Case Studies
Project Profile for the Classroom Inventory and Product Recommendation System
Executive Summary
Company
Nystrom is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana and was founded in 1903. The company represents the educational division of its parent company, Herff Jones, Inc.
Solution Description
The web system enables sales reps to more efficiently and accurately offer schools the educational products they need.
Benefits
Centralized Database
All information is stored in one central database allowing for more efficient management of sales information.
Mobile Device Integrated
Sales reps can operate the system on a hand held device.
Increased Flexibility
The web system is more flexible than the previous system since it allows sales reps to easily modify a school’s list of recommended products to purchase.
Ease of Use
Several essential processes are now faster and easier to use. As a result, reps are no longer hesitant to use the system.
Software and Services
- ASP.NET 2.0
- SQL Server 2005
- Crystal Reports
- Ajax
- Windows Mobile
- Microsoft Windows XP
Customer Profile
Sector: Education
Industry: Educational Learning Products
For over 100 years, Nystrom has been publishing wall maps and globes for classroom use. They are a leading publisher of educational maps, globes, atlases, hands-on programs, web sites and cd-roms for students and teachers from grades K-12. The company prides itself in helping teachers teach and students learn.
Business Situation
The company was using a Microsoft Access based system for its sales reps that would assist them in inventorying and recommending products to schools. The tool worked well and helped improve sales but was not widely accepted by their reps and lacked flexibility. It was important to Nystrom that all of their sales reps use the system. Therefore, they needed a customized solution that would offer greater ease-of-use and more functionality in a web-based environment.
Solution
Classroom Inventory and Product Recommendation System
The new system was built with the sales rep’s needs in mind. It was critical that the system functioned well for all of their sales reps and at the same time was flexible to operate on both the web and with hand held devices. The web based system was designed to operate on an internet browser, providing a familiar and contemporary interface. The system also enables staff to take inventory using hand held devices.
Recommending Products To Schools
At each school, a sales rep enters product requirements for various grades and programs and records a complete inventory of the school’s educational products. After a school’s product requirements and inventory are entered, the system will generate reports recommending the products the school needs to order. Using the reports, the sales rep can manually add and modify recommended products.
Hand Held Device Functionality
The hand held device module allows sales staff to perform their job without having to carry around a bulky laptop. Sales staff can use their hand held devices to easily inventory classrooms in the school. The hand held device module consists of 2 parts. The first part operates on devices that can connect to a wireless internet network while the second part operates on devices that are not connected to a wireless internet network.
When using the hand held devices that do connect to the wireless internet network, sales staff can walk through classrooms and enter inventory directly into the web system. When using the hand held devices that do not connect to the wireless internet network, sales staff can take inventory and then upload the inventory counts to the web system at a later date when they have access to a computer that has an internet connection.