CASE STUDY of Paragon Distributing: “...the switch to HandiFox has been great!"

Paragon Distributing is a large wholesale beverage and food distributor in Anchorage, AK (USA). The company was started in 1996 by Tim and Kim Weeks. They started with just a couple of vans selling bottled water. Over the years they have grown the business into one that not only supports their family, but also the families of around 30 employees.

In the past five years the business has grown exponentially. With more and more product going in and out the doors they needed a way to track inventory and cut down on wasted time both in the warehouse and in the field. Paragon chose Handifox because of its versatility, and they chose the Motorola MC40 as the platform to use it.

The company uses the HandiFox mobile sales and inventory management system to enter orders from their customers, and pick, pack, and ship goods from their central warehouse.

Sales personnel visit customers and create orders on their Android devices. Orders can be generated using barcode scanners or entering text. Completed orders are then sent to the Anchorage office QuickBooks over Internet links. Sales personnel are now able to send orders in from locations hundreds of miles away when just a few short years ago the orders would be faxed and input manually into Quickbooks.

At the warehouse, workers prepare shipments using HandiFox. A list of orders for shipment is generated and printed, using HandiFox software. A bar code for each order is provided, so that stock pickers can scan it and easily find the correct order on their handheld devices. A pick list is opened on the device, and item barcodes are scanned as they are picked to confirm that the items are correct. When all items on the order have been picked, there is a second confirmation scan, after which the packing slip is printed. When the order is packed, an invoice is automatically created and saved in QuickBooks.

With HandiFox, Paragon has been able to speed up their order entry process and improve the accuracy of their shipments. The overall effect of making the switch to Handifox has been great.

"In the beginning there were growing pains, but the amazing customer service that we have received has blown me away. We have experience more accurate ordering in the market, coupled with quicker and more precise order pulling in our warehouse."

Kevin Bohan, the Assistant GM at Paragon

Case Study of Paragon Distributing (.pdf, 780 KB)