Color Spot Nurseries Agriculture

SONIM KEEPS CREWS CONNECTED IN OUTDOOR WEATHER CONDITIONS

The Company
Founded in 1983 by Michael Vukelich, Jr. and Jerry Halamuda, Color Spot Nurseries has become one of the largest color nurseries in the world, catering to more than 2,000 retail and commercial customers such as Home Depot, Lowes, Walmart, Kmart, and Rite Aid. The company specializes in the wholesale distribution of high quality bedding plants, vegetables, herbs, shrubs, premium blooming plants, ground cover, ornamentals and much more. Color Spot operates multiple production facilities in California, Texas, Arizona, and Oregon, and is continuing to grow their business every day.

The Challenge

While working with beautiful plants and vegetables may seem like a relaxing pastime to the average gardener, Color Spot takes the beloved hobby to extreme heights. Responsible for the production and distribution of over 2,500 varieties of live plants, Color Spot management needs there be an efficient and reliable communication process in place to ensure the safety of field workers and to provide on time delivery of products to their end customers.

Workers are out in the field at all times where consistent communication is crucial for worker productivity and safety. Color Spot field workers operate noisy machinery in environments containing large amounts of soil, plant chemicals, and water. With some nurseries as large as 1,000 acres, previous mobile devices deployed were incapable of holding a strong PTT connection between the field workers and onsite controllers under the harsh environmental conditions.

Unable to hear their phones while operating tractors, management noticed a delay in worker’s productivity and a lag in communication between departments. “Devices are constantly being dropped into the dirt and mud with the potential to getting run over by a tractor or a piece of heavy machinery” said Cheryl Matheson, AP Manger. The device their field workers carry needs to be able to stand up to the rigorous environments in their industry including the large amounts of water they use to keep their plants alive and healthy.

The Solution
After recognizing that their previously deployed Samsung devices were neither loud enough nor powerful enough to compete with their rugged environment, Color Spot Nurseries cell phone purchasing team Cheryl Matheson and Justin Keeler realized that in order for the nurseries to continue running smoothly they needed to find a different mobile solution to suit their specific needs. After connecting with their AT&T sales rep and explaining their specific needs, Color Spot Nurseries deployed 100 XP5560 BOLTs and 500 XP1520 BOLT SLs to their team leads and field workers.

“When Our Workers Don’t Have A Reliable Form Of Communication Out In The Field, Tragedies Can Happen. Our Team Leads Need To Know That Everything Is Working And Everyone Is Safe. Our Sonim Solution Provides Us With That Comfort.”

The Benefits
Added benefits since deploying the XP5560 BOLT devices include controllers having the ability to check and make sure that each of their workers PTT devices is charged and ready to go before heading out to the field thanks to their AT&T service. Workers no longer have an excuse to not answer their phones during a shift because they know the Sonim devices are powerful enough with their extra loud volume and extended battery life to be heard and last through multiple shifts.

“The Sonim Devices Have Helped Improve Business By Increasing Communication And Efficiency. Workers Can Get Back To Each Other In A More Timely Fashion And Management Has Been Able To Hold Them More Accountable For Getting Their Work Done On Time.”

In addition to their increased reliability and communication, Sonim’s 3-year comprehensive warranty, which even covers accidental damage, provides piece of mind to Color Spot controllers and field workers.

After Only A Few Months Of Deployment At Five Of Their Main Nurseries, Color Spot Has Decided To Implement The Sonim XP5560 BOLT Handsets On All Sixteen Of Their Locations.

Overview
Sonim XP5560 devices keep crews connected in noisy environments and unpredictable outdoor weather conditions.

Country
United States

Customer Profile
Headquartered in southern California, with multiple production facilities throughout
the United States, Color Spot is one of the largest wholesale nurseries in the US and the largest nursery in the world. Color Spot caters to more than 2,000 retail and commercial customers and specializes in the wholesale distribution of high quality plants.

Business Situation
Workers are out in the field at all times where consistent communication is crucial for worker productivity and safety. The device that Color Spot field workers carry needs to be able to stand up to the rigorous environments in their industry including the large amounts of water they use to keep their plants alive and healthy.

Solution
The Sonim XP5560 BOLT handset is the ideal device for workers that are out in the field all day long. The extra durable external housing provides customers peace of mind against the possibility of dropping a device in the dirt/ mud, or having it get run over by a tractor or other piece of heavy machinery.

Benefits
Improved productivity
Constant connectivity
Increased reliability
Cost saving
Less defects