How Rock Island Reduced their Order Desk Labor Costs & Call Volume by 50%

Rock Island Refrigerated Distributors, a regional grocery distributor, is a technology pioneer and a Vori Certified Supplier. They've transformed their order receiving process through the grocery industry's only modern operating system that seamlessly connects long-tail grocery retailers for easy supply chain management.

"Our retail customers are so busy. So communication and updates in the traditional ways, such as paper catalogs, fliers, and sales reps, don't always stick. Vori has been a great way for our customers to see at the point of order, that 'Hey, here is a product that I didn't realize you carried,' or 'Oh! I see that our competition has this product and now I see it in your digital catalog. I can start ordering it right here, right now.'"
– Jonathan Mahrt, CTO, Rock Island Refrigerated Distributors

Introduction

Rock Island Refrigerated Distributors has been a faithful procurer and distributor of high-quality refrigerated and natural grocery products and beverages to over 500 Northern California grocery stores, since 1971. Rock Island has become a household name among this region's grocery retailers, especially independents. They're highly regarded for their exceptional customer service and communication. Retailers have known Rock Island to be "just a phone call away" to place and reconcile orders, a rarity for distributors of Rock Island's size. 

In 2017, the business injected a new generation of management: Jonathan Mahrt, the eldest son with a business and information systems degree from Cal Poly. After his time at consulting firm Ernst & Young, he returned to his family's business, Petaluma Farms. And in 2019,  Jonathan took over operations and the general management of Rock Island. He was tasked to up-level the internal business processes of Rock Island so that the company could gain market share at a faster pace. The key to this transformation across their business was implementing advanced technology into their manual workflows.

<div class="r-quote-block"><span class="r-quote">I'm always looking for how we can leverage technology to improve productivity, business processes, and communication. I look for areas where technology can simplify current processes that are manual, repetitive, and redundant. Our order desk was one of those areas.</span><span class="r-quote-author">Jonathan Mahrt</span><span class="r-quote-author-title">CTO, Rock Island Refrigerated Distributors</span></div>

The Challenge

While Rock Island prides itself on its "always-on" reputation, internally, its order desk was flooded by phone calls. And with the shakiness of the labor force and increased customer demand, keeping up with the volume of orders received via phone was unsustainable. 

Rock Island's independent customers traditionally placed their orders via fax, email, and most often, by phone calls. After a phone or email order was placed, it needed to be manually entered into the Rock Island system and their ERP.

<div class="r-quote-block"><span class="r-quote">Vori has been good for our independent customers because it's something that all the big chains like a Safeway have, but it's not something that all of the independents have had access to. So Vori allows them to get more efficient.</span><span class="r-quote-author">Jennifer Day</span><span class="r-quote-author-title">Office Manager, Rock Island Refrigerated Distributors</span></div>

As an efficient business by industry standards with a positive customer experience, Jonathan was skeptical about implementing new technology at Rock Island to "fix" their order desk workflow. However, Jonathan decided to consider leveling up their order receiving process with Vori after receiving numerous requests from his retail customers. 

For retailers, the benefit of having their suppliers as “Vori Certified” allows them to digitally access Rock Island's (and their other suppliers' inventory) and place orders via a mobile application or online, all within one single system. "Rock Island is about meeting customer where they are at, and Vori was an opportunity to add value that our customers wanted. It gave them the ability to easily order through an app on their phone instead of calling, emailing, or faxing," says Jonathan Mahrt, chief technology officer or Rock Island Refrigerated Distributors.

The Solution

Rock Island became a Vori Certified Supplier in May 2020. With this classification, Vori provides Rock Island with the ability to:

• Automate data entry for orders
• Digitally update and communicate changes to catalogs, prices, promotions, and inventory levels across their entire customer base and specific customer accounts, down to particular door locations.

The Vori Certified Supplier classification also enables Rock Island's retail customers to: 

• Digitally send orders directly into Rock Island's backend systems 
• Instantly replace items, at the time of order, that are stockouts or discontinued 
• Have all product changes, catalog updates, and new and featured items displayed in one central place.

<div class="r-quote-block"><span class="r-quote">Vori has been good for our independent customers because it's something that all the big chains like a Safeway have, but it's not something that all of the independents have had access to. So Vori allows them to get more efficient.</span><span class="r-quote-author">Jonathan Mahrt</span><span class="r-quote-author-title">CTO, Rock Island Refrigerated Distributors</span></div>

The Results

For Rock Island's order desk team, becoming a Vori Certified Supplier was a huge burden lifted off their shoulders. Since implementing Vori, Rock Island has transformed its order desk and field sales operations. As a result, they've seen the following results:‍

A 50% reduction in call volume at the order desk

• By providing their retailer customers with the ability to transmit orders digitally, many of Rock Island's customers have migrated to placing all Rock Island inventory orders via Vori versus via phone call, fax, and email. 
• ‍‍"I have been most impressed by how Vori has decreased our incoming phone calls." –Jennifer Day, Office Manager, Rock Island Refrigerated Distributors‍

‍Reducing the staff needed to work the order desk by ½, and increasing the number of retailers that order Rock Island via Vori by 847%

• Before going live with Vori, Rock Island had six order desk employees. Today, Rock Island has three order desk staff members and has seen an 847% increase in the number of stores ordering Rock Island inventory via Vori, between May 2020 and December 2021.
• In addition, they've chosen not to backfill their former staff members because the EDI integration that Vori provides has saved them an immense amount of time on inputting orders and communicating product changes, despite the increase in retailers submitting orders. 

<div class="r-quote-block"><span class="r-quote">We've seen customers start ordering more products from us, sometimes because they just didn't realize everything that we carried.</span><span class="r-quote-author">Jonathan Mahrt</span><span class="r-quote-author-title">CTO, Rock Island Refrigerated Distributors</span></div>

An improved sales representative and customer experience

• The EDI connection that Vori provides to Rock Island and other Vori Certified Suppliers creates a frictionless ordering experience for Rock Island sales reps and retail customers alike. Both parties can place orders directly into Rock Island's system without the Rock Island order desk interacting with the person placing an order manually. Especially since available items and inventory levels are updated in real-time and displayed on Rock Island's digital order guide within the Vori mobile application and online desktop interface.
• As a result, Rock Island's overall fill rates have improved, and they've eliminated a significant portion of lost sales. 

<div class="r-quote-block"><span class="r-quote">Our customers like being able to order through the Vori app. It makes it easier for them not to have to stop what they are doing to take our phone calls.</span><span class="r-quote-author">Jonathan Mahrt</span><span class="r-quote-author-title">CTO, Rock Island Refrigerated Distributors</span></div>