We are pleased to announce the launch of our new intelligent new cloud-based ordering system, Cherry Pi™, that enables customers to place orders for multiple suppliers in one central platform. Cherry Pi™ has been launched to save customers time when ordering products, as well as provide a host of advanced features to help control expenditure and simplify the procurement process for multi-site organisations.
By logging into the Cherry Pi™ dashboard, customers can easily find the items they wish to purchase using a dynamic search function. Once a search is performed, items are ranked by historic purchasing trends, meaning more frequently ordered items will feature at the top of the results table. The system also shows products from agreed suppliers only, and has the option for managers to limit available items to those included on the agreed purchase contract list.
Cherry Pi™ has been tested by a number of Pelican clients and to date over two thousand orders have been processed on the new system. Surrey County Council Commercial Services is a Cherry Pi™ user, Mark Capper, their Marketing and Development Manager explains: “Cherry Pi™ gives us much more flexibility, and saves both time and resource. It only takes 10 minutes or less to place orders so the process is much easier and simpler and it also provides a clear on-line audit trail.”
Additional benefits of Cherry Pi™ include the ability to save template ‘shopping lists’ making it extremely quick to order items that are required on a regular basis, plus orders can be developed in collaboration, meaning various team members can log-in to complete an order, which is ideal for multi-site operators who wish to place one single order for all outlets, at one time.
Mark continues: “Following a short tutorial, our caterers have found the system easy to use and very intuitive – it’s like placing orders on Amazon. Cherry Pi™ allows additional users to access the system if required, so orders can be collated without waiting for one individual to handle the task. Previously the catering team placed orders via telesales, one at a time. The whole process could take up to 40 minutes due to the manual entry involved and waiting for multiple order acknowledgements.”
Once an order is submitted, customers receive confirmation of when the order was sent in addition to an acknowledgement once each supplier has received the details. A confirmation is also shown on the supplier’s system when the order has been downloaded and actioned by a member of the team, in order to avoid duplication. If the time between the ‘sent’ and ‘acknowledgement’ goes over an hour, Pelican is alerted and contact is made with suppliers to ensure there are no problems.
Mark Capper concludes: “From a management perspective, Cherry Pi™ enables our regional and operational managers to gain remote access to individual sites’ purchasing history and to collate purchasing reports and buying trends and confirm what’s being ordered and by whom. It also assists us in properly managing the supply chain to ensure procurement compliance.”
For more information regarding Pelican’s range of procurement services or to arrange a demonstration of the new system Cherry Pi™, call 01252 705 222 or watch short video or visit www.pelicanpi.co.uk
