Plant grower’s mobile supply chain solution saves waste

Bell Nursery, which grows 100 million plants annually, is reducing waste through a system consisting of Webalo’s mobile supply chain and inventory applications, deployed with VMware’s AirWatch enterprise mobility management. The solution is said to have cut waste in half and saved $7 million while decreasing gasoline and water usage substantially.

Bell Nursery has issued iPhones that are secured with AirWatch and supplied with more than 36 custom-made Webalo applications. The new system has allowed the large wholesale nursery grower to optimize its inventory across stores to provide the appropriate mix at each location, minimizing the number of plants that remain unsold and thrown out.

Joe Perret, VP of Bell Nursery, says, “Not only has the new mobile supply chain solution greatly improved our profitability and efficiency, it has had a major impact in minimizing our overall environmental footprint. Through our mobile solution, we’ve been able to reduce scrap by more than 50 percent, saving $7 million annually. As growers, it is important for us to be good stewards of the earth, and this system has allowed us to accomplish more while using less fuel and less water overall. Landfills are also positively impacted by our scrap reductions.”

Bell has been able to cut the labor and water required to maintain excess inventory. Unplanned stock-out deliveries to stores have all but ended, and landfills are no longer burdened with hundreds of tons of scrap plant material. According to Bell, it has saved millions in direct plant cost, thousands of hours of unnecessary labor, tens of thousands of gallons of water and an equal amount of fuel. Mobile inventory apps have also allowed Bell to go nearly paperless at store locations, eliminated faxing, paper logs and records.

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