Transforming the
hunting and fishing supply chain
Putting manual processes in the crosshairs
by Ben Bradley
Indiana’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is transforming
the state’s entire “supply chain” of hunting,
trapping and fishing thanks to its new Internet Point of Sale (IPOS)
sport licensing system and online portal.
According to Laura Lindenbusch, the director of marketing and local
initiatives for accessIndiana (http://www.in.gov), “the need
was to streamline the processing of licenses end-to-end, not just
to make incremental improvements. Improving any aspect of the manual
system would have only highlighted the remaining inefficiencies.
What was needed was a major transformation of the entire supply
chain.”
Timing was certainly right to undertake such an update to one of
the state’s core business processes. The need for quicker
and more accurate reporting was quickly becoming a basic requirement
for investing scarce budgets wisely. This combined with the current-retailer
grumbling and difficulty expanding the number of retailers drove
the state to action.
Laurie Schwartz, owner of Schwartz’s Bait & Tackle in
Noblesville recounts, “we had been hearing for some time from
our customers how Kentucky, Missouri, Illinois had computerized
systems for selling licenses. When DNR indicated that they were
planning to rollout a web-based system, we volunteered immediately
to be a test site.”
104 year old process is transformed
Prior to IPOS, the process of providing licenses was expensive
and cumbersome for the retailers and frustrating for the sportsmen.
Retailers had to decide which of the more than 25 license types
they would sell; estimate license sales; secure funding to prepay
or purchase a bond (held as collateral against license revenue);
procure and secure an inventory of paper licenses; and record every
transaction manually using a 104-year-old carbon-paper-based ledger
system.
According to Brian Nobbe, proprietor of 52 Pik-Up in Brookville,
Indiana, “The paper-based system was a real hassle. During
the beginning of the busy season, we’d sometimes have as many
as 5 employees processing licenses to keep up with customers. It
took several minutes per transaction.”
This inefficiency represented lost revenue. Many retailers reported
that they sold licenses only as a service to customers and to stimulate
follow-on purchases. A system that could broaden the license types
for sale and reduce the transaction time would translate directly
into increased revenues.
Other shortcomings were equally obvious. DNR had unreliable tracking
data and reporting tools for capturing license types sold and monitoring
inventory; sunk capital costs for the retailers could run into significant
six-figures for the inventory; sportsmen could not be certain that
a specific store sold the specific license he needed to buy or might
encounter a store that had sold all its inventory on hand.
Timely exchange and clearing of payments was also a source of continuing
irritation between the state and the retailers, and slowed the state’s
ability to obtain matching funds available from US Fish & Wildlife,
preventing the state from accessing more than $100K in available
funding.
Because of this, many establishments where sportsmen expected to
be able to purchase licenses did not sell them. The startup and
administrative investment was just not worth the trouble.
Accommodate the customer via retailers and the web
DNR undertook to create a robust, highly reliable and simple-to-use
system that would work for the 600 retail establishments where the
bulk of licenses are sold, while still accommodating the sportsmen
who might want to purchase licenses online via credit card.
Even though early research revealed that 40% of the retailers already
had computer equipment, DNR decided to introduce a standard “retail”
configuration as part of an overall program. Since helping retailers
through the transition would include technical support, standardizing
the platform was key to keeping support cost-effective.
So they did not stop with the creation of a secure web portal,
which might have appealed to individuals and to advanced large-chain
retailers with Internet-enabled point-of-sale terminals. They thought
through the entire transaction life-cycle from the perspective of
the primary user – a local shop retailer.
It was determined that the minimum configuration would be a package
consisting of a thin-client computer, a 15” flat-panel monitor,
56k modem and a LaserJet printer along with comprehensive training
and reference materials. Also, DNR offered business-class Internet
connectivity service for those retailers who were not already online
at the front counter.
Creative use of thin terminals
Thin terminals are traditionally used to connect to a terminal
server where various applications are accessed. DNR used the terminals
really as on-demand web browsers, connecting via SSL to a server
hosting the IPOS application. Users are also able to connect to
the AccessIndiana (www.in.gov) government web portal, a clearinghouse
for information and services.
