POWER UP Posts Impressive Year Following Traceability Improvements

The technology experts at POWER UP ^TM manufacture a full line-up of charging products, keeping guests and customers connected. These products range from kiosks and tables to more rugged trailers and lockers, and there is a POWER UP ^TM solution for every venue.

During the previous year, POWER UP ^TM identified a string of slow-downs in their inventory management processes. We partnered with the charging innovator to get these issues solved.

Inventory Challenges

POWER UP ^TM needed a way to revamp their manual inventory system. They relied on an outdated pen-and-paper method, which was leading to problems for both their inventory management and life-cycle tracking of devices out in the field.

“When our service techs go out, we never really knew what was being done at each location. They would come back and write down on a piece of paper ‘Hey we changed X number of cables’,” Ryan Doak, co-founder, POWER UP ^TM , explained.

Additionally, the company was missing out on revenue-sharing opportunities. They needed a functional system of verifying the number of products out in the field that were set up for this program. Without an efficient way of doing so, their Partner Program was failing to capture any profits.

“In the past, there was no way for us to double check that rental reports from our revenue-sharing partners were accurate. Recently we discovered that some partners had not been reporting all their rentals – which meant thousands of dollars in lost revenue,” Doak said of the issue.

The Barcoding, Inc. Solution

We partnered with POWER UP ^TM improve the traceability of both their products in field and warehouse inventory. We aimed for a solution that would let them seamlessly track the location of equipment and have full and real-time access to the data of their products. Taking these issues into consideration, we decided to implement our rapid application development tool to quickly build an application tailored to POWER UP ^TM ’s needs. We also set them up with Honeywell CT 50s, handheld computers with barcode scanning and GPS tracking capabilities. These rugged devices fit perfectly for their technicians out in the field.

“One of the things that the Honeywell device does is when [our service technicians] go in, they can scan a barcode and then it prompts a bunch of questions. Did you change an iPhone cable, yes or no? If so, how many? Did you update the content? And so that way we have a running record of what each service technician did at the visit. So if we need to go back in time and refer to that, we can,” said Doak.

The Business Results

After migrating from traditional pen-and-paper inventory methods to our Barcoding, Inc. solutions, POWER UP ^TM has seen a 10 to 20 percent increase in their inventory tracking efficiency. One of the biggest changes—and reasons for the sudden increase—is their collection of data. Any data entered into their new Honeywell devices is automatically sent to POWER UP ^TM headquarters in Baltimore. Whether this is data collected by the products themselves, like how many devices were charged in a month, or servicing data from their technicians, it’s all saved.

For their warehouse problems, the charging company can now automatically track individual units. Their equipment is stamped with barcode labels, and these allow POWER UP ^TM to follow every piece of equipment as it leaves and returns to their warehouse. Plus, their equipment can now be tracked by GPS, giving the company real-time information while products move between their new warehouses in Orlando and Las Vegas.

“Beyond the internal efficiencies the company has gained, the Barcoding inventory management solution has enabled us to expand our POWER UP ^TM Partner Program. We expect to add 10 to 15 new partners to our network in 2018 – resulting in up to $2M in new revenue,” concluded Doak.

Read more Barcoding Case Studies here!