Built for patchy networks
Many businesses trade where the network cannot be trusted. A store loses its line in a storm. A driver spends half the route out of coverage. A container outlet runs on a mobile signal that comes and goes. If the ERP stops when the network stops, the work stops too, or it moves to paper and is keyed in later with mistakes.
Predictiv is built so that front-line work does not depend on a live connection. The people who sell and deliver carry on, and Predictiv synchronises the work when the network returns.
Selling with no network
The point of sale till works offline first. Predictiv stores the products, prices, promotions and customers the till needs on the device, so the cashier can scan, price, take payment and print a receipt with no connection. Each receipt is fiscalised on the device, so compliance holds while the network is down. See payments and fiscalisation.
The van till in direct store delivery works the same way. The driver delivers against the order or sells from the van at the door with no signal, and Predictiv synchronises the day’s work to the ERP when the vehicle is back in coverage.
Counting and delivering in the field
Staff count stock on ordinary Android phones. They count the shop floor while the store keeps trading, and head office follows progress by branch during the day. See inventory.
Drivers record deliveries, returnable crates and trip readings on the handset. Predictiv checks the delivery location with no network, so a delivery made away from the right store is still reported.
Ordinary devices
You do not need to buy specialist hardware. You run Predictiv’s mobile work on the standard Android phones your staff already use. That keeps the cost of equipping a sales force, a depot or a store estate low, and makes a lost or broken device easy to replace.
Installable web apps
Predictiv’s web surfaces, including Atrium, can be installed on a phone’s home screen and opened like any other app. People get an app experience without going through an app store.
Synchronising when the network returns
When a device regains its connection, Predictiv sends the work done offline to the ERP and sends back what has changed centrally. Predictiv creates the stock and finance records for each sale, and sends new prices and promotions to the till. The ERP remains the one record, and each device stores the latest copy of what it needs.
Low-bandwidth use
Mobile data can be slow and expensive. Predictiv’s front-line tools are designed for low-bandwidth use, so they keep working over a weak connection and keep data costs down.
What makes it different
Many ERP vendors treat mobile as a small screen on a system built for a constant connection. Predictiv designs its front-line tools from the opposite assumption: the network will drop, and people must keep working. Cashiers and drivers finish selling, fiscalisation and delivery on the device, and Predictiv reconciles the work with the ERP afterwards.
Connected to the rest of the platform
Predictiv posts offline work to the same records as everything else in Predictiv. It posts sales to finance, counts to inventory, and trips and fuel to fleet. There is no separate mobile system to reconcile.