On-demand proactive MDM services conduct remote troubleshooting, plus ongoing background monitoring to circumvent potential issues.

With dedicated staff and efficient systems – developed exclusively for fixing MDM issues, performing updates and monitoring the health of your entire fleet – an MDM monitoring service provider is well geared to respond in real time and fast. Thus, saving you time otherwise wasted on; identifying the problem, troubleshooting a solution, and, eventually, fixing the problem.

GENERALIST vs SPECIALIST

Certainly, your in-house IT team have direct access to domestic business intelligence. They have intimate knowledge of your brand, mission and company culture. In-house IT will know your mobility fleet from an insider’s perspective; ideal for mobility systems with a specific company focus on internal workflows and processes.

Yet, as a generalist in IT infrastructure and technical support, is your in-house IT capable of fixing a complex ‘in-field’ mishap, remotely? Even if you train them in specific MDM monitoring skills, will they stay up to date as mobility systems evolve, and remain with your company? Or take the knowledge when they leave?

In comparison, a pay-as-you-go MDM monitoring service has a dedicated specialist team. They support many mobility fleets simultaneously, with similar and contrasting requirements to yours. They have professional MDM hardware and programming experts who know, up to the minute, what’s best for field service delivery and fleet management.

They know exactly what your device reports indicate. They know exactly how to address your alert notifications. In fact, a reliable MDM monitoring service provider may solve and fix your issue, having seen it for another client, before you even know about it.

A flexible technology-driven MDM monitoring service provider draws on the latest technology trends to innovate robust systems that actively maintain a high level of uptime and customer service for clients, and to help develop your ongoing enterprise mobility strategy.

Further, specialist MDM providers have well-established relationships with vendor mobility software developers and third-party device manufacturers. If a complex issue arises it’s far more efficient for the MDM monitoring service to query and troubleshoot the issue alongside the device or application creators.

FIXED vs FLEXIBLE

A dedicated company server is an expensive fixed capital investment for running fleet mobility systems and storing mobility data securely. Yet, mandatory in-house security and control – such as strict protection from third party access, physical in-house location of critical data or internal control of company servers – may warrant this set up. Further, in-house fleet management may offer better insight for how and when a mobility issue will be resolved.

In contrast, outsourcing to an MDM monitoring service typically leverages cloud servers that offer real-time flexibility in multiple ways. Rapid updates can be sent remotely to thousands of devices in the field. Off-site and reciprocal cloud servers back up field data securely and restore systems quickly when something goes amiss, reducing downtime and minimising data losses. MDM monitoring service providers ensure properly configured cybersecurity settings for cloud-based data storage and systems are in place.

With automated device alerts, daily health checks, proactive monitoring and continuous reporting – all enabled by the cloud – MDM monitoring experts are constantly watching to ensure your business data is protected, accessible and safe, and your business operations remain reliable and active for your customers.

 

Ready to move to a pay-as-you-go MDM provider for your fleet?

Compared to a traditional licence-driven MDM service model, there are clear scalability benefits for engaging a pay-as-you-go MDM service offered as a ‘paid connected device’ model.

The flexible payment plan allows you to easily add more devices as your fleet grows, adjust your level of technical service support as your business needs change, and alter your level of performance monitoring and device reporting as your operations require. With minimal start-up costs, the barrier to entry is low, for a feature-rich cost-effective mobile device monitoring service.

Pay-as-you-go MDM services deliver expert professional management and real-time monitoring of thousands of mobile devices simultaneously, so your entire enterprise mobility fleet will be secure, visible and effective at all times and at a fraction of the cost of a licence model service.

Find out more about Leopard Systems’ MDM service offering: LeopardCare Monitoring – a comprehensive, low-cost, feature-rich mobile device managed service with MDM experts monitoring your enterprise mobility fleet while you sleep.

 

Speak to Leopard today about tailoring an MDM monitoring service package to your present and future business needs.