American Home and Garden
Epicor Mobile Solutions Help Home and Garden Center Provide Better Customer Service
American Home & Garden is an Ace Hardware retailer offering hardware and garden products to residents in Manitowoc, Little Chute, and Green Bay, Wisconsin. This family-owned business is a place to find “helpful hardware folks,” where employees are customer-minded and dedicated to ensuring that their customers’ projects go smoothly.
Selling to contractors and do-it-yourself customers alike, American Home & Garden stores have been relying on the Epicor Eagle system for more than 10 years to run efficient operations. Most recently, the owners added Epicor Eagle Mobile Manager—a business intelligence app that runs on smartphones —to further improve business efficiency. “I wanted to have access to store data wherever I was. It was not convenient—nor customer friendly—to walk to a computer each time I wanted to check on the price or inventory stock levels,” explained Ryan Linder, store manager of the Green Bay location. “We were looking for more mobility within the store.”
“We have benefited from using Mobile Manager within our store. I know people think of using a mobile solution outside the store, but it’s a great asset inside the store as well."
Ryan Lindner
Store Manager | American Home and Garden
Tracking store performance easily
From his smartphone, Lindner can quickly check on the store’s performance. He can look at sales history, the top 100 items, or price at a glance. “At anytime and anywhere, I can check the sales of the store and see whether sales are spiking or declining. I can keep tabs on what items I am selling throughout the day, too,” he added. “During the weekends, I can look at my phone to see whether the store needs me to come in or whether they’re managing fine on their own”
Lindner also finds it more convenient to modify orders remotely. “Before our order gets finalized on Monday evenings, using my phone at home, I will review my top 100 sales of the day and add the top-selling item to the order,” said Lindner. “Now, I can ensure the orders are more accurate and better reflect what we are selling. The Mobile Manager app has made it easier for me to be more involved in the ordering process.”
Price check saves the sale
In a very customer-centric store like American Home & Garden, it’s important to serve the customer well. Lindner uses the price check and inventory features on the phone when he’s with customers. “If the shelf is empty, I can look up our other location’s inventory on my phone to see if we have back stock of the item or if it is on order. Customers appreciate that I can assist them right there in the aisle,” noted Lindner. “For instance, I helped a customer when we were out of an item at one location. I checked to see if my other store had it, and I had them transfer the item to our store. The customer picked it up the next day and was very happy. Being able to look the information up quickly saved the sale.
Another plus for customer service is with the remote override functionality, which allows Lindner to approve overrides without having to go to the checkout counter. “When there is a remote override request, I can look up the account on my phone. I don’t have to run up front to approve it anymore,” asserts Ryan. “With a click of the button, the transaction is done.”
Overall, the Mobile Manager app has proved to be an asset to the company. “We have benefited from using the Mobile Manager tool within our store. I know people think of using a mobile solution outside the store, but it’s a great asset inside the store as well. I definitely recommend Mobile Manager,” Lindner concluded. “It’s worth the investment.”