Store Manager
	Route Manager

"Simply a major leap forward for the transportation business"

An interview with Donna Storey, Purchasing Manager for First Manchester and its Bury Depot

The transportation industry is not known for being an early adopter of modern technology but as we have discovered there is a company that is forging the way forward and was changing that twelve months ago - First Manchester and its Bury Depot. Bury Bus depot installed an innovative new product called "Store Manager" in an attempt to improve the efficiency of their stock taking systems. We talked with Donna Storey, the Purchasing Manager at First Manchester, to discover how one simple change made such an impact on their organisation.

Q: Donna, what was the process like before you installed new "Store Manager"?

A: Before, when one of our people needed a part for a vehicle they had to go through a very time consuming and tedious process. Firstly they would have to fill out a request form which they would then pass to the store keeper. The Store Keeper then had to check on his computer to see if the part was in stock. If the part was available then the Store Keeper would authorise the mechanic to take the part from a parts bin. The store keeper would then have to manually enter the job information and the job costings into his system before he could create an issue to that vehicle.

At night time, when the Store Keeper had left for the day the process was even more complicated. The mechanics on the night shift would have to fill out the forms using pen and paper and leave them on the Store Keeper's desk. In the morning, on his return, the store keeper would have to input all the requisitions from the night before into his computer by hand. As you can imagine it was a long and mundane process -our guys hated it.

Q: And so what's the process now using Simply Mobile's 'Store Manager'?

A: It's much simpler now. The entire process can be done through one easy to use handheld unit with bar code technology, every part of the process is now bar-coded.

The employees identification number, the reason and repair codes and the parts bins - they're all bar-coded now. All our people have to do is scan the 'Store Manager' unit acrosst the appropriate barcode, key in the quantity and the job is done with all the data held neatly on the unit.

At the end of the process the unit is placed into the docking cradle attached to the Store Keeper's PC. The data is then downloaded automatically onto the central system. At this point, if any stock needs to be replenished, it's automatically highlighted in the purchasing department. This enables real-time communication between departments, enabling everyone to do their job more efficiently.

Q: Simply Mobile claim that their 'Store Manager' unit can reduce mistakes in stock taking, would you agree with that?

A: Definitely. We can do the whole stock taking process on the unit. As our Stock Keeper moves from one parts bin to another all he has to do is key in the number of parts. The part identification has already been logged through bar code technology, the unit then automatically moves you on to the next bin.

Q: It sounds great but is 'Store Manager' cost efficient?

A: After doing a thorough cost analysis the results show that it is extremely cost effective. In fact our figures show the unit has already paid for itself.

Q: How did the people on the shop floor react to the introduction of this new technology?

A: I was really surprised to find so many of them really enthusiastic and positive. Of course we had some concerns from some of the staff who weren't really confident with using new technology. But once they saw how simple it was to use and how it eliminated some of the more boring parts of the job, everyone was behind it.

Q: What are your plans for "Store Manager" in the future?

A: Because "Store Manager" has been so successful for us, we will be introducing it into our other twelve depots in the next twelve months. It's safe to say that using "Store manager has been very good for us"

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