Using mobile computers and printers, this retail store for home improvement has sped-up price verification and labeling processes from more than three weeks to a day-and-a-half in peak season.
Comercial Kywi is a store with decades of history in Ecuador. Its offer focuses on hardware, construction, finishing and decoration products for the home and relies on customer service, the variety of its products and quality assurance.
As part of the La Favorita group, today Kywi has 31 stores distributed in Quito, Guayaquil, Cuenca and 12 other cities. Since 2010, it has had a distribution and logistics center located in the parish of Cotogchoa, Rumiñahui canton, with more than 36,000 square meters of warehouses and facilities for storing, loading and unloading merchandise.
The challenge
Comercial Kywi needed to increase the efficiency and productivity of its workers to free up time spent on operational functions so that they could focus on increasingly improving the customer experience in their stores.
Previously, Comercial Kywi workers needed to go to the backroom to get product information, then go to a fixed printing station to take the labels and return to the store aisle to update the prices of each product.
Diego Montenegro, Store Services Operator, Comercial Kywi, said: “In the store, there were four computers to serve the entire premises, and it was quite demanding to move from one computer to another to give information to a customer about a product.”
The solution
Specifically, Comercial Kiwi, with the support of Zebra Technologies and its partner NUO, implemented a mobile solution made up of Zebra’s TC20 mobile computers and ZD420 printers to improve worker productivity and optimize workflows in the store.
By deploying more than 380 enterprise-class Android-based mobile computers and 20 printers with removable batteries, Comercial Kywi floor employees can now quickly print 80 product labels in five minutes. The savings on time help them improve their price verification processes and management of product categories on the shelves.
“Implementing this innovative technology allows us to move away from manual processes forever and significantly reduce the time spent on price verification and shelf tagging. We quickly reduced the time for this operation from three weeks to just a day-and-a-half during the peak shopping periods.”
“Comercial Kywi has taken an innovative approach in the use of technology by incorporating mobile solutions into its store operations,” said Montenegro.
The result
Dieter Avella, Commercial Director, Zebra Technologies Ecuador, said: “With the economy on demand and the need to improve the customer experience in stores, companies are investing in mobile solutions to provide a safe and efficient service.
“Zebra’s mobility solutions enable companies like Comercial Kywi to deliver streamlined, seamless workflows for both shoppers and employees, positioning the organization at the forefront of retail innovation.”
Key facts:
- Commercial Kywi deployed more than 250 Zebra business-class mobile computers and 100 printers to improve worker productivity and customer service.
- Comercial Kywi workers can now spend more time with customers in the store because they have all the information, they need in the palm of their hands to speed up product and shelf labeling.
- With Zebra’s price tagging solution, Comercial Kywi eliminated its manual process and dramatically reduced the time spent on price verification from three weeks to a day-and-a half during high-volume shopping periods.
Thus, Comercial Kiwi warehouses have succeeded in speeding up their transformation process, making its operations more efficient and improving competitiveness.
About Comercial Kiwy
Comercial Kywi SA is a leading company in the commercialization of hardware, home and construction material products in the Ecuadorian market. It offers its customers a different shopping experience, based on service, variety, guarantee and quality.
The company’s popularity with the public was strengthened in 2005 when it became part of Corporación Favorita, the first retail chain in the country. The partnership has seen incessant work in recent years focusing, mainly on service, seeking to reach all corners of the country with the largest range of products for home improvement.
