Driscoll's Berries Picks Perfect Mobile Solution For Distribution, Account Reconciliation

Watsonville, California -based Driscoll Strawberry Associates needed to streamline its distribution operations and improve the accuracy of its account reconciliation system.

Driscoll, incorporated in 1959, applies patented formulas to its plants, which are then provided to its growers at the start of the season. At harvest time, growers receive special packaging and labels to be used for packing the berries in the field before bringing them to Driscoll's distribution sites.

The company tracks not only how many plants are given to each grower, but also the quantity of berries produced and the amount of packaging materials and labels each grower receives.

During theharvest, growers frequently make multiple trips to the warehouse —sometimes as many as 10 trips daily —to drop off berries and pick up more packaging materials.

For the past 15 years, these critical interactions between the company and its growers had been tracked manually using handwritten receipts, with one copy given to the grower and a

second copy sentto Driscoll's accounting and packaging departments for later reconciliation. Since the growers compensate Driscoll for packaging materials issued, it is essential that accurate counts are made andthe proper labels be provided.

Reconciliation issues occurred, however, because of the high volume of paperwork, delays in entering receipts into the system, and errors in interpreting the handwritten information.

Furthercomplicating the situation, the process cost growers time and money because they would have to wait in the receiving area while fruit was counted and recorded and packaging materials loaded.

"We essentially have two customers —our berry customers and our growers," said Gary Burkhart, Driscoll's business system analyst and project lead for the new wireless packaging processes. "Driscollidentified a need for a solution that would prevent our growers from being inconvenienced during count times and awkward account reconciliation processes. Individual growers make nine to 10 tripsto our loading docks per day during the height of the harvest. We needed to make those interactions seamless and productive."