How to work in the Time of CoronaVirus - just an idea Part 2

Let's look at a product sales scenario that can currently be used with a cloud ERP application like Business Central.

Logically, distribution continues to involve the use of people, but we can minimize the interaction between people with preventive measures.

We have a warehouse where we keep the products to be distributed, these products could be non-perishable canned and / or packaged foods. Our market is a series of stores or points of sale located in different parts of a city.

Initially, we must group customers by zone (can be done using the postal code) and create repetitive delivery routes with the same distribution staff on fixed delivery dates. Why this? Well, first of all, the staff will always be the same, so if we are concerned about the driver and his assistants being protected and, in the case of countries where coronavirus tests are applied, we can assure to a certain extent that our distribution is coronavirus free.

A salesperson call customers with the previous consumption of each product on hand and offers the customer the sale of them up to 4 days in advance (if you work from Monday to Friday).

The customer validates the offer and gives the quote acceptance.

The salesperson release the order and creates the shipment for the warehouse.

In the warehouse, the manager generates the pick list for the route for the day to be sent (normally, the next business day) and up to the load limit of the transport defined thanks to the fact that this data is an integral part of the system data. .

Each of the warehouse employees can receive a notification on their cell phone through Outlook. This is because we want to avoid the use of devices by different users, which limits the spread of viruses for this reason. The cell phone could be provided by the company or use a personal one by downloading the native ERP application like Business Central in Play Store or the App Store.        

The products are picked, the boxes or pallets are prepared, wrapped in plastic and labeled, placing the ready-to-send items in the shipping area which must be physically separated (with some method such as metal fencing) and with access from the loading dock.

The transport will arrive and the driver will be able to check the goods corresponding to the route on his cell phone or on a Tablet and proceed to load the transport.

Here we have two options, generate the invoice at this time or generate the shipping document and later the invoice. In any case, when generating either of the two documents, an email is generated to the customer so that they are aware that they will receive their order that day and that the merchandise will be delivered to them.

Here, the loading process could be optimized by loading first what will be delivered at the end and the last thing that is loaded is what will be delivered first according to the optimization of the route. For this, we could add an extension to the ERP system that can help us define this.

Once the transport is fully loaded, the driver proceeds to deliver the day.

For the delivery process, the assistant downloads the merchandise and with the use of a Tablet with internet access, selects the delivered sales order and the client (after disinfecting the hands with soap or sanitizing gel) will "sign" the order for acceptance received.

In the event that it has not been previously invoiced, at that time the invoice can be generated and the electronic stamp processed so that it reaches the customer by email.

In the warehouse, the delivered orders can be reviewed by creating a list where the orders to be delivered have been pre-loaded, a column of their delivery number and a column with the invoice number generated as well as the date and time of acceptance by the client.

In this same list, you can add a workflow that informs the seller that the merchandise was delivered and we can create a new task for 7 days later (or more depending on any configuration created in the client such as a dateformula type field that indicates the frequency of sale (and call).

This scenario applies in Mexico for what we know as "the corner store" where we can find non-perishable canned and packaged products that are supplied by wholesalers.

In which other scenario can you use a modern ERP? Well, right now we are just beginning to discover new ways of working to replace the old ways, seeking to satisfy the needs of our customers in the best way, taking care not only of the commercial relationship, but also the human one.