Case Study - PepsiCo Audit Smart Suite 2009/2010
PepsiCo has been a prestigious client of Solutions | Digitas since 2006. Every year
they need a new technological advancement in the Audit Process that Solutions conduct.
In 2009, the AuditSmart Suite was designed by me to make the entire audit system
error-free and fast. In addition, the ever growing problem of false audits and forgery
was completely eliminated and this system emerged as a unique PDA based strong and authentic audit system.
The Requirement
Requirement was to create a system, where an auditor will go to a store somewhere
in India and check PepsiCo's VisiCooler & Stock. He will capture around 80 parameters
and store on the mobile handset. During this, he will also capture around 7-8 images
of the outlet from different angles and link to information. More importantly, this
entire audit should be saved from forgery and cheating.
The Solution
Solution was a combination of multiple applications working with each other in strong
coordination. Complete set was implemented using mix of Microsoft Technologies including
Windows Mobile Programming, ASP.NET, VB.NET, WPF and Flash.
The suite includes
AuditSmart HandHeld : the PDA tool
PDA tool was designed for Windows Mobile and was implemented on HTC P3100 devices.
It uses captures the information and stores on a local DB at the handset. As and
when pictures are taken, they are synchronized with online server and upon completion
of audit, the final file is uploaded to server, which links it to all uploaded images.
The entire process of audit takes around 5-10 minutes.
AuditSmart Synchronizer: the Desktop App
The desktop application is implemented using VB.NET 2005. It's role is to synchronize
the data on PDA with laptop. It was very helpful for cities where GPRS connection
was very weak. In remote towns, where auditors were not able to upload data using
GPRS, they were told to reach their supervisor and synchronize their mobile phones.
The desktop application automatically pulls all data from the mobile handset and
resets the PDA.
The desktop app is designed in such a way, that it can auto upgrade iteslf using
the AuditSmart Patcher and also update the version of PDA without letting anyone
know.
AuditSmart Synchronizer (QC): the Quality Checking App
The QC app is actually an extension of the Synchronizer. Basis the Access Control
Layer, the QC tab is shown, where a user can check the quality of data by comparing
the information with available pics of the outlet. If the data is found perfect,
it is approved by the auditor and is queued for uploading to server.
AuditSmart Analyzer: the web reporting system
Data uploaded is reflected through multi level graphs and filters over the web.
www.pepsichannels.com is the
web reporting system.
AuditSmart Plazma: TV Application to display scores
Large plasma screens were installed at all PepsiCo Offices across India, displaying live stats and graphs
from the audits happening nationwide. Data is displayed using smooth animations implemented in WPF. Various offices
get to see data respective to their region. This app not only pulls live data, but is also capable of updating itself
to the latest version, without any human intervention.