Clients First tried Kony and Appcelerator for developing the mobile app, but none was capable of building what Merrick Pet Care needed. Development was slow because of the limitations and difficulties in using each platform.
“After struggling with those two platforms, I came across Alpha Anywhere, and it looked to me as if it had all the capabilities we needed,” remembers Michael Conti, Managing Director of Clients First. “Its offline capabilities were particularly important and comprehensive. So was its ability to access device hardware, and integrate with Merrick’s ERP system. So I gave it a try, and was happy to see that we would be able to build what Merrick required, and do it more quickly than other platforms.”
Freeman says that the finished app “is very polished-looking – it looks like a B2C, high-quality app you’d download from the Apple App Store.” Using the app on iPads, salespeople put together their monthly plans, which are then changed if necessary by supervisors, and then approved. When salespeople go out on calls, the app uses the iPads’ GPS capabilities to help them find the fastest route from store to store. Salespeople input all information from each call into the app and that information is sent directly into the ERP system.
“It works exactly as we had envisioned it,” Freeman says. “It’s helped us immensely in the sales process and doing analytics.”
