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Route Accounting unites Independent Distributors with Corporate C-Stores & Manufactures

Sometime today and everyday, in hundreds of convenience stores across Canada, a route sales person from one of many PRIDCORP distributors will stop at a Mac’s convenience store and stock the shelves with the Jack Links jerky products. In the course of this visit, the route sales person will remove inventory from their truck, a rolling warehouse, and re-stock the store shelves while taking back outdated product.

So what does Jim Taylor, Executive Director of the PRIDCORP Group have to say about the results? According to Jim: “Route Accounting by Solid Innovation is more than capable of handling our needs.  The support is excellent.  The Solid Innovation staff is knowledgeable and quick to respond with meaningful answers that are clear and concise.  We are extremely pleased with what Solid Innovation is doing with PRIDCORP and look forward to a long relationship.”

The Couche-Tard convenience store group (http://www.couche-tard.com/home.html) , operating as Mac’s, Circle K, and Couche-Tard, was Canada’s 4th largest retailer in 2005 and now tops $12 billion sales in 2007. It now receives automatic EDI from Canada’s first coast to coast group of independent distributors. Keith Sinclair, Information Systems Manager at Couche-Tard/Mac’s Convenience Stores Inc. says: “It was great working with Solid Innovation.  I was impressed with the speed that Solid Innovation addressed our EDI requirements.  Not only were they timely but accurate as well.  I would be happy to recommend Solid Innovation to some of our other suppliers.”  

The invoice for this transaction is created with a transaction number that uniquely identifies it from potentially thousands of distribution companies and route sales people.  This step totally replaces the manual invoice writing system saving the route sales person time while creating accurate invoices.  Later, the store manager approves the transaction and submits it to the Mac’s store system.

Whenever or however convenient for the distribution company, the transaction is synchronized to the distributor’s company system where accounts receivable and inventory is automatically updated.  Next, the distributor’s office staff authorizes the transactions into the secure EDI system where the transaction is submitted automatically both to retailers for payment and to PRIDCORP group.  Later, specialized product movement reports are created for authorized manufacturers, such as Jack Links.

All of this takes place within the business system “Route Accounting by Solid Innovation” and includes the mobile to business office to EDI and reporting.  Route Accounting by Solid Innovation includes accounts receivable, accounts payable, multi-warehouse inventory management, specialized customer pricing rules, management reporting, EDI, multi-vendor with 3rd party billing, counter sales, warehouse picking & receiving, mobile sales, auto-buying, accounting, and specialized reporting.

Now, PRIDCORP’s industrious, independent distributors, 43 companies with 125 trucks, link national name brand products like Jack Links (www.JackLinks.com) to large corporate retail groups such as Couche-Tard.  Route Accounting by Solid Innovation is a key part of the solution.

Thank you to the PRIDCORP shareholders for the opportunity to serve your group in this way.

Craig Fisher, CEO
Solid Innovation, Inc.

Solid Innovation began researching route accounting 17 years ago.  Since then, we’ve been leading the industry in advancing the category we created.  Route Accounting by Solid Innovation now unifies independent distributors to distribution groups and to manufacturers and retailers.  Solid Innovation serves distributors throughout Canada, USA, and the Caribbean.

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C-Store Canada Magazine (.pdf) >>