Order Writing Simplified

George Little Management LLC (GLM) and software company PointForce Inc. formed a partnership to market an order writing process, which was introduced at the major winter GLM gift shows, where exhibitors were given hands-on presentations. Using PointForce's Order-Stream service, salespeople write up orders by scanning barcodes using a Palm, Handspring, or Symbol PDA. Wireless beaming of the order to a portable printer in the booth or showroom provides the buyer with an immediate copy of their purchase order. At any time, the salesperson can place the PDA in a modem cradle and the order is sent via the World Wide Web to the back office for processing. The advantages? The service beats pen-and-paper order writing for accuracy and speed, and is cheaper than a dedicated computer system. Initial one-time costs include purchasing handhelds and a printer, but there is no expensive software required. Pricing, after a $1,000 registration fee, is based on use. The minimum purchase is a 250-order block at $1.75 per order. From there it ranges in increments to a 25,000-order block, which sells for $0.69 per order. PointForce will have a technician on hand at nearly all GLM shows to provide immediate assistance. GLM and PointForce have signed up 50 exhibitors for the Order-Stream service since its soft launch at two GLM shows in August 2002. Their goal is to make the Order-Stream service the standard for trade show order writing in the future. For more info, call (905) 752-4550.