Problem
Tracking product samples across numerous locations is a challenge for any distributor, especially when customers are often unwilling to return cheap samples to distant retailers and no sale will take place if product samples aren’t there.
Solution
The app I’ve designed helps to address this by utilising ultra high-frequency RFID scanners, allowing salespeople to quickly scan and track hundreds of samples in seconds. This process flags missing items, identifies discontinued products, and alerts sales teams about low inventory — all without the need for time-consuming manual checks.
With this app, salespeople can spend less time managing samples and more time building customer relationships, selling new products, and increasing daily visits and deliveries. The app integrates with industrial-level RFID printers that can encode tags and print QR codes over them quickly.
The scanners can connect via WiFi, personal hotspot, or SIM cards. While iPhone users face limitations due to iOS restrictions on Web NFC and Web Bluetooth APIs, they can still use scanners with in-built devices to access full functionality. For Android users, more affordable external scanners can pair seamlessly with their devices, offering flexibility and cost-efficiency.
This solution ensures better sample tracking while freeing up valuable time for sales teams to focus on what matters most — growing the business and building relationships. Managers can analyse market penetration for any given product, see how often certain samples are missing, and if there’s a need for additional samples. They can also flag certain products or provide comments on discontinued items with or without stock.
I’ve written documentation on printer setup, purchasing and using printing software, mobile app, and an online dashboard for managing users, stores, SKUs, and scanner IDs, and helped implement this solution across three distribution companies in Ontario, Quebec, and Atlantic Canada.
