3. • Andrew Langston is president and founder of Quickbiz, a bicycle and car
deliver company with 90 employees in Seattle, Washington.
• Quickbiz is a very professional, established, and well respected company
used by attorneys, pharmacies, art galleries, and many other businesses.
• It all began during college.
• Andrew competed in the cycling club’s races at Eastern University.
• A friend told him that he worked part time for a local bicycle delivery
service, so Andrew decided to sign up too.
• That was how he learned the ropes of the messenger delivery business.
• After graduation, Andrew had moved back to Seattle, his hometown,
and started Quickbiz in the early 1990’s.
• It was the best way he could think of to combine his love of cycling with
the need to earn a living.
8. TECHNOLOGY IT
CHANGING FROM MICROSOFT ACCESS TO ORACLE
EXPANDING TO OTHER AREAS
EXPANDING TO OTHER BUSINESS, I.E. ATTORNEYS
SELLING COMPANY IN NEAR FUTURE
WEATHER
LOCAL COMPETITION
NATIONAL COMPANIES I.E. UPS, USPS, FEDEX
HIGH TURNOVER
CITY TRAFFIC
9.
10. Fast, reliable, professional & quality oriented
Reasonable rates without compromise!
From small packages to large cargo
Ask about our VIP services!
Routes Services:
• Bank deposits
•Dental/Medical
•Entertainment WWW.QUICKBIZ.COM
123 MAIN STREET AVE
• Hotels SEATTLE, WA 98115
•Legal
•Mail services
•Payroll
•Real Estate
•Retail
11. A cell phone representative recommended using a wireless card that messengers
could use to upload delivery information directly to the company’s database.
This was a great way to reduce time which in turn reduced cost.
In addition, Quickbiz could reduce overhead by getting input from all employees,
turning all lights off when not in use, using VoIP phone service, recycling all paper
waste, and buying used equipment that is in very good condition.
1. Start from the end deliverables and works backwards
2. Uses questions to understand key project features for each task done by the
messengers
3. Creates the logistic network automatically as part of the process
4. Accurately predict task duration
5. Creates Tasks which are exactly the right size for the specific project.
12. Kayla Brown, an IT consultant helped Andrew see he
needed to us a more powerful database management system
(DBMS). Andrew’s commitment to innovation was important
and Kayla Brown helped respected this sense of
identity/brand and mission.
When Kayla Brown used data-mining software to find BI for
the company, she was able to show the strengths and
weakness of the company, allowing Andrew to align tasks to
optimize performance.
Another example of transformation lead is the co
commitment to company success. Leslie Chen’s suggestion to
create and intranet so that messengers could upload delivery
information through their wireless connections is way to
increase the bottom line.
13. Keeping up with changing Be the dominant Messenger Courier
software and technology in Seattle
Increasing profit To become recognized in our industry
Cutting costs Customer service
Improving efficiency Employee Appreciation
Improving Human Expand the company
Resources
14. Best messenger courier
Expanding Investing
in WA
Adding 100 more Jobs
Customer Friendly Expand Cliental
in WA
Add a Traffic- Messengers will use
Using Oracle by in the
Monitoring Service by SmartPhones by July
end of the year
2013 15, 2012
From bicycles, cars, and trucks Increasing and upgrading its The decision to buy a server and
as well as hiring new office information system are result hand help computers allow
staff, these are result-oriented oriented by supporting the dispatcher’s and messengers to
goals increasing customer load stay connected
November 28, 2007
Software enables a
Assisted the rescue of Offering a Web site
connection between
new messengers who offered online ordering
Opened Quickbiz November 15, 2007 the dispatch and the
became lost in Seattle’s to handle increased
offices June 2006 Opened 2nd Office messengers regarding
maze of streets . customer demands.
routes, therefore,
September 3, 2006 January 2, 2007
enabling real time
efficiency.
