CASE STUDY - HINES HORTICULTURE

Growing a Successful Partnership: The RGIS Difference
BUSINESS SITUATION
Hines conducts business with Home Depot, its single largest customer, using a Pay By Scan (PBS) system where inventory is held on consignment. Hines maintains ownership of the inventory held at The Home Depot, and recognizes sales once inventory is scanned at the register during an end customer pur­chase.


PROBLEM
Hines sales representatives are responsible for selling, merchandising, inventory replenishment, and inventory control. Due to the high volume of inventory shipped to The Home Depot, and the inventory itself being a perishable good, the company has chosen to take a physical count of its inventory on PBS once every quarter. Hines supplies a much greater number of stores than Hines has sales representatives available, and therefore, must contract a third party resource to assist in the counts.


SOLUTION
The RGIS Process
The key to RGIS’ success is the ability to understand its client’s core business. In drawing upon thor­ough knowledge of Hines’ operational strengths and weaknesses, RGIS created a customized system comprised of not only the actual inventory procedure, but pre-inventory and post-inventory procedures as well.

Conclusion
RGIS has helped count Hines’ inventory since early 2006, shortly after the PBS program was imple­mented. RGIS has provided very good service for Hines as well as accommodating counts with very short notice. RGIS’ flexible scheduling and large coverage area has allowed Hines to sufficiently update perpetual inventory records without disrupting business at The Home Depot. RGIS’ customer service is excellent. Any scheduling, counting, or logistical issues are resolved quickly and efficiently.