Chris Paris, an electrician from Reno, NV, has come up with the new Nevaka app, designed to help electrical contractors improve their order processing and reduce waste and errors. Nevaka enables workers in the field to create, submit and track a materials list or purchase order using a device.
Paris and Mark Aston, Nevaka’s co-founder, and said in a press release that initial field testing had gotten positive reviews from contractors and distributors. According to a Nevaka press release, “Field workers traditionally deliver lists to the office by handwritten note, text, email, phone, etc. These lists would be transcribed by a supervisor into the corporate software or spreadsheets for onward transmission or processing, and they would often be misinterpreted."
Paris says the high cost of incorrect deliveries and project delays gave him the idea of designing a better process where all documentation starts in an app from any location and is transmitted to the office in a format that integrates with the office software. This eliminates the need for transcription or interpretation.
Several electrical contractors and distributors participated in the development of the Nevaka app, and they will now be participating in the beta test launching. Beta testers will assist Nevaka to make further improvements to the app, and they will receive subscriber benefits when the app launches by late summer 2020.
Richard Stoltz, president of the Reno-based WEDCO, said in a post on Nevaka's website that he sees the app's benefits for electrical distributors, as well as contractors.
"While we have seen an increase in emailed or text material orders, the vast majority of orders are still placed over the phone," he wrote. "When my staff takes verbal material lists, there is an increased chance for error. If they misinterpret a quantity or part, this leads to an additional delivery trip to correct the error. One simple error on a delivery could turn the entire order into a loss. Having seen how Gofor can produce a material list for a quote or order, I believe our order accuracy would immediately increase.
"If an increase in order accuracy was all Nevaka could do for my company, it would be a step in the right direction. However, I see great opportunity to take it a step beyond that. I believe with some simple integration, I could automate the process of preparing a quote or an order. Nevaka has the ability to provide all the data points, including UPC numbers. I am currently looking into how we can take the Gofor file and load it directly into a quote without the salesperson manually entering the material list. If we can make that happen, we would see tremendous savings in our labor cost to process quotes and orders for standard commodity lists. As a distributor in a commodity type business, we are always looking for ways to retain and grow our profits. I feel strongly that once the Nevaka app is complete, it will bring great value to WEDCO."
Click here if you are interested in learning more or being considered for participation in Nevaka’s free beta test.