PRESS RELEASE: Case Study Shows How OPI and Zebra Simplified Inventory Control for Illinois Firm
Littleton, MA, August 30, 2019 – With inventory control and accuracy so critical to profitability at large sites, the R.P. Lumber Company benefitted from an Optical Phusion (OPI) and Zebra Technologies solution that is documented in a new case study from the Illinois-based lumber operator.
“With 70 stores in Illinois and 14 in Missouri, the cost of managing inventory was expensive,” said Randy Perry, R.P. Lumber’s Senior Systems Analyst. As the case study noted, with two acres per site, monthly inventories per store required five to six contract workers, took 48 hours to complete and were not always accurate.
The challenge was to find an automated data collection solution to expedite inventory counts and ensure accuracy. OPI and Zebra were up to the task. The Littleton, MA firm recommended using Zebra’s ET5x rugged tablets to replace manual inventory in four of R.P. Lumber’s large Illinois home centers and lumber yards.
Based on positive results in the test stores, OPI provided R. P. Lumber with 70 Zebra tablets.
The results were immediate: labor costs dropped from five to six contract workers to just one or two R.P. Lumber employees, a significant savings. And, as the case study further noted, inventory reports are now more timely and accurate.
Under the case study’s Solution section, it notes that “the ET5x provides a larger landscape for viewing inventory data. The multiple data capture features a scanner with an advanced scanning engine, two cameras and exceptionally fast processing. In addition, a Windows platform provides critical compatibility with existing software.
As Paul Rozak, OPI’s Account Executive, said, “This is the kind of problem-solving solution that we specialize in, and our partnership with Zebra made it a natural and very effective fit for R.P. Lumber.”
About Optical Phusion
Optical Phusion, Inc. (OPI) is an enterprise mobility focused integration company, offering application-based solutions for a range of markets specializing in retail, supply chain and field sales organizations.