Data being kept Controls to put in Data--
Managing its databases
confidential for suppliers Security
Instant
Tracking communication Provide
Ongoing training Track employee
equipment technology for customized Implementation
On time delivery for messengers productivity for
maintenance customer and services on the of Wi-Fi
and dispatchers Kaizen
and supplies messenger web
15. Andrew appreciated the collaboration
of many people as his company expanded.
One of those was Sarah Truedale, she
helped with the bookkeeping and
receptionist. She organized the office and
set up basic business applications—word From Andrew’s investment on the
processing, spreadsheet, and database company’s very first PC to the latest
programs. As the business grow they database management system and
needed help, so they hired Leslie Chan as software has indeed paid off. Andrew’s
a administrative assistant doing the main vision along with the collaboration of
functions—downloading and uploading Sarah and Leslie to improve and grow
delivery information, capturing data, Quickbiz had revolutionized how delivery
emailing, and faxing clients. is done in the Seattle downtown area.
A family member that had an effect Quickbiz saw its first part time college
on Andrew is his cousin who worked for student messengers carrying beepers to
a seafood company. He mentioned to cell phones to smart phones.
Andrew that his company uses a Linux- Natural disaster can occur at any
based system, and he recommended that time and without warning. One beautiful
Andrew should switch from his windows- morning Seattle had a 6.8 magnitude
based system to Linux. Linux is computer earthquake which caused Quickbiz’s main
system that is flexible, adaptable and information system to be down for two
with multiple different applications. days. Quickbiz messengers could still
Andrew’s cellular phone company also make deliveries and save data on their
had collaborated with him in suggesting handheld computers. But this crisis got
that Andrew’s messengers switch from Andrew thinking that this business needed
using cell phones to using smart phones. to improve and add safeguards such as
This will enable his drivers to get instant having the data and its main information
messages about the next delivery, traffic backed up to CDs.
jams, weather and special VIP deliveries.
Another Person that collaborated with helping Andrew’s
company grow is Kayla Brown. She advised him to seek
out a more powerful database management system
(DBMS). Andrew agreed and consequently shifted to
Oracle. An oracle database helped accommodate both
the increased size of the database and the need for
concurrent access.
16. We believe there are risks involved for a messenger or a
transportation company. For Quickbiz it will be traffic in the Seattle
area. For bicyclists it is very dangerous to maneuver their way
through heavy traffic. Moving fast and as small as they are
compared to cars, accidents can happen where people can get
injured or die. This of course brings in the element of lawsuits and
bad publicity in town.
The other main risk is the injury of
employees. Since this type of
personalized messenger requires
these bicycle messengers to be in
top physical shape.
Nevertheless, accidents can happen
at any time, but if these occur very
frequently it can disturb the flow of
business, affect Quickbiz's
culture, reduce the availability of
messengers, and as result make
unhappy customers.
Editor's Notes
SISImplementation of technology has allowed the company to gain an advantage by using Information’s system. A competitive advantage is gained by keeping up to date on software development. By knowing efficient routes, QuickBiz is able to work efficiently, therefore saving money. Up to date software also allows Quickbiz to efficiently schedule through automating consistent employee schedules. Because Competitors are using similar strategies, QuickBiz must continue to make improvements to its system, so it always retains its superiority.
Quickbiz business has expanded from one-person bicycle messenger service to a company with bicycles, cars, and trucks. The firm has upgraded it’s IT system to streamline its processes and handle increasing customer lead. AS Quickbiz grows, it used software to perform routine business functions, develop new routes and generate employee schedules. It has started using its financial software to analyze route profitability and to motivate healthy competition among its messengers.
Quickbiz has upgraded its telecommunications systems from beepers to cellular phones, from hand held computers to handheld computer’s with wireless internet connection, from single local office to 3 network offices and from DSL internet access to a fixed wireless access. QuickBiz gathers and maintains many types of data in its database. It has tried to ensure its security and save backup while still being accessible to customers and employees.
Leslie Chen was spending too much time uploading data from the handheld computers into the database.