Inter-store transfers on PDAs, without internet, with document matching and ERP sync

An e-shop with a network of physical stores. Goods move daily from store to store, so each location has what it needs for its own sales and for e-shop orders.

Many receiving points have no internet: store stockrooms, basements, loading bays. An online app simply does not load there, so receipts were done on paper and entered into the ERP later, with delays and errors.

Checking what was sent against what was received was done by eye, on the paper document. Until the ERP was updated, it still showed the goods at the store that sent them, which meant wrong availability on the e-shop and sales that could not be fulfilled.

We built an app for PDAs with a built-in barcode scanner that works fully without internet.

Everything on the device

Items, barcodes, stores and the transfer documents each location is expecting are stored on the PDA. Staff scan, count and confirm without needing a signal.

Sending from the store

The sending store scans everything that leaves, and the transfer is created with the right document.

Receiving with document matching

At the receiving store, staff open the document and scan the items. The app matches them to the document instantly and shows what is missing, what arrived extra or what arrived in the wrong quantity.

Sync as soon as there is a connection

When the PDA finds Wi-Fi or a network, movements upload to the ERP automatically and new data comes down. If something changed in the meantime, the system flags it instead of passing it through silently. Stock at every store, and therefore on the e-shop, stays correct.

Stocktakes and e-shop order picking with the same PDA.