In-house mobility

One way to look at a greenhouse operation is like a traditional manufacturer. Except for producing a live end-product, the process for both is strikingly similar with automated production, inventory, shipping and receiving.

However, one area the greenhouse industry is behind the traditional manufacturing sector is the use of mobile devices and their integration between the production end and front office business systems.

“Traditional manufacturing has been using mobile devices in these areas for years,” said Greg Lafferty, the senior account manager for Practical Software Solutions. “And to some degree, it’s starting to get into the greenhouse in various areas.”

Having mobile technology in a greenhouse isn’t about having the latest “cool” gadget, nor is it just about the actual ability to move technology away from a desktop computer or a laptop.

As margins are beginning to shrink, growers are constantly looking for ways to reduce cost while adding value back to their customers.

“Data accuracy is more important than ever, providing higher scorecards for big-box stores,” Lafferty said. “Mobile technology can help with this, causing fewer charge-backs and reducing waste.”

The following lists are ways that mobile technology is being used in the warehouse industry today. Some are already being used in the greenhouse sector, but others are functions that can be brought into the greenhouse.

Production
•    Communicating production schedules
•    Reporting production progress
•    Tracking labor and material costs
•    Track consumption of materials
•    Realigning resources and schedules

Inventory
•    Partial (cycle count) or full inventory
•    Final walk, ready-to-ship reports
•    Quality grading
•    Site transfers and product moves

Shipping
•    Picking/pulling instructions (guiding workers to the correct product in the correct location with the most efficient path)
•    Paperwork reduction
•    Timely updates from new or changed sales orders that a customer needs
•    Scan to verify correct item and quantity picked
•    Scan by cart or container to rebuild order to match shipment

Receiving
•    Receive raw materials (or finished product) into inventory from vendor shipments
•    Cross-dock finished product from vendor trucks to customer shipments
•    Record quality issues of vendor over/under shipment

As with many facets of any business, there are a few drawbacks to implementing mobile technology in a greenhouse operation.

“The biggest holdback is the cost,” Lafferty said. “The ruggedized mobile devices are expensive. It’s what has been holding back the industry from moving to mobile technology.”

Another deterrent to using mobile devices in a greenhouse is connectivity. In the past, having signal that would cover the entire square footage of a greenhouse would not be feasible due to the cost of hardware required for such a large coverage area.

“For a traditional manufacturer to be the size of Metrolina Greenhouses, they’d be building cars,” Lafferty said. “They’d be a Ford plant.”

Now with 3G and 4G wireless technologies available, there are more options for growers to access data in remote growing areas of their greenhouse. The devices supporting 3G and 4G are more expensive, but minimize or remove the need for an extensive in-house wireless network. These also allow data collection in open growing areas.

The end result of implementing ruggedized mobile technology could lead to a more efficient and accurate operation, and produce a positive return on investment.

“A large up-front cost can be overcome by long-term lower operating costs,” Lafferty said. “Every business needs to determine its own return on investment of that cost. In some cases the efficiency gain could overcome the purchase costs.”

Practical Software Solutions is a Sage Authorized Partner. For more information, contact Greg Lafferty at 704-721-6800 ext. 3019 or glafferty@practicalsoftwaresolutions.com.