Airhouse vs. Trimble Fleet Mobility

Companies that do not want gift packaging options.

Incentivized

Appian is well suited for optimization of routes and contrary to what Appian claims, it is not well suited for scheduling.

• Quick Shipping: Airhouse can prepare most orders that are placed by noon PST and have them shipped the same day.
• Inspection Team: When we request to have items inspected the team clearly communicates any errors/defective products.

Incentivized

• Appian is excellent for use in both the analysis arena and ongoing operations support. The speed to solution and quality of solution is at the top of the market.
• The configurability of the system gives the user the flexibility to address almost any route problem imaginable. Analysts have the ability to recreate the "world" to fit their customer's needs rather than forcing the customer into a predetermined framework.
• The installation of the software is flexible and can be structured to fit any work group's format, from a centralized core to a distributed mobile analysis team.

• Material Management: The current platform does not allow for the team to see how many of our packaging materials are in stock.
• Team Communication: The team that I email is not the team at the warehouse so there is oftentimes a delay in communication.
• Packaging Standard: When I have the team mail materials to our team for wholesale, etc. needs, the team does not always pack these materials appropriate for the type of product we sell.

Incentivized

• Transit times are sometimes inaccurate/inconsistent.
• Software can slow down as a route file undergoes many changes.
• Large quantity of input files can sometimes create confusion/inconsistency when route files are shared by multiple users.

Many issues with the system and I will probably recommend other type of software if the question arises. Because of the investment my company has made, I will use the system for now.

The process was more personal and we were able to work with a team to get started. ShipBob was deeply confusing as it was just us using the computer to upload and handle materials.

Incentivized

Appian was best suited for an analysis environment both functionally and from a cost structure standpoint. Other packages are targeting ongoing operations and their cost structures reflect that goal. The purely analytical environment can underestimated in these situations. There is definitely a need for non operation specific analysis tools in the marketplace.

• Consistent Branding: Many fulfillment centers do not allow custom packaging to align with the luxury experience our brand gives our customers.
• Gift Customization: We were unable to offer gift notes to customers for our holidays which was a loss in our luxury gifting experience.

Incentivized

• Improved service to customers by being more aware of ETA's and how they relate to each store's receiving hours.
• Reduced transportation costs in dynamic environment where routes are optimized daily using Direct Route.
• Better customer service to field by generating e-mail notifications for following day's ETA's, along with notifications when trips are behind schedule.