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XL-BYG has introduces a new solution for its associates that works as the mobile POS system in the timber trade. CF Petersen Køge is a test store and has already experienced a big difference during the workday.
As one of Denmark's most significant DIY chains, XL-BYG also needs to be at the forefront of technology to develop the business.
The chain office creates the framework for the meeting between customers and businesses. The DIY chain is constantly looking for new initiatives that can help optimize operations, the customer experience, and other significant business areas.
As consumers, we have in a short time gotten used to implementing new technology and solutions - as long as the experience is intuitive, and you do not need a manual to get started. When it comes to mobile applications today, there are high expectations to user experience, functionality, and speed.
Most recently, XL-BYG has launched a project to optimize the associates' mobile tools, which are used for almost any task, but especially as a mobile POS system in the timber trade. The solution consists of hand-held terminals with the timber application ASPECT4, which is also used by many others in the industry as the primary ERP system.
At the handheld terminals, there was a need to lift and improve the entire user experience for the DIY associates. The application itself was based on an old-fashioned Windows Telnet solution. A solution that requires many shortcut keys and was complex to use unless you were "system expert".
It could be a big challenge, and required a lot of time, to train new associates. XL-BYG wanted to change that. In collaboration with Delfi Technologies, the IT Manager at the chain office, Steen Villsen, therefore initiated a project to help the DIY stores to modernize their mobile tools.
- We simply needed to create a fully modernized user experience, which in addition to improving the workday of the associates, also provides a better customer experience in the end, he says.
- We were also facing a replacement of our hardware. In that connection, we could then completely go from the "old green", as we call it - and jump over to the new terminals for all the tasks in the stores.
- Now, we have a solution that has helped to optimize the workflows for the associates. This means that we can streamline our most important tasks, concludes Steen Villsen.
In this connection, there was a need for a test store as a local driving force to develop the right solution on behalf of the entire XL-BYG chain. The choice naturally fell on the store in Køge, as ‘CF Petersen & Søn A/S’ already is involved in running many projects within XL-BYG.
At XL-BYG in Køge, the handheld terminals are used as a mobile POS system for warehouse dispatches in the large drive-in halls, where associates cover large areas. Here, it is possible to create a sales order for a customer on the spot and help them immediately.
- Previously, the associates almost had to write down the shortcut keys to be able to remember how to use the handheld terminal. Of course, it gives some hassle when you must train new people, explains Peter B. Bentsen, head of the drive-in & goods reception department at ‘CF Petersen & Søn A/S (XL-BYG Kø-ge)
- Thanks to Delfi Technologies, we now have a user-friendliness that we have not been used to before.
- It means a lot that we can help customers along the way, and we can’t carry a large POS system along our way. That is why the handheld terminals are an important tool, adds Bo Zederkof, who is a warehouse clerk at ‘CF Petersen & Søn A/S’.
In XL-BYG, the handheld terminals are also used for other tasks, such as goods receipt.
Delfi Technologies has upgraded and modernized the older Telnet solution at XL-BYG to a new generation Android platform. The application itself has been lifted through Ivanti Velocity - a solution that can be used to migrate a specific application to a more user-friendly Android app.
Today, most of the handheld terminals at XL-BYG are from the Zebra brand, one of the market's leading manufacturers of mobile computers and tablets. In this way, XL-BYG is guaranteed high-quality hardware, long service life, and the necessary service. Among other solutions, XL-BYG uses Zebra TC52 / TC57 / TC72 / TC77.