Heineken España, Spain’s leading brewery, manufacturer and distributor of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, has selected mobile computers from Motorola Inc. (Schaumburg, Ill.) to modernize its retail supply chain and increase operational efficiencies. Heineken has reduced its data loss incidents by 98% since deploying Motorola’s MC9000 mobile computers, enabling the company to respond more quickly to changing customer demands.
Headquartered in Seville, Heineken España S.A. has five factories. Two are located in Andalusia (Seville) and the remaining three are in Jaén (Madrid), Valencia and Arano (Navarra). Together, the factories produce more than 10.5 million hectolitres of beer per year
The company's brand portfolio includes Heineken, Cruzcampo, Amstel, and Legado de Yuste which was the first abbey beer to be produced in Spain. In addition, the company has recently added two new non-alcoholic brands, called Buckler and Kaliber, as well as a variety of international specialties.
Heineken España has deployed the mobile computers as part of an upgrade to its group-wide centralized IT platform, which serves business units such as Heineken, Cruzcampo, Amstel and Legado de Yuste. The computers are being used by Heineken’s salespeople and its local distribution companies to replace outdated handheld devices that caused data discrepancies, information loss and delays in its automated retail supply chain.
“The new Motorola handheld computers have made data transfer both to and from our central systems a completely transparent process which is faster than it has ever been thanks to the MC9000’s Bluetooth capabilities,” said Victor García, information systems manager at Servicios Integrales a Horeca (SIH), Heineken España’s IT group. “Overall, we have been extremely pleased with our new mobile computers. They have exceeded our expectations and deliver a range of functionality that has streamlined our supply chain processes and improved operational efficiencies.”
Running on Microsoft Windows Mobile software, Motorola’s MC9000 mobile computers make application development and support much easier for Heineken. The new platform allows simple integration and data transfer between the terminals and the back-end, a significant improvement on the previous DOS-based solution.
“Our old handhelds were based on an MS-DOS operating system which slowed down, deteriorated and impeded the transmission of data between the sales force and our back-end systems, wasting long periods of time,” added García. “The sales team told us that forming and maintaining a connection to their portable printers using the old handheld’s infrared technology was difficult and frustrating. Motorola offered us an easy-to-use solution that addresses these problems, and can withstand the rigors of everyday use without compromising functionality.”
Motorola and its implementation partner Telynet were recommended by Getronics and chosen following a competitive assessment of available devices, including the upgraded version of Heineken’s original device.
“We chose the MC9000 mobile computers because they offered us unparalleled advantages in terms of power, user-friendliness and robustness. This was particularly important to us because the devices need to work reliably without breaking or failing as our sales staff takes them on the road everyday,” said García.
Telynet has developed a self-sales application for the new terminals and integrated it into Heineken’s other corporate systems. To date, the new mobile computers have been deployed on 200 of the 300 routes which depend upon SIH, and the company expects to roll out the new Motorola MC9000s to the remaining routes in due course.
Source: Heineken España S.A.
