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A digital transformation story
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Dutch Valley Food Distributors believed that providing its customers with a mobile ordering experience would vault the company ahead of its competition, but only if using the app would reliably improve their efficiency. After a few years of trial and error, the company’s vision is coming to fruition thanks to an app developed by Industrial Resolution.
The Problem
Dutch Valley specializes in bulk foods, distributing thousands of products to customers across the United States. Many of its customers spend hours in the morning walking up and down their aisles, jotting down the items they need, checking inventory, then sitting down at a computer to enter their orders on the Dutch Valley Foods website. Customers would fax or phone their orders to Dutch Valley Foods, and the company would enter them into the system itself.
A mobile app was an ideal solution. It would allow store owners to order items on the spot, saving them time and effort.
Dutch Valley Foods started with an off-the-shelf web app, modified for Dutch Valley Foods, that lacked essential features. For example, it did not integrate with Dutch Valley Foods’ website, so customers would end up with separate invoices for web orders and app orders.
Moreover, the app was not responsive to customer requests for additional functionality, said John Sheaffer, the IT director at Dutch Valley Foods.
A better app remained a top priority for the company. It just needed expert help to make its vision a reality -- and to adhere to the company’s values of integrity and quality.
“For us, customers come first and we want them to have a good experience. We didn’t like saying that option is not available.”
The Solution
In early 2020, Dutch Valley Foods sat down with developers at Industrial Resolution. They reviewed the company’s needs, evaluated the existing solution and came up with recommendations for moving forward. Adhering to a highly collaborative process, the team at Industrial Resolution created a new mobile app, on time and on budget, with the features Dutch Valley Foods had been looking for -- while being reliable, on- and off-line, to boot. It is an app that the team could stand behind with confidence.
Launched in June, the new app offers seamless integration with the Dutch Valley Foods website and has been easy for customers to pick up and learn. Customers can begin their inventory ordering while on the app, then finish on the web, or vice versa. Customers also can review their entire order history and flag their favorite items to simplify future ordering.
“Customers are definitely excited for the extra features, I have a hundred times more confidence in this system than the one we were using.”
The results
The well-received app, available for both Android and iOS devices, has revolutionized how customers order from Dutch Valley Food. Customers are cutting their ordering time by 40% to 60%, with some seeing savings close to 75%. For Dutch Valley Foods, the app is expected to generate labor savings, improve ordering accuracy, and give customers greater access to the breadth of products it distributes.
Dutch Valley Foods is now looking forward to adding features to make the app even more useful, including some based on feedback from its customers. The additions could include push notices and the ability to share even more information.