General web browsing is not provided through the terminals. “Retailers
told us that they did not need general web browsing through the
system,” recounts Laura Lindenbusch, whose company operates
IN.gov for the State of Indiana. “We learned that the retailers
who want it already have internet access where they need it in the
store. They preferred a dedicated-use terminal for conducting state-related
business.”
Thinking in terms of a total transformation, instead of just a
technology automation project, led to what has proven to be the
largest single benefit of all – an interface with the Bureau
of Motor Vehicles database pre-populates licensee information. This
dramatically shrunk the transaction time per customer and made efficient
use of dial-up bandwidth.
“I can’t say enough about what a time saver that driver’s
license information is,” said Bonnie Kelley of Kelley’s
Bait Shop in Lakeville, which has sold DNR licenses for 40 years.
“Indiana customers we can process very quickly since there
is almost no keystroking. We still have to enter information for
the out-of-staters, but only once. Come renewal time, they’re
already in the system too. It’s much faster than the manual
process.”
Early functional trials produced benefits that were so compelling
for everyone involved that Indiana committed to a state-wide roll-out
and conversion of every license retailer to the real-time system
by the end of 2005, down to the last bait shop.
Now retailers can all sell all of the license types available,
without the financial burden of pre-purchase and without the management
burden of inventorying paper licenses or the tedium of manual transactions.
They can also void licenses, administer and store user accounts,
and run a variety of reports.
Exponential transformation
Customers get their licenses in roughly 2 minutes, instead of the
time consuming process used in the past, encounter no shortages,
and are spared the worry of their confidential information (like
Social Security Number) being written down and stored in the shop
until the license booklets are returned.
DNR gets almost real-time license information reporting, highly
configurable reporting breakdowns to track license trends, and individual
retailer monitoring. Because ACH/EFT electronic payment processing
is built into the system, funds can be collected weekly and retailer
compliance with funds-handling audited with up-to-date information.
Should a retailer become delinquent, his store’s ability to
continue selling licenses can be halted immediately.
The transparency resulting from the new system now extends even
to the field enforcement officer, who can now access licensee information
via a wireless laptop should the need arise. Since the records are
always up to date and kept in a central location instead of in paper
booklets at the retail store that sold it, officers can log in securely
to the system and get up-to-the-minute information if a hunter’s
documentation is not in order.
Support for the program was provided via the original install team,
who assisted with the orientation; the reference materials; online
help inside IPOS itself, and a 24/7 call center to handle both technical
issues and to take license orders manually should an outage occur.
Post-install surveys of understanding and usability were conducted
two weeks after initial training and will be re-run later in the
year for matching against actual usage reports.
Massive cost reduction
Results from IPOS are not just anecdotal. Avoided costs alone from
DNR’s elimination of printing and mailing license books exceed
$400,000. Total cost reduction for the next 3 years is expected
to exceed $3 million. Since January 2005, the system has processed
275,000 licenses.
The broader benefits of the program deal with the number of retailers
selling licenses. IPOS is particularly appealing to large retailers
looking to generate additional consumer traffic and longer visits
to their stores, since the cost to join the program is so much lower
and the management so automated. Major chains like Wal-Mart, K-Mart,
and Marsh Supermarkets have all signed on. From the state’s
perspective, such additional distribution translates directly into
customer convenience and choice when it comes to purchasing a license.
Early experience suggests significant increases in total sales as
a result.
Lindenbusch celebrates the technology that makes IPOS possible,
but really attributes its success to the overall program: “The
program started with a set of functional goals, a set of tough barriers,
a set of current retailers. What got every component to work together
to streamline this business process was not the technology, but
the total program – the communications, training, support,
quick payment, accurate reporting. The tech is the golden egg, no
doubt about it…but the program is the goose.”
Reprinted with permission of CDW and http://www.biztechmagazine.com
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